• This validates your status as a Pitt alumnus,
• and provides you with a UserID and Password to access the Pitt Career Network and other alumni online services.

• Click on Volunteer as a Contact and enter your User ID and Password.

Enter all relevant information in the four steps of the profile.
• Current Professional Information
  
• Contact Information
• Past Professional Experience
  
• Academic Information

• When you update your profile, you can change the profile from Active to Inactive if you do not wish to be contacted for a period of time.

• Click on Update Information and enter your User ID and Password.

• When you update your Current Professional Information, your former position will be transferred into the Past Professional Experience section.

• Click on Search the Network.

Choose to search by ALL or ANY of your criteria. When searching by ALL criteria, only profiles matching all of your criteria will be displayed.

Select Click here for help with searching the Career Network at the top of the search page.

You might begin by providing a bit of background about yourself – make it clear that you are not merely seeking a job or internship but would like to learn about their job or career field. Most alumni are very willing to be contacted regarding their experience and expertise, but may not be as generous with time if they sense that you are ‘hounding’ them for a position within their company. Click here for examples of good and bad correspondence.

Once you have composed your email it will be sent to the alum networker via the messaging form. Any reply emails will be sent directly to your email account.

Alumni networkers will not expect you to have full knowledge of their industry or job position, but you should have at least some general idea about the business. You may also wish to do some research about their business or job function in order to formulate some useful questions. Some things you may want to ask about include:

• What skills, qualifications are needed for work in your field?

• What career path did you take to get here? What are the most common kinds of work experience that lead to positions like yours?

• What might you have done differently in starting out based on what you now know?

• Can you tell me about the industry outlook in your area?

• Are there courses I should be taking in college to help prepare me?

• Should I seek to gain experience in specific areas?

• What do find most enjoyable about your job? What do you find most challenging?

By organizing your thoughts beforehand, you will make the best use of his or her time and yours.


Informational Interviews

• Set up an informational interview with a contact via letter or e-mail. Confirm the meeting by phone.

• Remember that you are the interviewer, not the interviewee. You are there to learn more about the contact's career field, specific job functions and/or to evaluate an organization as a potential employer.

• Be prepared for this meeting; do some research in advance, prepare a list of questions, dress appropriately, take a resume and a pen and paper for notes.

• Ask for further referrals if appropriate.

• Remember to thank them with a note within a few days of the meeting, even if you only spoke over the phone.

• Keep track your contacts. It is a good idea to write to your contacts once you find a job, as they may want to ask you for help in the future.

Job Shadowing

Job shadowing is an excellent way to experience the day-to-day activities of a particular career. Once you have developed an area of interest, spending a day with someone who is actually working in that career can be a real eye-opening experience. No other form of networking allows such direct access to observing the nature of a job, the duties and skills of an occupation, and the professional environment surrounding the position.

Once you identify an alumni contact in the Pitt Career Network who you would like to meet, send a letter or e-mail asking for the opportunity to job shadow. Then follow up with a phone call or e-mail asking for the opportunity to schedule a day or a half day that would be most convenient for the company and with the person's schedule. Let them know that you are flexible and that you appreciate any time they can give you.

Be prepared for this meeting; research in advance, prepare questions related to your expectations, dress appropriately, take a resume and a pen and paper for notes. Remember to thank them with a hand-written note within a few days of the shadowing. Take notes and keep track of your contacts and your shadowing experiences so you can evaluate how you want to pursue your job search. It is a good idea to write to your contacts once you find a job, as you may be able to work together in the future.

What’s next

After your initial exchange, be sure to thank the alumnus or alumna. This cannot be emphasized enough; it is a simple gesture that many overlook. Not only are you expressing appreciation for a professional courtesy that has been extended to you, but also making a potential connection for the future.

If the initial contact was successful, you may well find continued contact to be beneficial. Continued communication between you and a networker would take place outside of the Pitt Career Network in any fashion that is mutually acceptable to you both.