In response to recession, Career Services expands outreach to alumni

By Matt Golosinski

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That's been the unofficial motto of the Kellogg School's Career Management Center (CMC) during the current economic downturn.

In good times and bad, the CMC offers its clients a range of services — from interview coaching to résumé and job-search workshops. Lately, though, Kellogg has made special efforts to extend the scope of those services and bring them directly to alumni.

"We've really ramped up tremendously," says Matthew Temple, director of Alumni Career Services, the CMC division dedicated to supporting Kellogg graduates.

Temple manages seven career coaches and reports that he and his colleagues have circled the globe in recent months to deliver the "Turbo Job Search Workshop," a half-day initiative that covers all the job-search essentials. "We go over everything from A to Z," Temple says.

The CMC has conducted about 20 workshops since October — a fourfold increase from the previous year. The program has been met with enthusiasm from Hong Kong to New York.

"Alumni often don't realize how robust the CMC offerings are," Temple says, also noting that the CMC has enhanced its Web site to provide more content. Soon, Temple adds, the site will include video from workshops, a boon for those unable to attend in person.

In addition, Alumni Career Services has remained broadly active, supporting Kellogg graduates with various initiatives, including:

Alumni Virtual Job Search Groups: Participants convene by phone for six weeks to focus on job searches, self-assessment, cover letters, résumés and interviewing.

Web site: An enhanced Alumni Career Services Web site with more content went live in January

Alumni outreach: Career Services scheduled more than 4,000 appointments with alumni in 2007-08.

"We really are the leader in providing services for alumni," Temple says. "We are probably one of very few schools that actually offers free and unlimited career coaching to our graduates."

To benefit from Alumni Career Services, including coaching, job listings, videos, the alumni directory, résumé templates and the database, visit the Web site.