College & University Career Centers are not just for students or entry-level job seekers. This valuable resource is often under utilized by experienced managers and professionals. Many universities and colleges are committed to helping their alumni succeed in the ever competitive business world. To meet a growing need for career guidance and job hunting support, Colleges are supplying more career services to their alumni. Many offices work with alumni, and occasionally members of the local community, at no cost or for low fees.
Networking Resources
Remember that conducting a job search requires much more than just putting your resume on a job board. Networking is one of the best ways to find resources on job opportunities, the career field, or company and industry information.
Many alumni associations now publish online databases that list former graduates who have volunteered to help new grads and other alums with their job hunts. If your school has these services, you can search for alumni by industry, job title, geographic location or employer. These alums might have contacts with hiring managers, be willing to refer your resume to the right person, serve as a mentor, and share information about employment opportunities.
Career & Employment Resources
Career centers assist alumni by providing job search instruction. Counselors critique resumes, offer interview practice, help in planning a job search, and offer assistance in locating career information. Often the career center will provide local, regional, and national job listings. It may send resumes to employers or recommend the right person to contact.
Most College & University Career Centers have extensive lists of career and job seeking resources and often this information is available online. You don't need to be an alum to use this information. Simply visit the Career Center web page and look for the information useful in your job search.
Tips for Your Job Search
Most job seekers concentrate their efforts on the large commercial job sites and do not use or visit college & university web sites. Since these sites are under utilized, the sophisticated manager, professional or executive job seeker will take full advantage of these resources. Use the a College & University Directory to locate the schools that could be useful in your job search. At a minimum your job search should include a visit to your college web site and the web sites of any colleges in your target job location. Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference.
Employers can usually post jobs on a College Career Center for free or at a nominal cost. These sites often have jobs that are not available on commercial job sites or widely distributed to the public. Responding to jobs of interest should be a priority due to the low competition factor.
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