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Where can Southern Oregon University take you?

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Your SOU journey may begin in the classroom, but it can end anywhere you’d like. The perfect job. A great graduate school. An adventure overseas. The possibilities are endless, but getting there takes some preparation.

That’s where the Office of Career Connections comes in. The resources on this page are here to guide you through a comprehensive planning process to ensure you end up right where you want to be after you graduate from SOU.

So go on and take a look around. It’s never too early to start planning for your future. And if you still have questions, schedule an appointment with Joelle Khairallah, Student Success Coordinator, or Max Brooks, Career Preparation Coordinator.

Have a quick question that you don't think will require an appointment? Zoom into Career Connections Office Hours Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00-11:00am.

A special note to our alumni community: We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has left many of you contemplating what's next in your professional lives. Numerous alumni have been furloughed or laid off, and still others are trying to make ends meet with fewer hours. You are welcome to access all of the same online resources that are available to current students. Explore your options in the tabs below. And if you are interested in access Handshake to look for jobs, please request access by emailing Mike Beagle, Director of Alumni Relations, at beaglem@sou.edu.

EXPLORATION

Identifying a career that will be a good fit for you requires careful exploration of your values, interests, and skills. Use the following tools to explore your own unique traits before beginning to research various professional paths.

Oregon CIS Career Assessments - Tests and profilers for career skills, values, interests
16 Personalities - Personality test with extensive results analysis, including career
Traitify - 90 second personality-to-career test
Emsi SkillsMatch - Match skills to career paths
Sokanu Career Explorer - 30 minute personality-to-career test
MyCareerShines - Interest, skills, and values assessments
CareerOneStop - Career interest test
My Next Move - Career interest test and career cluster tool
Career Interests and Work Values - Career interest test
ISEEK Careers - Career interest test
Washington Career Bridge - Career interest test

INVESTIGATION

Once you have a good understanding of your own values, interests, and skills, it's time to investigate various careers in order to find some that will be a great match for you. Use the following tools to discover jobs commonly associated with particular majors, learn about salary, duties, and growth for a huge array of careers, and even to find new occupations that you didn't even know existed.

PREPARATION

Now that you know all about yourself and have identified some fields that interest you, it's time to prepare to apply by searching for positions, building your professional network, and learning more about the skills that will make you a great applicant! Use the following sites to find open opportunities in a wide variety of fields.

General Job Boards - Explore generalist job boards that list opportunities in a broad aray of fields
Rogue Valley Employer Database - Identify Southern Oregon employers that are willing to host interns and do informational interviews
Industry-Specific Job Boards - Find jobs in specific career fields
Find Oregon Employers - Utilize this Employment Department resource to find names of all employers in Oregon
Job Searching in Oregon and Beyond Presentation and Job Search Resource Guide
Scouting the Summer Internship Presentation and Internship Resource Guide
Remote Work - Check out tips and resources for working remotely
Safe Job Search Tips - Get guidance for performing a safe, smart job search
Internships - Search for internship opportunities near and far

APPLICATION

After finding open job and internship opportunities that appeal to you, it's important to show off all of your most relevant skills and experiences. The resources below will help you figure out how to articulate all the fantastic skills and experiences that you have accumulated in part-time jobs, internships, classrooms, and co-curricular activities in your application materials.

COVID CAREER ADVICE

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the national, state, and local economies. From alumni who have been laid off to new grads looking for their first job to students searching for an internship or summer job, everyone has the potential to be affected. While this isn't the landscape in which any of us would like to be looking for our next great opportunity, there are still some strategiest and resources that can help you make the most of a bad situation. Check out the following pages for some advice from Career Connections.

Want to know what Handshake does and doesn't do with user data? Read their Privacy Policy here.

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Students and Alumni

Where can Southern Oregon University take you?

EXPLORATION