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Starting last year (June 2008), the UO Career Center began surveying our graduating seniors to assess what their post-graduation plans were. This year, we were happily surprised to find that our graduating class had about the same number of students employed at graduation as last year; in fact it was a little higher! Thirty-four percent of the graduating class of 2009 had accepted a job offer by June 2009 vs. 30% in 2008. There was also an increase in students choosing to go to graduate school, up about 5% from last year. Salaries were a bit lower this year as well. Our top employers remained the same; Peace Corps and Teach for America.

The Senior Survey also allowed students to give the Career Center some feedback and let us know what we could be doing better. Thanks to that feedback, we have developed the following initiatives:

• We'll have Career Center booths set up at all the Career Fairs offering additional assistance to students in their job search. The next Career Fair is Nov. 12 in the EMU Ballroom from 12 to 5 p.m.
• We are updating our website and hope to launch the updated version by Winter Term
• We are proactively reaching out to local and regional employers to engage them on campus
• We've repositioned our Student Advisory Board to work as liaisons with departments and student groups in order to reach you better

We are here to help! Come into the UO Career Center and begin the job search conversation with one of our career counselors today. This is a great way to get a sounding board, develop strategies, perfect your resume and get a head start. START EARLY! I cannot stress this enough. Begin researching industries, employers and opportunities NOW! While there are several employers hiring, they are doing so conservatively this year. You will be at an advantage if you get on the ball early! 

The Career Center is located on the second floor of Hendricks Hall (across from the EMU) in room 220. Call us at (541) 346-3235 to schedule an appointment with a Career Counselor or sign up for drop-in, available Monday – Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We hope to see you soon!

photo from Flickr by Ville Miettinen