Alumni Career Services case study

Challenge: Providing career help to alumni spread across the world With alumni spread across the country and the globe, providing career services has always been a challenge for Montclair University’s Center for Career Services and Cooperative Education staff. The staff knew there was a large segment of alumni that simply wouldn’t ask for help, and those who did faced phone and email tag, and limited service after 5 o’clock. Between requests from alumni for digital self-help resources and seeing the way online tools were taking shape, director Maralyn Kinch knew her office could use the always-on web environment to expand and improve their services to alumni. That’s when she set out on a mission to become a “high tech, high touch” office. Solution: New website + online career tools The team at Montclair didn’t want to abandon their personalized services for alumni, like coaching sessions and resume critiques, but they wanted to expand their reach, improve the quality of their personal interactions and provide the after-hours and self- service options alumni were requesting. That’s when they decided to offer more resources online — resources that would both educate alumni to enhance the quality of their conversations with counselors, as well as provide after-hours and self-service assistance. She created a robust website with more than 260 pages of career resources, including recorded workshops and virtual career tools like OptimalResume. This web-based content is available 24-7, which meets the needs of non-traditional students and expands the reach of the career center. Through her OptimalResume online career center, she is able to offer students and alumni six customized learning tools where they can: Build resumes Write business letters Assess their skills Publish professional websites Create e-portfolios Practice for interviews Results: Great usage, happy alumni When a visitor registers with OptimalResume, he or she self-selects either alumni or student status, which allows Montclair to track usage of the software. To date, hundreds of alumni have created documents using OptimalResume, Because Maralyn and her team customized each resource to match Montclair’s degree programs, style and language preferences, Maralyn knows that alumni are producing quality documents, even if they don’t submit them for review. “Alumni create and format resumes according to our rules,” Maralyn said. OptimalResume helps Montclair State University serve alumni with a high-tech, high-touch career center. Modules used: Resume, Letter, Portfolio, Interview, Website, Skills Assessment OPTIMALRESUME.COM 1415 WEST NC HIGHWAY 54 SUITE 103 DURHAM, NC 27707 877.998.7654 [email protected] WWW.OPTIMALRESUME.COM ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES CASE STUDY MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY

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How Montclair University is using online career tools to serve alumni.

Transcript of Alumni Career Services case study

Page 1: Alumni Career Services case study

Challenge: Providing career help to alumni spread across the world

With alumni spread across the country and the globe, providing career services has always been a challenge for Montclair University’s Center for Career Services and Cooperative Education staff. The staff knew there was a large segment of alumni that simply wouldn’t ask for help, and those who did faced phone and email tag, and limited service after 5 o’clock.

Between requests from alumni for digital self-help resources and seeing the way online tools were taking shape, director Maralyn Kinch knew her office could use the always-on web environment to expand and improve their services to alumni. That’s when she set out on a mission to become a “high tech, high touch” office.

Solution: New website + online career tools

The team at Montclair didn’t want to abandon their personalized services for alumni, like coaching sessions and resume critiques, but they wanted to expand their reach, improve the quality of their personal interactions and provide the after-hours and self-service options alumni were requesting. That’s when they decided to offer more resources online — resources that would both educate alumni to enhance the quality of their conversations with counselors, as well as provide after-hours and self-service assistance.

She created a robust website with more than 260 pages of career resources, including recorded workshops and virtual career tools like OptimalResume. This web-based content is available 24-7, which meets the needs of non-traditional students and expands the reach of the career center.

Through her OptimalResume online career center, she is able to offer students and alumni six customized learning tools where they can:

Build resumes Write business letters Assess their skills

Publish professional websites Create e-portfolios Practice for interviews

Results: Great usage, happy alumni When a visitor registers with OptimalResume, he or she self-selects either alumni or student status, which allows Montclair to track usage of the software. To date, hundreds of alumni have created documents using OptimalResume,

Because Maralyn and her team customized each resource to match Montclair’s degree programs, style and language preferences, Maralyn knows that alumni are producing quality documents, even if they don’t submit them for review. “Alumni create and format resumes according to our rules,” Maralyn said.

OptimalResume helps Montclair State University serve alumni with a high-tech, high-touch career center. Modules used: Resume, Letter, Portfolio, Interview, Website, Skills Assessment

OPTIMALRESUME.COM 1415 WEST NC HIGHWAY 54

SUITE 103 DURHAM, NC 27707

877.998.7654

[email protected] WWW.OPTIMALRESUME.COM

ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES CASE STUDY

MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY