First-generation, job hunting students should use their college’s LinkedIn alumni page

One of the best sources of job hunting assistance for any college or university student at any campus is the school’s career service office. Sadly, it is also one of the most underused resources.

Beth Williams, Director of Career Services at Michigan Technological University, recently told me that her office always suggests that first-generation students who are searching for part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level jobs “connect with their university’s LinkedIn alumni page. Most colleges/universities have one. This is not only a great resource for students to connect with alumni, but often they can learn about current job and internship postings too.”

For Michigan Tech, its alumni page can be found by going to the LinkedIn page for the school and then clicking the Alumni tab:

From there, you can easily search by year of graduation, where the alum now resides, where they work, and more. So, if you’re a first-generation student a Michigan Tech (or any other school) and searching for an entry-level job with Ford Motor Company, you’re only a click away from seeing the 682 people that LinkedIn has identified and then only a click away from connecting with any of them.

Currently enrolled students, first-generation or not, often underestimate just how much alumni want to help. For example, our chief executive officer, Faith Rothberg, got her MBA at the University of Michigan (sorry Beth!) and then worked with its career service office to connect her with alumni in the Twin Cities as that’s where she wanted to live. She called them, they were all happy to meet with her, and one of those meetings led directly to her being hired into exactly the kind of job that she was seeking.