In these dismal economic times, juniors and seniors are struggling with looming transition from the Hill to the real world and the challenges of securing a job. Through the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL), St. Olaf provides resources to help its students develop the necessary professional skills to be successful in applying and interviewing for jobs. However, one of the keys to being successful in today’s professional world is meaningful connections and networking with professionals in the applicable field.
While St. Olaf has made their Alumni Online Directory available to current students as a resource for gathering information on specific fields, occupations and geographical locations, it requires fairly active participation on the student’s part to seek out and contact appropriate alumni. The database is also limited to alumni who have completed their profiles and allow them to be viewed online.
In response to the growing dismay over spending upwards of $40,000 a year on an education that may or may not land them a job after graduation, the CEL, in conjunction with President David Anderson ‘74 and the Office of Parent and Alumni Relations, developed a new program designed to connect students directly with the alumni community through an e-mail exchange. The Career Network is a six-week pilot program, running mid-March through April, available to juniors and seniors and aimed at connecting students with the college’s alumni and parent community.
Earlier this week, President Anderson sent a request to the network of alumni and parents of current students inviting them to participate in the Career Network. Aimed at requiring a low commitment for all parties involved, alumni and parents are asked to read five student profiles a week through the six-week program and offer advice, contacts and referrals or opportunities to the students featured. Participants in the program are also able to log on to the Career Network website and browse the database of student profiles. If the alumnus or parent has meaningful advice or opportunities available for the students, he or she responds directly to the student and, ideally, meaningful connections are created.
Interested students were required to attend a presentation detailing the process, tips on creating a short profile and how to respond to parent/alumni connections. The students were provided with a URL to a site where they could create a short 500-character profile and select from a broad list of target career categories. As only five alumni receive each student’s profile each week, participants were encouraged to keep their profiles engaging, professional and unique and to select as few career-field categories as possible.
Encouraged by the impressive turnout at the information sessions, the CEL staff has high hopes for the program.
“We have no idea what to anticipate in terms of alumni and parent participation, but the program has the potential to be broad and far-reaching,” Kirsten Cahoon ’98, senior associate director of the Career Connections Program, said. “We expect the program to be wildly successful.”
However, not all students are as optimistic about the program. Chris Davis ’10, a music and theatre major, has his doubts.
“I think it will be useful, but I don’t know what people will tell me that I don’t already know,” Davis said.
Davis is interested in information and advice on how to get a job with an arts organization or management company, and thinks advice from alumni will fall along the lines of taking marketing classes.
“I guess I don’t really know what to expect,” Davis said. “Maybe I’ll be surprised.”
The St. Olaf program is modeled after a similar experiment at Carleton, the Engagement Wanted program. Developed for the spring of 2009 and limited to the senior class, about one-third of eligible students participated and more than 1,000 alumni consented to take part in the program. The feedback from the program was mostly positive and many students reported landing jobs, internships and useful advice in everything from career choices to vacation plans.
Students at the information session were concerned that the program would end after only six weeks.
“This is a savvy little program, designed and run by IIT,” Cahoon said. “If we receive positive feedback, we could keep the website hosting the profiles up for a while longer.”
St. Olaf prides itself on its promise to students to provide a supportive and enduring community. Even after leaving the Hill, alumni are eager to provide support and opportunities to current Oles. Last year, President Anderson sent a request to alumni who had been away from the college for more than 10 years, asking for internship and job opportunities. While the plea was mildly successful, the CEL received dozens of e-mails from alumni who said that while they didn’t have any opportunities now, they were more than willing to be contacted in the future by students seeking advice.
“I think this is a result of the service ethic that accompanies students when they leave St. Olaf,” said Bryan Beaudoin ’10, CEL peer advisor. “It’s a service mentality that really cultivates the sense of community and will help make this network program very successful.”
While the window to participate in the program has closed, students are welcome at the CEL, located in the Modular Village, for job, internship, and civic engagement information.
hopper@stolaf.edu
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