As the 2003 fall semester comes to a close, many fourth years anxiously are contemplating life after graduation and the dreaded job search that may lie ahead.
Some students anticipate graduation with dismay. Weekend frat parties, bar nights, football games and homecoming weekends soon will end, only to be replaced with the monotonous nine-to-five of the "real world."
Other students, however, look optimistically toward this transition as an opportunity to establish their place within society.
Regardless of their outlook in the upcoming job search, many fourth years question whether University students have the support of alumni to help them land that crucial first job.
This question remains somewhat ambiguous according to Jennifer Hoffman, associate director of the employer services team at University Career Services.
"There are many alumni who recruit in invisible ways that may never be known by the University," Hoffman said.
Despite this somewhat mysterious nature of networking between alumni and graduating students, there are several ways in which alumni work through the University to recruit graduating students.
"We are very high in alumni support compared to other schools," Hoffman said. "I receive about five calls a week from alumni who have a vacancy and want to post it here at U.Va."
Director of Alumni Career Services Kendra Nelson said she often is contacted by employers who want to hire University graduates.
Nelson added that this is because the person recruiting for the company often is a University alumnus or perhaps because the company has hired University alumni before who have proven successful within their company.
University alumna Stephanie Creekmur, now an employee for GIECO, explained the company's recruiting process.
"GIECO's recruiting strategy is very targeted and focuses on some of the top colleges and universities across the country," Creekmur said. "We have large offices in nine states, and our goal is to hire as many talented students as possible. We look for a balance of academic achievement and leadership skills which we've found at top notch universities like U.Va."
In addition, Creekmur stressed the value of a University education.
"U.Va. is a great school -- of course I am biased -- so we would be smart to consider U.Va. graduates and how they would fit into our program," she said.
When it comes to initial contact, Creekmur said there aren't any rules.
"As far as who contacts whom, it really goes both ways," she said. "We make sure that we have a strong presence on campus, which in turn attracts students to our company. We encourage students to visit us at career fairs and to be on the look out for us on campus when we are at information sessions and various other activities."
According to Hoffman, one of the best ways for graduating students to get in contact with University alumni is through a computer database program called UCAN, which stands for University Career Assistance Network.
"To access the UCAN database first log onto www.hoosonline.com which is the online directory for all registered U.Va. alums," Hoffman said. "Within hoosonline there's a sub database, UCAN, and that's where U.Va. alum and students can network and search for job opportunities."
Although UCAN includes alumni who have volunteered to be mentors to University students, Nelson warned that it is "not a job site, it's a networking site."
The site is designed for students to contact alumni in an effort to gain more information about the field or profession they are interested in and ideally to start networking within that field.
Nelson said UCAN is quite a successful database with 1,100-1,300 hits per month from both students and alumni. Students can log on to the system if they are a current member of the Alumni Association.
If they are not current members, however, Hoffman said students may go to Career Services located on the second floor of Bryant Hall where any student is able to access the system.
Another important network between University alumni and current students that can lead to future job opportunities is the on-Grounds interviewing many fourth-year students already have participated in this year.
Hoffman said the process starts when students submit resumes in September and continues with interviews in October, November, December, February and March.
According to Hoffman, about 45 percent of employers who come to recruit University students through on-Grounds interviewing are University alumni themselves.
While third years often use on-Grounds interviewing as an opportunity to obtain summer internships, she said fourth years utilize this service in order to look for full-time job opportunities.
University Career Services works hard to maintain connections with alumni and help fourth-year students obtain jobs after graduation. As the University remains a highly-ranked academic institution, the prospect of obtaining these jobs through the support of alumni seems to be increasing.
"We are just starting to aggressively recruit college graduates for our company and do not yet have an estimate on the number of U.Va. students we hire per year," Creekmur said. "In the future, I hope for that number to be very high."
In spite of the troubling economy over the last couple of years, alumni have supported University students and provided them with a promising network of job prospects that span the country. In return, the alumni reap the benefits of attracting some of the brightest, most dedicated young talent available.
And so the cycle continues. Fourth years become alumni, who become successful professionals, who support the next generation of University students in their quest for the perfect job.
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