By the Career Center
Alumni and students may access alumni in various industries, companies, and geographic locations for career research and exploration. You may retrieve alumni contact names from the Online Alumni Directory (http://pepperdine.alumsys.com).
The Alumni Directory is designed to assist you in networking with other Pepperdine alumni for career research. It is not a placement service or a marketing base to sell your products and services (although they do have a yellow pages section for this purpose). The time that alumni can provide to you will depend on their own professional demands and schedules in the period that you are seeking information. Most alumni want to help, are honored when asked, but only have brief time to spare.
Keep in mind that the person you are contacting is a networking lead who may be able to refer you to other resources. Therefore, it is important to proceed with appropriate business protocol. Some of the information on the database may be outdated because the data is only updated when alumni notify us. In order to better serve you in the future, do send us feedback on the process.
To login to the Online Alumni Directory you need your student ID and date of birth. Once connected, you can enter data in the upper right hand search box. This field is an AI field (artificial intelligence) and seeks words that match the input in ALL fields of the database. This means that you can find alumni who know about an industry, even if they might not currently work in this industry. You can also search by geographic location, job title or company name.
To initially introduce yourself, please make contact by mail or e-mail. Do not telephone the alumnus’ office or home phone numbers unless invited to do so. Below is a suggested script for meeting your contact, but remember that the best approach will include your own personal touch.
Script:
“Hello, I am a graduate of Pepperdine University, class of ______. I recently requested information for contacts and career exploration in the field(s) of ____________ and your name was obtained from the Alumni Directory as someone knowledgeable in this area. My goals include __________________.
If your schedule permits, will you contact me at your earliest convenience to assist with my career research and answer brief questions? Realizing your time is very valuable, a phone call, e-mail or short meeting would be very helpful; or a referral to a professional association in the area. You can reach me at ___________.”
I hope that the alumni contacts will provide you with beneficial networking opportunities. If you have any questions or suggestions please contact the Alumni Office for your school. Good luck and frequently check the Seaver College Career Center, or the Alumni Career Program, for upcoming programs, at http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/studentaffairs/careercenter/alumni/. We are here to help you through the challenging tasks of new, internship or transitional job opportunities.
— Need help making post-college plans? E-mail SeaverCareerCenter@pepperdine.edu.
February 13, 2003
