Hope Siler graduated with honors from the Economics department at the University of Oregon in 2002. Her honors thesis examined the factors that affect child abuse rates in Oregon counties and Hope has a passionate desire to make a difference with respect to children in her future career path.
Hope's first job after graduation has been as a staff economist with an economics consulting firm in Protland, Oregon, Economic Insight, Inc. She recently participated in a UO economics alumni panel and shared her unique story of job search in the tough economic climate of 2002 - the year she graduated. She started her job search way before school ended with little luck. After graduation was complete the job search went into full throttle for about four months, an amount of time that seemed like an eternity to her. Resumes were going out left and right to every sort of company, local as well as nationally. Hope found it very redundant as well as frustrating that she had put in so much time to get her degree and nothing seemed to be working out. Finally, she was contacted by Economic Insight. She interviewed with the company and this time was successful, and she was offered a job. She took it happily and now she makes up the fifth person in the company. After she was hired she asked what made her stand out, and her boss replied that there were many applications but the thing that stood out the most was that Siler was the only one that sent out a thank you card. A very simple gesture set her apart from the rest. This was one of the best things that I walked away with on the day of the panel, I found out that it is the little things that make the difference, and in this case something as simple as a thank you card.
Siler’s thank you card may have been the final “push” to get her into a company, but it wasn’t all that she did to become successful. Planning was the biggest piece of advice from Siler, this included making sure to tailor your resume. Each company wants something different, so making sure your resume fits what they are looking for is essential. Another great point was to take your time. To most college students it seems crucial to get out of college and be established; sometimes this is not the case. Siler told us that finding the right job at a later time is better then getting a job you hate right away, and starting at the entry level is also important. Working your way up is easier then starting high and getting moved down, and that a low wage is better then no wage. Shooting for the stars is a very feasible goal, but it needs to be taken in steps.
After a couple of years out of school and working, Siler has decided to take time out of her job and start school at the graduate level. She will be getting her graduate degree in public affairs on a full ride to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her area of concentration will be education administration as she would like to use her economics skills to help better structure public policy toward educating our youth.
She feels that there is so much more that she hasn’t learned and getting an undergrad degree was only the start of her quest for knowledge. Siler’s economics degree has helped her in her work and her goals in life. We at the economics department wish her the best of luck in her future and would also like to thank her for coming in a sharing her experiences with the students in the department.
Profile by Andrew Wills (2004)