For students who are looking for jobs and internships alumni could be their greatest resource.
As Career Week commences students have many opportunities to network with alumni in their prospective fields.
“Career week is a collaborative between all of Pepperdine’s five schools and Alumni Affairs Executive Director of Alumni Affairs Catherine Kort said. All of the events that are taking place are set up to make it easier for job seekers. The number one goal has been finding jobs for students and recent graduates and alumni.”
“There are over 60 programs so you can kind of get what it is that you need Associate Dean of Students Brad Dudley said. That’s the great thing about it. It’s not a cookie-cutter thing that we made and everybody has to go through it. You can get what you need.”
Alumnus Hoan Do will be the keynote speaker tonight at the Life After College Summit. The event will take place at in Elkins Auditorium from 6 to 8 p.m. Do will offer an interactive workshop on making a successful transition from college to career.
“Hoan Do actually came in through the Pepperdine network Kort added.
For another interactive networking experience, students can also attend the Night2Network: Careers in Humanities panel in the Fireside Room tonight at 5 p.m.
We have some really great programs that we put on every year Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs Tara Lawrence said. Our Night2Network events are probably the best.”
“For Career Week the biggest thing that we’ve been doing has been bringing back alumni who are right now in careers in humanities and careers in sociology and psychology for our Night2Network events Lawrence said. We have recruited 10 to 12 alumni to come back and speak about how they’ve gotten to where they are now.”
Karin Sabin a Seaver College alumna from the class of 2008 and job seeker had one critique for this year’s networking events however. “There wasn’t really an event for the entertainment industry Sabin noted. Maybe next year for improvements they can include a networking event with alumni from that industry.”
On a positive note Sabin thought that Career Week was overall beneficial. “I think it was a great start she said. It gave me a lot to think about. There was a lot about resources that you normally don’t think about.”
Sabin encourages students to take advantage of the remaining Career Week events. “They offer so many events this week that students should check out at least one of them she said.
Although Career Week is coming to a close, students still have many opportunities throughout the year to network with alumni.
We also have a really great program called the Hang Ten Dinners Lawrence said. This is a great opportunity for students to meet alumni who will host a dinner for ten students.”
The formation of the guest lists is based on common interests or qualities of the students participating. The alumni hosts can also invite their favorite faculty or staff members. Once the guest list is final the alumni hosts will plan the type of dinner which can vary from a casual buffet to a formal affair to a themed evening.
These dinners will take place March 26 and 27. Interested students can sign up online on the Student Alumni Organization Web site.
The Career Center also offers many opportunities for students to find internships and jobs including the Internship Office and its new program Senior Advantage.
“Senior Advantage encourages seniors to come in; they sit down with a counselor and they create an action plan so that you can say ‘well I know I need to do these kinds of things’ Dudley said.
I want to emphasize that you have your Internship Office at Seaver College so that would be your first step Kort said. It’s a very powerful tool. Alumni Affairs is an additional tool that you can seek out should that not work.”
Alumni Affairs maintains a student and alumni networking community called Pepperdine Alumni Network (PAN) Online. “You can search by industry Kort said. There are about 40 different industry codes there.”
PAN Online is not limited to searching by industry alone. “There are so many ways to use the directory whether it’s based on your sorority or your class year or whatever club you were with Kort said. There are going to be discussion boards on PAN Online soon.”
There are opportunities to network with alumni over the summer when students are away from Pepperdine as well.
“Depending on what city you come from it’s highly likely that there’s an active community of alumni there already Kort said. Students can access information on alumni in their community through PAN Online.
The Alumni Affairs Office encourages students to get involved early in alumni networking.
Those relationships are key before you graduate Kort said. Don’t just start looking after you graduate. Students should do whatever they can to set themselves apart so that when a job opportunity comes up they’re the first in line.”
“Don’t be afraid of it Dudley added. If you don’t submit resumes if you don’t apply for jobs if you don’t get out and network you won’t get one— so go for it.”