Leveraging Your Alumni Network In Your Job Search
How to get the most out of your alumni network
When searching for a job, many of us tend to forget one extremely beneficial resource: our alumni networks. Leveraging your alumni network is a fantastic way to build new relationships, foster new contacts and expand your job search. If you aren’t tapping into their resource, you are likely missing out on valuable chances to make great career hunt connections. In this blog post, you will find tips that will guide you to maximizing the potential of your alumni network.
Be specific when targeting potential connections
Your first instinct may be to contact as many people in your alumni network as possible, you should avoid doing so. Sending out requests in bulk will not be effective or well received. You will be more successful if you reach out to specific, targeted individuals.
One way to ensure you are making successful connections is to use social media tools to research potential connections. You want to find out about their background and interests to determine if contacting them will be beneficial to your job search, and to ensure you aren’t wasting their time, too.
Don’t just connect when and because you need a job, it will come off as insincere
You want to be proactive when connecting with your alumni network. If you only become involved when you need a job, your efforts will seem insincere and people will not be as willing to help you out.
You want to develop a friendship and a solid relationship long before you need help finding a job. If and when the time comes you need help in your job search, then you will have already established good relationships with fellow alums who will be very willing to help you out.
At networking events, try to find common experiences
When attending alumni networking events, it’s possible that you won’t know anyone there. While this may sound like a daunting situation, you must be prepared for its occurrence and know how to make the most out of the event.
To make lasting connections with alums you’ve never met before, try to find common experience from your days at your alma mater. Of course you will have the standard “When did you graduate?” and “What was your major?” discussions, but if you want to really form a solid connection, make your best effort to go beyond these basic conversations. Ask questions about where they lived on campus, what groups or clubs they were members of, anything that you could have also been involved in. Having a shared college experience will lead to a better conversation and, potentially, better opportunities for finding a job.
Stay up to date on events relating to your alma mater
You will want to stay current on the goings-on at your alma mater. One way to do this is to sign up for newsletters and announcements. Not only is it great to stay up to date on events at your university, it can also help you out when it comes to targeting and networking. Information about fellow alums and their careers can be highlighted in newsletters, which you can use to your advantage in your job hunt.
Get in touch with alums through your university’s career or alumni center
Your university most likely has an alumni center or a career center, which is a valuable resource to tap into, especially if you are still a student. Try visiting these locations and speaking with counselors who can put you in touch with alums. You can use these connections to ask for advice or assistance in your job search.
Utilize your college’s business directory
Your alma mater most likely has a directory that lists where many of their alums are currently working. You can use this resource as a way of making new contact and inquiring about job availabilities. Again, you want to try to do this before you graduate or do it before you need the help to make it as sincere as possible.
If you still live close to your alma mater, get involved in campus events
Not only is this a great way to get involved and give back to your university, it will allow you to build new connections with other fellow alums. Through these connections, you can form valuable relationships as well as search out new job possibilities.