Engagement Wanted is a Career Center program that connects seniors and recent graduates with alumni and parent volunteers who can help them transition into their post-Carleton lives. Volunteers receive a weekly e-mail featuring five student profiles, and they can contact these students directly if they have any advice, contacts, or opportunities to offer. This year the Career Center is upgrading Engagement Wanted to include a search function that will allow volunteers to actively seek out students they might be able to help by searching for specific career fields, geographic regions, majors, or other keywords. Students can also post résumés that will be available for volunteers to download and forward.
Evan Rowe ’09 explains how Engagement Wanted works for both students and volunteers.
How did you use Engagement Wanted as a student?
I already had a job lined up but I was interested in learning about the nonprofit sector and public affairs, so I signed up and created a very general profile. I started getting e-mails right away. I had some really cool conversations with alumni about grad school and careers in the field. Even though I wasn’t seeking anything concrete, the alumni were a really good resource because they helped me learn about the professional world. As I saw it, Engagement Wanted was a phenomenal opportunity to tap into the knowledge base of the Carleton alumni. It put my name in front of them for a couple of minutes every Friday, and then if they had something to say, we were able to connect. I thought that was really powerful.
What would you say to alumni and parents who are considering volunteering in this program?
I’m definitely planning to participate. It’s totally painless. You just get one e-mail a week. No matter what your interests are you’re going to find some students who share those interests. Because I’m a recent alumnus there’s not much that I can help with, but sometimes I know people who live where these people are going and I’m able to forward the profile on to others who might be able to help—even people who aren’t a part of the Carleton network like coworkers and friends. Hopefully I can add a little bit of value to someone’s perspective on the post-Carleton transition. Participating in this program keeps you in touch with a network of really cool students. Not only can you teach them something, but you can learn from them as well.
Carleton Seniors: Create a student profile for Engagement Wanted.
Alumni, Parents, and Friends: Sign up as a volunteer and receive weekly Engagement Wanted e-mails.