Six Degrees of Graduation
Alumni Web site unveils career development section
By Liz Massey

It’s not just what you know. And it’s not just who you know. When you’re searching for a job, knowing how to get the right information out of those you know is also crucial.

This spring the ASU Alumni Association is fast-tracking the job-hunting process for alumni association members. In April, the association launched a Web page where employers can post jobs, and alums can promote their skills and abilities to future employers. Alumni and current students who travel to the Web site will also be able to review a database of willing networking contacts who have agreed to share their work-related expertise.

The new services are being provided as a result of a partnership with Harris Internet Services, the company that provides database and technical support for the association’s online alumni directory. The career module will allow active alumni association members to post resumes and search job postings. Alumni business owners can post positions directly to the site or view the resumes of potential applicants for free, regardless of membership status.

Deb Taylor, vice president of business development at Harris, noted that her company provides a career module similar to ASU’s to more than 200 public and private universities in the United States. The service has become vital to associations in order to meet the most pressing needs of their clientele, she said.

“Alumni are approaching their universities about career issues, and it’s important for alumni associations to have a mechanism in place to help them,” Harris asserted.

Many networking success stories start with a shared connection, and harnessing school-related friendships for professional gain is a common strategy in the business world. The alumni association Web site will build upon this dynamic by offering a list of ASU alums who are open to networking conversations.

Alumni, as well as current students, will be able to use the networking tool for career decision-making and informational interviewing. ASU graduates may want to consider working both sides of the networking street, as the association is seeking additional alumni to join the program. Alumni interested in being a networking contact fill out an electronic form describing their educational background and areas of business expertise.

The career section of the Alumni Association’s Web site was created in direct response to alumni requests, according to Regina Sanborn, director of research and sponsorship. With 42 percent of the university’s graduates under 40, and with an online survey identifying career development as the top priority of potential Web site visitors, developing career tools on the site was imperative, she said.

Sanborn added, “We have needed to figure out the specifics of what our graduates want and give it to them. This is the major component of what we have to offer to younger alumni — this piece addresses their specific needs.”

She said the online career tools are only part of an ongoing effort to leverage the skills and experiences of the university’s alumni to benefit the careers of fellow alumni and students. Other efforts include co-sponsoring live networking events; hosting smaller college- or school-centric networking mixers; and working with corporate partners to ensure the Web site’s job-posting area contains high-quality announcements of interest to mid- and senior-level applicants.

The alumni association’s implementation of the Harris career tools builds on previous efforts to connect alumni and students for mutual benefit, said Kristy Westphal MBA ’95, a current member of the association’s board of directors and a former chair of Career Advisement, Resources & Education, the committee responsible for the association’s career-related programming from 1996 to 2000. Facilitating networking among alumni can have a payoff in terms of increased loyalty to the university and cause graduates to more positively value their connection to ASU, she said.

“The biggest benefit a college can provide for its alumni is to find them a job — that’s what we go to school for,” Westphal said.

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Career Tools available at the Alumni Association's Web Site