Career management services: Make the most of your student experience

There are a plethora of career management services available at PSU’s School of Business. The options range from co-creating comprehensive career action plans, to securing a mentor who has knowledge in your field of interest. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a list of resources to help you make the most of your student experience:

Professional mentoring

Whether you’re a Portland native or new in town, The Professional Mentor Program is designed to help you strategically expand your professional network. Students are matched with mentors based on roles, companies or industries of interest. Students are invited to participate in the program during fall of their first year.

“One of the main reasons why I applied to PSU was the mentor program, but to be honest I had no idea how much it would positively influence my experience. Although I still have a year to go, I am positive that the mentor program will be one of the highlights of my MBA.” —International MBA Student

Job and internship search

Students are encouraged to have internships during their program to supplement the academic curriculum with real-world experience. PSU provides an array of services to help you secure your dream internship:

Job search coaching: Job search coaching services are provided by the career advising team.

Career fairs: The School of Business hosts an invitation only annual career fair for business students, and PSU hosts a few school-wide fairs throughout the year. Career fairs are excellent opportunities to network, develop relationships with recruiters and perhaps even land an interview.

“Remember to network! If the idea of networking seems weird, remember this — it’s all about building a relationship based on helping each other out. Always consider what you can do to help others, no deed is too small.” —Scott Miller, MRED ‘17

Handshake: Handshake is a student’s hub for connecting with employers who are hiring, recent graduates and alumni. Handshake is where jobs and internships are posted, as well as announcements about upcoming career events.

Resume building

The School of Business provides a wide variety of student organizations and competitions for students to gain real-world experience. Some of the organizations include Athletic and Outdoor Connect (A&O Connect), Financial Management Association (FMA), Women in Business (WIB) and many more.

Student competitions vary from CFA Institute Research Challenge, a global financial analysis competition in New York City, to the Cleantech Challenge, where students take their cleantech innovation from concept to reality.

Career advising

Overwhelmed by the amount of resources available? Still don’t know where to start? Utilize the career advising services to craft an individualized plan to get you from where you are to where you want to be. As a current student, you can make a one-on-one appointment to meet with our Professional Development Specialist, Allen Thayer. Appointments can be done in person, on the phone or via Skype.

“The key to growth and change, for me, was reaching out to my advisors and utilizing them as resource throughout my journey in the MBA program and even after the program.They introduced me to community members who were actively a part of industries I wanted to be in, helped me re-create and revive my resume to be more competitive and even actively connected me with internship opportunities in industries I wanted to explore and advocated for me as a reference.” —Shadi Ehfad, MBA ‘15