Job Search Advice from Fellow Alums

The recession and challenging economy have unfortunately left many alumni out of work. The following is some sound job search advice from fellow alumni who are in the search or who have recently landed new positions.

1) Utilize Social Networking Tools Such as LinkedIn.com

“In the very first week of signing up for LinkedIn, I had over 30 contacts accept me into their network. These contacts were previous managers, supervisors, and agents who had worked for me. More importantly, the contacts were people that have seen my work, have been impressed with it, and would ultimately recommend me for a position internal or external to their organization. Some of the contacts were unaware that I was looking for a position until they saw my profile. So far, all communication has been positive and professional on the LinkedIn site. LinkedIn makes it painfully easy to give someone a recommendation and encourages the reciprocation of a recommendation even if someone is not looking for a new job; these recommendations seen by the public could ultimately lead to promotions etc.

Within three days of signing up a previous manager had added me to his network and saw my qualifications. He asked me to show up on site the next day for an interview about one of my main experiences. This turned out to be pro-bono work but could ultimately lead to employment when his organization is able to hire a resource. If I had a LinkedIn account immediately when I was laid off, I would most likely be employed by now. You cannot pay enough for the networking that LinkedIn provides on a daily basis to thousands of professionals.”
-J.D. Allen, UK alumni seeking project management position