Leveraging Alumni to Help Students' Careers

The Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University recently greatly expanded the way it leverages its 11,000 alumni to help students explore their careers, develop networking connections, and ultimately find jobs after graduation. An effective partnership was established between the Office of Alumni Relations, the Office of Student Affairs, and the Office of Career Services, working jointly with highly involved alumni, especially those who volunteer on the Alumni Board's Alumni Mentoring Committee.

Through ongoing communication and cooperation among all stakeholders, the following achievements have taken place:

* For the first time ever, a Washington DC Career Week event, in which over 50 students travelled to DC to visit 18 different organizations (ranging from HHS, OSHA, FDA, the State Department, and Congressional Budget Office, to the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, PAHO, MCHIP/Jhpiego, NORC at the University of Chicago, and AIR), as well as a student-alumni mixer

* Establishment and expansion of an online networking platform as part of the Career Services job database, which expanded the number of alumni mentors from 630 to 1,030; and proactive use of the LinkedIn group to engage students, alumni and stakeholders

* Leveraging alumni abroad by creating the first-ever Skype presentation with two alumni in Geneva, representing WHO and Global Development, Inc., as well as a mixer in Geneva for 6 students conducting practica abroad

* Increasing the number of in-person networking mixers and student-organized alumni-student mixers and panels

Logistics regarding the design and delivery of alumni-student networking programs, including planning and staff support required, will be outlined.