Finding Jobs or Creating Your Own
Finding employment in Bend, Oregon isn’t difficult, it just depends on the industry you’re looking to be in. In Bend, jobs in healthcare reigns supreme as the largest employment sector, followed by retail, hospitality, professional, scientific and technical services, and education to round out the top five industries.
The unemployment rate in Bend is at 4.3%, slightly above the national average of 3.7%. A low unemployment rate tends to favor job seekers as qualified labor options for employers become scarce. To help get you started, here’s a list of the largest employers in Bend.
There are really three ways to secure employment in Bend: searching through job postings and applying, networking or starting your own business.
Scanning through job postings online either on company websites or job posting sites like Indeed are the traditional way of finding a position, but can also be a slower endeavor and your resume will have to work hard as you’ll be in the blind mix to potential employers along with many others.
As Bend is a relatively smaller city, it’s not very difficult to get plugged in to the business community via networking and informational meetings. Connecting with the Bend Chamber staff via LinkedIn, for example, is a good way to start making connections locally and creating your business network.
If you’re planning to start your own business, there are several resources at your disposal to help you get up and running. First and foremost, contact the City’s Business Advocate for direction on the requirements for establishing a business in Bend. Then, leverage the economic data for the region from EDCO to help you in creating your business plan. They also have channels available for funding new ventures through the Bend Venture Conference as well as a Stable of Experts, volunteer seasoned professionals who mentor and help guide scalable startups.
