Hey Seniors, the countdown to graduation has started, and the reality of post-graduation life is becoming more real every day. To help you get ready for this transition, the Career Center will be in your inbox every week for the next seven weeks with useful tips & tricks to ensure your plans for life after UVM are shaping up as you’d like.
Engage with Alums on UVM Connect!
Getting Started
The easiest way to get started with career preparation is to find the people who want to help you. If you haven’t already, consider joining UVM Connect. There are thousands of UVM alums on the network actively willing to help fellow UVMers with career advice and networking ideas. If you haven’t joined yet, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
When you join, you’ll be asked to join a Career Interest Group as you complete your profile. Already on LinkedIn? You can import your profile info over to UVM Connect. If you’ve already joined, click the Groups tab on the left side to find groups that are right for you. Join as many as you want. Now, it’s time to leverage that network.
This short video will tell you how to set up your profile and join groups before reaching out to alums.
Search the Directory
Now that you’re in a group, search the directory for the kind of people who can help you.
- Use key words – If you’re not totally sure what you’re looking for, you can start searching by topic, job title or other words that are associated with the kind of career you want in the future. Keep in mind that your key word search will find that word anywhere in someone’s profile. Using a common word like “technician” might yield a lot of results that are not relevant to your needs.
- Filter by users Offering Mentoring – Using the filters on the right will guarantee that you are getting results that only include alums “Willing to Help” in the ways you indicated.
- Filter by Major or College – You can also search to find what other people with your major are doing. UVM Connect has a list of all majors that ever existed at UVM. Sometimes the name of a major changes, so make sure you click all majors that sound similar to what you’e looking for.
Reach out
The UVM Career Center has sample communications that can guide your outreach to alums through UVM Connect and LinkedIn. Consider dropping by the Career Center for help crafting a message of your own, or use these samples as inspiration as you reach out to alums or prospective employers.
This short video shows how to find an alum willing to provide a job shadow opportunity.
Follow-up
Be sure to follow up with a thank you message. A little bit of gratitude can go a long way. This also gives you a chance to ask a follow-up questions.
And don’t be shy about keeping in touch afterward. Hopefully your first conversation is just the beginning.
Stay tuned for our next installments every Monday morning in your inbox! And remember the Career Center is available to alums for life!
ALSO: Don’t lose touch with valuable career tools you have access to for life! Your @uvm.edu email won’t last forever so be sure to:
- Add your personal email to Handshake to maintain access to all the opportunities there.
- Learn how to update your primary email in Handshake.
- Create or update your UVMConnect account with a personal email to engage with a robust network of alums.