Advise And Consent

Alumni Association beefs up offerings with Sun Devil Career Advantage

The Alumni Association’s package of career development benefits for dues-paying members got a boost recently with the unveiling of the Sun Devil Career Advantage at the association’s Web site.

The upgrade of the online tools is part of a comprehensive effort to provide dues-paying members with an array of career services, which will also include career fairs for young alumni and seasoned professional workers, a resource guide, and an electronic library of advice on career issues, such as how to negotiate a salary increase.

According to Regina Sanborn, the association's director of member benefits and partnerships, an online survey identified career development as the top priority of potential Web site visitors, so developing career tools for members was imperative, she said.

"We have needed to figure out the specifics of what our graduates want and give it to them,” she said. “This piece addresses their specific needs.”

The centerpiece of the new Career Advantage program is the Career Advisor Network. The network is an extension of the electronic mentoring program put in place early last year, but differs in its focus in that it is more robust, and more broad-based, than the mentoring project, which was specifically aimed at pairing ASU alumni mentors with ASU students (or alumni) in a similar field.

The new network will link alumni association members of varying levels of work experience with each other. Potential advisors can determine the level of contact with seekers, and can indicate topics (such as self-employment, experiences as a minority in a particular field or industry, or business ethics) beyond job skill expertise that they would be open to discuss with an advisee. Advisors may also assist potential advisees by indicating if they would be willing to host internships or agree to pass along job openings at their company.

Another component of the alumni online career center that has changed since last year is the job board. Job openings are posted daily for companies who partner with the Alumni Association, and only active dues-paying association members may access the listings or post their resumes for partner company representatives to view.

For more information on the Sun Devil Career Advantage, visit www.asu.edu/alumni.

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