When it comes to progressing in your career, connections can take you to the next level. And perhaps the most effective place to search for connections is to first look for alumni at your college or university.
When they can, people want to help a fellow alumni out. Not only are they giving back to their school, it feels good to help someone along on their career path. And now connecting with your alumni is easier than ever before with LinkedIn’s “Alumni Connection” feature. So keep reading to learn how to take advantage of this tool today.
- Know Where Your Alumni Work
After you log in to LinkedIn visit https://linkedin.com/alumni and the social network will pull up all the alumni they can find based off of the education you’ve provided in your profile. As soon as you see the people you have in your network, you’ll realize that getting your foot in the door at a great company is easier than you thought.
For example, if you’re looking to do a career pivot and change your career, you can reach out to alumni in the field you’re interested in and let them know about your plan. You can ask to learn more about what they do and meet some influencers in the field.
- Identify Which Companies Hire Alumni
Although companies won’t necessarily claim an allegiance to a certain college, they may still have a preference. Now LinkedIn will quickly show you which companies are proud employers of your fellow alumni.
You’ll be able to easily see if a company has an affinity with your university and if they do, you’ll have alumni contacts inside the organization to help you get in. With the LinkedIn feature, you’ll also be able to see popular jobs with alumni so you can learn more about those too.
- Connect with Alumni
By far the most valuable part of the feature is that you can connect with influential alumni on LinkedIn. Make sure you tell them why you’re connecting and if there is any way you can help them too.
In order to truly leverage LinkedIn’s “alumni connection” feature you need to get in touch with the alumni. Because you both share the same educational experience, you’ll be more likely to build a relationship with alumni quicker.
Start Getting Connected
The “alumni connection” feature on LinkedIn can help your career reach new heights. Make an effort to expand your horizons and reach out to alumni you don’t already know. Have you ever had a good experience networking with an alum? Tell us about it in the comments?