Mentors at job place

One of the ways of making the most of your college experience is establishing a bond with your seniors,” say students in the City who feel that having a well-placed and proactive alumni is a great help when it comes to internships, interview advice and even placements.

 Komal, a placement officer in St Joseph’s College of Commerce agrees, “Beyond the classroom, we have a  network of alumni who also act as mentors on campus, provide entrepreneurial advice, share hobbies and interests, and even help with internships. They are valuable for their insights as well their connections,” she says.
Heading to Hyderabad to join the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, many students will be moving into an unfamiliar City. “It is very reassuring to have our alumni already present in large numbers, in the firm itself. Apart from the comfort level, they will help us with housing advice, show us the ropes and give us tips on the dos and don'ts in the City,” says Rohit Balakrishnan, one of the recruits.

Soon to be graduating law student from Christ College,  Bhairav feels that having a well-established alumni network in law firms in the City would be an invaluable help when it comes to finding jobs. “Since we will only be the second graduating batch, we do not yet have seniors who are partners in their law firms already. They will be holding junior positions but all the same they will be setting an academic standard for those of us to follow which I am sure will help us when we apply for positions.”

Amoga D’Souza, a commerce graduate who will be joining Ernst and Young soon says, “Our alumni has been very connected to us whether it’s through the institution or directly. They help us with internship or placement leads, tell us which companies are recruiting and very importantly how to crack  interviews. It is very reassuring when you are joining a big firm as a newbie to know that you have seniors in the organisation who will help you get settled in,” she says.

“Even when we have a tough time getting summer internships, we generally contact our alumni and they come through for us. If they are not able to place us in their company, they put us in touch with contacts they have who do,” adds Rohit.

“My brother graduated from MIT and when he wanted to switch jobs, it was his alumni which stepped up and helped,” says engineering student Sujit Mahajan. “I was amazed by the fact that though they were all strangers, the fact that they were fellow MIT graduates opened doors for him. They took his phone calls, answered his e-mails and granted him interviews or more references. It showed me how invaluable a vibrant alumni network can be. Not just students even employers benefit from alumni networking,” says Komal. “Once a certain level of competence is established by an employee from a particular institution, alumni networks act as free headhunters, providing a list of reliable candidates that employers can tap into,” says Sujit.