Duck Connect is a new customizable search tool for students to connect with potential employers. Launched by the Career Center in June, the new system replaces the UO-JobLink that allowed students to search for jobs and internships. Duck Connect includes more features than UO JobLink had, making it easier for both students and employers to connect with each other.
Career Center Director Daniel Pascoe says the new tool can be used for finding networking events, career fairs, workshops and making appointments. It allows students to set what is called an “event agent” to be notified when jobs or events in a specific field are posted.
“It’s a tool that can be customized, which is a very exciting part of it,” Pascoe said. The Career Center is working with other advising programs across campus to provide Duck Connect as a useful tool to all students. It is also working with other universities in Oregon to develop a system that would allow employers to post job opportunities at multiple schools at one time.
“The Lundquist career services office, the University of Oregon Alumni Association, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts PODS office and the Career Center — we are administering Duck Connect together,” Pascoe said.
To get started on Duck Connect, log in through the Career Center and be sure to opt-in to receive emails from the system. The more detailed your profile is, the more events and opportunities the system can alert you about.
Pascoe stressed the importance of being motivated when it comes to searching for jobs.
“The students who succeed and who end up in the jobs they want, the jobs we want them to have, are the ones who are proactive. We know that organizing events and putting together opportunities is very important…but we also need a tool that allows us to put up those opportunities. This is the most accessible set of opportunities students have because we make them available for University of Oregon students.”