Did You Miss Career Connection?

We recently held an event in the Union called Career Connection. Alumni and friends of Brockport sat on panels discussing their careers then met in the Ballroom for some networking. It was a great success.

Oh, you missed it?

That's okay, it's online! We actually have a database that houses contact information for many of our participating alumni. You can log into your Banner account, click on Career Services then Career Connection and BAM! you can search for alumni in your future career field.

While perusing the list of alumni, check out some of the suggestions they make. They talk about general topics such as networking, interviewing, resumes, etc. to more specific tips relating only to their career fields. Either way, these suggestions can benefit you.

Once you've looked through the list, you should have found at least one person worth speaking to about your future career. Each person provides his/her contact information as well as what he/she would be willing to discuss. Most are pretty open about their career paths and happy to share their stories and insights with you.

You may feel nervous, as I would, about contacting this stranger, but they provide their contact information willingly and in the hopes of helping current students. They know how you feel picking up the phone to call a stranger because they've probably had to do it many times in their careers. They also know how nerve-wracking and difficult it is to jump into a career, so please utilize their expertise!

If you're uncomfortable calling an alum right off the bat, try an email. Just remember to keep it professional. Make sure to introduce yourself as a student at Brockport who retrieved his/her name and contact information from the College's Career Connection database. Also, make sure to sign your full name. It's very frustrating to receive an email from a Jen when you know multiple girls with that name and spelling.

What if you already know quite a bit about your career field and find talking to someone about their time in the field as completely pointless? Well first, kudos to you for researching your career field! But, keep in mind that while these alumni may not be as helpful for you in continuing research about your intended field, they are still people in your network that you can utilize. Getting to know alumni is an excellent step into your career field. They may know of companies hiring for interns or full-time employees. They may also be able to give you invaluable insights into a company's inner-workings. These types of connections are more important than some people think.

Okay, so I know you are all going to visit the Career Connection database now so here is the link to Banner. Here is another link to an article discussing Informational Interviewing techniques and etiquette. You should look it over prior to meeting with an alum. Good luck!