Career Services Parner: Oregon Department of Transportation

Last week, I hosted a video conference between OIT students and ODOT on the topic of summer internship applications. Blake Dye, our contact with ODOT was nice enough to share a ton of pointers for our students in order to boost their chances of landing an internship or even employment at ODOT this summer. Of course, some of the tips he shared with us could easily apply to any other job.

Naturally, before being able to apply to any job, you need to know what the job is. If you're interested in ODOT particularly, you can find their jobs at http://www.odotjobs.com. Believe it or not, the jobs aren't exclusive to Civil Engineering majors. In the video conference, Blake asked everyone for their declared major. He wasn't expecting a room only occupied with Civil Engineers! I've seen job listings on their website for plenty of other majors. Take a look!

The next step is to put together a resume. I would suggest starting one from scratch specifically for ODOT, since they're pretty well-set on their requirements. Keep in mind that what I'm writing about is stuff that Blake suggested, so it's probably a good idea to follow it!


The top portion of your resume is about you, not your qualifications. Blake suggested spending the first 1/3 of your sheet going over your Name, Hometown, Expected Graduation Date, your Major and then a brief summary of who you are and what you can do. The summary should be between 2 and 3 lines and include things like whether you prefer to work outdoors, indoors, travel, etc. Are you good at anything specific in your field, etc. Really focus on the section that mentions the fact that preference will be given to candidates that meet a certain profile. They're looking for this stuff.

Next up are your relevant skills. These are skills that tie in very closely to the job listing. One thing Blake mentioned is to include everything that could be relevant; no exception. Put Microsoft Office products on there if you know how to use them. Again, pay attention to what they're looking for, and be SURE to list how your related skills.

The next section is for relevant [job field] experience. Yes, keep it narrowed down to your experience in the job field that you're applying to work in. You will likely be working as some sort of engineer for ODOT, and so most of the time, you'll be adding your relevant engineer experience. This is anything and everything that you have done in your field. Put your senior project on there, volunteering, other unpaid internships, paid internships, part time or full time work - anything that is related to the job that you're applying for.

With what room you have left, you're going to share other experience that you might have. It doesn't have to be engineering or whatever related. This is nowhere near as important as your relevant experience, but it will show other skills that you have that can assist you in doing your job successfully. If you worked as a store manager at Ross or something, put it in there. But try to keep it narrowed down to work experience, because...

...the next, and last part of your resume is for extra curricular activities. This is stuff like playing on sports teams, being a part of a club and doing activities, math competitions, whatever. Dig deep into your memories and ask your friends! You could find plenty of things to put here, but remember. The focus should be on your relevant experience.


One reason why we're always encouraged to tailor our resumes to the job posts is because employers want to know that you're actually reading the job post. They want to know that you know what you're applying for, and that you actually want the job they listed. Because of today's saturated market of candidates, it's necessary for them to weed out those who are trying to get on a train that's going to the wrong city. That is, they don't want to consider people who are applying for a job that isn't for them.

It's okay to have a generalized resume, but if you're applying to a specific job posting, you need to be sure you're proving to the employer that you want and are qualified to do the job listed.


ODOT job posts come with a list of supplemental questions. Generally, these questions are tailored to the specific job, and help them learn more about you as a candidate. With that said, don't short change these questions!!!! The more you can write about yourself for each open-ended question, the better! If you leave it at two or three sentences, all it shows them is that you didn't care enough about the job to spend the time writing a legit answer. This is something Blake was very, very clear about. Don't sell yourself short by being short with the questions!!!


Also remember that you aren't competing with the employer for the job. You're competing with other students around the *world*. There is a huge market for candidates for any job. It's not hard for employers to generate interest in a job, and it isn't hard for employers to find someone to say yes to. Your challenge is to make it hard for them to say no to you.

Oh yeah. Don't forget to include a transcript.

Good luck!