About the Alumni Mentoring Program

If you are a rising senior who will be on campus throughout your senior year and have a clear career goal, you are eligible to request to be matched with an alumni mentor, who can:

- - help you plan strategies to enter their career field,
  - assist with networking, introducing you to colleagues in their fields,
  - critique your resume from an insider's perspective,
  - give you a mock interview,
  - give you an insider's view of the field,
  - help you keep on track during your busy senior year,
  - in short, assist you with anything you need to get started toward your goal.

Sound great? Of course! Still, before you sign up, ask yourself which of the following is best for you:

If you have a clear career goal and are at least fairly confident that you can achieve it, then working with an alum in that field through the Career Center's Alumni Mentor Program will be a great help to you. There are 3 levels of intensity in the program:

1. Informational Interviewing (brief, one-time): Are you at the point where you'd like to narrow down a few options, and don't want just to read about them on-line or in a book? With this option, you will contact alumni in the field you're considering, drawn from a list we'll run for you in the Career Center. To get started with this option, e-mail us with the specific field and city (not region) you're targeting, with "Alumni Mentor" in your subject line, and we will search for alumni matches and give you tips on how to approach them.

2. Hanover Career Alumni Network (assistance provided as needed): Would you like to work with alumni, but prefer not make a full-year commitment to the relationship? Join our networking group on LinkedIn.com, our professional networking site for new graduates and seasoned Hanover alumni. HanoverCAN links new Hanover graduates with alumni professionals to facilitate mentoring and networking between them. Alumni members offer insight and advice to new grads, and provide them networking and job leads. To get started with this option, set up a profile on LinkedIn and email us for an invitation to the Hanover Career Alumni Network.

3. Individual Mentoring (intense): Mentors are handpicked and invited by Career Center staff with input from you, and are available to work with you throughout the year (as long as you need their guidance). For that reason, we ask that you commit to following their advice and keeping in touch with them once a month to let them know how you're progressing. Don't worry about being a burden to them; they love having the chance to pass on their wisdom to current students! To get started with this option, contact Jenny Moss about the COACH Mentoring program.

If you're not so clear about your goal, then the Alumni Mentor program is probably not a fit for you. We suggest that you choose instead to take advantage of the Career Center's Career Interest Testing: Take the Strong Interest Inventory and/or Myers Briggs Type Indicator (both free for our students) to begin figuring out your future professional goals.