Explore your career path, plan a job or graduate school search and use career-building resources. As a SUNY Potsdam student, you have access to many in-person and exclusive online resources. Start by booking an appointment or browse our assessment tools and resources listed below. Still need help? Visit us by making an appointment.
Assessment tools encourage self-awareness about who you are, what skills and strengths you already posess, and how that might apply in a professional setting. These assessments can help you explore majors and careers that align with your personality, interests, and values. You may discover information about yourself that shapes your future career!
Focus 2
- Focus2 is a personality assessment tool that matches your personality to careers and majors.
- It links your results to possible careers and SUNY Potsdam majors that match your work interests, skills, values, and preferences.
- Log in with your SUNY Potsdam credentials. Use ACCESS CODE "bears" when registering.
- Paid for with funding from students' annual Career Fee
CliftonStrengths/StrengthsQuest
- This online assessment identifies your top five talents to assist you in maximizing your potential and achieving academic, career and personal success.
- Reach out to appliedlearning@potsdam.edu to request an access code for CliftonStrengths - they are individually assigned as needed!
- Paid for with funding from students' annual Career Fee
Explore Major Options
What Can I Do With This Major? is designed to help you figure out, well, what you can do with that major! Click through to see what you might do with a major in geology, mathematics, criminal justice, community health, and whatever else you're curious about!
To look at all of SUNY Potsdam's major options, browse through our Programs of Study.
Explore Careers and Industries
- O*Net - O*Net has the best access to current data from the federal government on what jobs exist, what those careers pay, what qualifications you'll need, what kind of work you'd be doing - check it out!
- Firsthand
- Buzzfile
- Glassdoor
- WayUp
- The Muse (See sections like jobs, advice and non-employer pages.)
- MoneyUnder30 Salary Research
Want to know more first-hand about a specific career? Learn about informational interviews and job-shadowing.
By meeting with a career coach early in their college career, students will be on their way toward developing a plan that strengthens their academic experience through exploration, skill development and job or graduate school preparation.
Examples of services offered through career coaching:
- Career and Major Exploration
- Personality Assessment Reflection and Goal Setting
- Resume and Cover Letter Critiques
- Tips on Networking
- Interview Prep and Mock Interviews
- Job/Internship Search Strategies and Tools
- Graduate School Application Assistance
- Personal Branding/LinkedIn Advice
-
Professional Development Resources
Resume Resources
- Skillsfirst resume builder is where we recommend that you start for resume examples and formatting tools.
- Easy to use, with dozens of professional templates to choose from. Just fill in your info!
- Log in with your SUNY Potsdam credentials.
- Paid for with funding from students' annual Career Fee
- More help can be found here:
Cover Letter Resources
- Skillsfirst cover letter builder is the best place to start to write a cover letter that will get you noticed.
- You can choose from dozens of types of letters and visual designs.
- The pre-written templates will help you say just the right thing for the occasion.
- Log in with your SUNY Potsdam credentials.
- Paid for with funding from students' annual Career Fee
- More help can be found here:
- Use this worksheet to prepare to write about yourself.
- Evaluate your own cover letter using this rubric.
- Here is an older guide, full of advice that's still useful!
Peer Advisors
Our paid peer advisors are trained and available to help students create and refine their resumes and cover letters. Make an appointment with a peer advisor through Starfish.
Job Postings
- Search Handshake for job postings.
- Employers post jobs to SUNY Potsdam's Handshake because they're interested in our graduates.
- Log in with your SUNY Potsdam credentials. Paid for with funding from students' annual Career Fee
- Zippia
- Idealist
- Backdoorjobs
- Inclusive Employer Job Search
On Campus Employment
Looking to find a job on campus. This is the place to start!
NY State
Hoping to work for New York State? Start here, to learn the (sort of complicated!) processes involved in getting hired. Apply for jobs at State Government Careers.
Internships
View SUNY Potsdam Internship Information.
Job Guides
Search Handshake for remote jobs using these instructions.
More guides coming soon...please check back.
Networking
For Future Teachers
- Creating Your Pre-Student Teaching Resume Guide
- Teacher Resume Samples
- Creating a Portfolio
- What to Include in a Teacher Portfolio
Professional Development
Additional Helpful Links
- Our Ability - an online portal for people with disabilities
- LGBTQ+ Job Resources
- Interview Prep
- Jobscan - beat the ATS
- Job Search Resources for Music Majors and more guides coming soon...please check back.