What's Alumni Got To Do With It?

Many of us undergraduates do not see how alumni pertain to us during our undergraduate studies. In our minds, alumni are the people we will become once we finally receive our degrees; until then, we see no relationship between ourselves and the alumni of our respective schools. Unfortunately, for many of us, alumni fall into a large category of other underutilized resources provided by our tuitions.

I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of us undergraduates endeavor to land jobs once we finally graduate pass the college student stage of our lives. I think it’s also safe to assume that most of us have heard that “it’s not what you know, but who you know” when it comes to gaining positions we want. Based off of these assumptions, alumni of our universities are people we really want to know. In case you still do not understand why you should start connecting to your university’s alumni, below is a list of four benefits of doing so:

Alumni are potential mentors.

Connecting with alumni allows you to find great mentors. Young alumni are great resources, as they can relate to your stage in life and also provide you with professional insight and guidance for the stage that you’ll soon enter. Connecting with older alumni is your key to having a link to the higher positions in the companies you may want to join.

Many alumni are doing the hiring (or recommending) of candidates for internship programs.

Many entry level positions that are often held by young alumni include the responsibility of hiring applicants for internship programs or even recommending people for employment opportunities. This makes alumni the perfect people to help you figure out how to land your dream internship positions or even to hire you full-time!

Alumni in different cities can help you attain out-of-state opportunities.

Universities are filled with students from all over the country and the world. Often, alumni of a university form alumni chapters even in places other than the location of the school they attended. Developing connections with alumni in other states can help you learn about and land positions in places far from your school.

You’ll be a stand out!

Attending alumni events and networking as an undergraduate would really make you stand out, because so few undergraduates take advantage of the alumni network before they graduate—and it this case, standing out is exactly what you want to do. If you get involved with the alumni, they will be even more inclined to develop mentor relationships with you or recommend you for positions that open.

How can you connect with Alumni?

Alumni have many fun events around the city near their alma mater and even on the campus. For Temple University students, Alumni weekend is April 24-25 this year and it is full of fun opportunities to make connections. You can learn more about Alumni events at www.alumni.temple.edu or follow social media accounts like Temple Alumni. There are social media accounts for various sects of Temple alumni, including alumni in cities like New York, D. C., and Los Angeles. There are separate accounts for young alumni, LGBTQ, and various other demographics. The opportunities are plentiful and they have everything to do with you!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Jameeda Rucker.