Don't think that once you've snatched your diploma, your relationship with your alma mater has ended. And no, we're not talking about those big school loans. Many schools offer services to alumni for years after graduation. This can be a great support system if you need to find a new job or career. After all, schools want to create a lifelong bond with graduates, and an important element of a school's ranking is the placement office.
MonsterLearning talked with Herb Crowder, director of alumni career services at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, and Ann Cesare, director of alumni and community relations at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, to find out how they help recent and long-ago students land new jobs.
Why go back to your school?
Decades ago, a career placement office may have been there to help alumni land their first jobs, but that was all. Today, according to Crowder, "we have moved away from a position of a very few careers and a very few job changes."
Crowder's office took a survey of half of Darden alumni who graduated since 1957 and found that those graduating in the '50s, '60s and '70s had about three different careers and usually five to six different employers. Now he reports finding "for the group coming out of the '90s, and certainly the post-2000 group…, a much accelerated pattern…of probably five to six different careers and as many as 10 to 12 employers during their working career." No matter what your field, the career change pace has quickened. Your alma mater can be a source of stability to counter your work life's turbulence.
What are the most common ways alumni services can help you?
- Networking: Schools have active alumni who will speak with other alumni about job searching. A well-organized alumni office will have graduates categorized by region, industry and job. This system provides you with instant informational interview candidates and, possibly, insider job leads.
- Job skills training: Alumni services often include coaching in vital skills such as interviewing, resume and cover letter writing and job search techniques. This is particularly useful if you need to learn new practices and strategies or are under 30 and have only looked for jobs in a booming economy.
- Counseling: Placement services may have contacts with counselors qualified to discuss your particular situation one-on-one. This is especially helpful if you aren't sure what you want to do next.
- Links to businesses with ties to the school: Businesses with ties to a school will use alumni placement offices to find employees. Today, many schools offer private job posting Web sites.
- Recommended resources: Alumni offices may know of other organizations that would be helpful in your job search. The Darden School has a number of affiliations, including an outplacement firm, and is often able to offer slight discounts for alumni use.
Are these services free?
Cesare notes that while UC, Colorado Springs offers alumni services for free, some alumni offices charge a fee. Be sure to find out about any fees for services if you choose to contact your school.
What if you're outside the school's local area?
Many businesses affiliated with a particular school are located nearby, so their job listings may not be useful if you live out of the area. However, alumni services can usually arrange networking, skills building and counseling online or by telephone. In addition, alumni near you, far from your alma mater, may be more eager to help than if you were one of many recent grads knocking on their door from the school around the corner.
You need to muster all the resources you can to conduct a job search today. According to Cesare, few alumni know about or take advantage of alumni services. Find out what your alma mater can do for you: Call your alumni office or check the school's Web site to learn about services to help you learn and earn.
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