As the class of 2025 gears up for graduation, the Alumni Association and Career Development Center want graduates to know that support is available after commencement.
According to Nate Scott, an assistant director of career development, career advisors for each college, who provide career support and resources for Oregon State University students, remain available for students for a year after graduation.
Additionally, he explained that OSU alumni have access to all their OSU accounts and resources for a year after graduating, and are always welcome to attend career center job fairs and events.
Scott also highlighted that exploring the alumni tab on the OSU LinkedIn and creating alumni accounts on Handshake can help alumni expand their network and find new jobs and career opportunities.
Scott emphasized the importance of networking in finding a job in the challenging and evolving job market and urged graduates to use their current network and seek ways to expand it.
“I think that networking is always important, but I think moving forward is going to become even more important,” Scott said. “It doesn’t have to be this weird, nepotism, favoritism thing, but just building your network in undergrad and reaching out to them now, as you’re looking out into the job market, is going to be of utmost importance, just building relationships with people.”
Scott also noted the importance of tailoring resumes and cover letters to specific jobs students apply for. He encourages students to practice their interviewing skills with friends and family and to take advantage of Career Center resources and handouts when looking for help crafting compelling resumes, cover letters and interview skills.
Scott also emphasizes that students should not feel like they have to have everything all figured out and encourages them to reach out.
“Students don’t realize everything we can help with. If you want to work internationally or want to try out different stuff, and go to another country or another continent, we have resources to help you there,” Scott said. “If you’re an international student yourself, if you’re trying to find work here in America, and how to secure a visa and all that, OSU has resources for all of it, and so don’t feel like you can’t ask, or I don’t know if we can do that. Either we can or we know somebody.”
After a year has passed after graduation, alumni can still consult with a career support person at the Oregon State Alumni Association for the rest of their lives and get support from OSUAA with cover letter reviews.
OSUAA provides many services, events and programs to keep alumni connected to their alma mater, including publishing the alumni magazine, the Oregon Stater.
According to John Valva, the executive director of OSUAA, the organization is a “communications engine to keep people connected to the things that they care about.”
OSUAA runs OSUConnections, an online platform for current students and alumni. According to Piper Geniza, the director of alumni engagement programs for OSUAA, the platform “is a LinkedIn only for Beavers” and offers opportunities to connect with Alumni from across the world and seek opportunities for informational interviews, mentorships, jobs, internships, networking events and otherwise expand their networks wherever they land after graduation.
According to Geniza, OSUAA also offers various opportunities to current and soon-to-be graduating students, including scholarship and ambassador programs, an upcoming free Giddy-Up Grads! “kickoff to graduation” event on June 5, a Sweet Beginnings commencement celebration after graduation, free entry to alumni events, among others.
OSUAA also organizes alumni events in Oregon and other parts of the US. Signing up for a membership allows alumni access to events and provides discounts for hotels, travel and other items. OSU graduates are gifted a free one-year membership upon graduation and are encouraged by the Alumni Association to sign up and take advantage of its offerings.
“There are 200,000 friends that you have, whether you’ve met them or not, and so that’s what’s in it for staying connected,” Valva said.
Valva encourages OSU alumni to take advantage of OSUConnections and participate in OSUAA events in their area to build relationships of all kinds.
“And who knows, they might be 25 years old. They might be 65 years old. But you walked the same trails on this campus. You’ve been in the same lecture halls. They’re nice people. Beavers are nice, and they’re there to be a social network for you, a community service, a volunteer network to meet up with people, or maybe a job,” Valva said.
For students without jobs lined up post-grad, Valva, Geniza and Scott recommend staying connected and continuing to work at it.
“You haven’t landed a job immediately, or you applied and it’s been a week and you haven’t heard anything. A lot of these things are common. It’s things that everybody is experiencing, and you’re not the only one,” Scott said.
Scott encourages grads to just keep pushing through.
“Don’t feel like the world is falling apart and you’re hopeless. There are things that we can do, and there are things that you can do, and we do everything we can to make sure you get there. Give yourself grace,” Scott said.
More information about post-graduation services provided by the Career Development Center can be found at https://career.oregonstate.edu/alumni. More information about the OSUAA can be found at https://fororegonstate.org/get-involved/welcome-to-oregon-state/class-of-2025.
