UNH Today

LinkedIn has created an alumni tool that makes it easier than ever to locate UNH alumni who majored in what you are studying, work in a company you are interested in, live in an area you plan to relocate to or return to, and are in a profession you hope to enter.

How to use it?

1) Search LinkedIn for “University of New Hampshire”
2) Click the box, “See alumni”
3) Enter a keyword in the search bar (Ex: your major, company or organization, job title, skill)
4) View the snapshot of your result and then scroll down to see the profiles who match your search criteria
5) Browse profiles and locate alumni who are doing what you are interested in

Reaching Out to Alumni

It’s one thing to learn about what alumni are doing by browsing their profiles, but actually having a conversation and engaging in an informational interview can be extremely beneficial.

How to do this?

1) Choose an alum that you wish to reach out to and press “connect”
2) Choose “add a note” to personalize your invitation to connect (if using the LinkedIn mobile app, you do not get the option to add a note; we recommend connecting from a computer)
3) Write a message explaining who you are and why you wish to connect

Example:

Dear (Alum’s Name),

My name is (Your Name) and I am a student at UNH who is majoring in (your major). I saw that you also attended UNH (mention if you have a common major). I am looking to (state the purpose of why you are reaching out: “learn more about career possibilities in my field, learn more about X Company” etc). I’d like to connect with you and if you have a few minutes to chat with me, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

(Your Name)

4) Select “send invitation”
5) Keep on connecting with other UNH alumni to learn more about your field and career possibilities

Remember, you're first looking to build rapport and a relationship with the alumni, then learn about specific job or internship opportunities. Do not start the conversation by directly asking for a job. 

For more tips on what LinkedIn can do for you as a student or your professional, click here.

Stephanie Banks is the Career Counselor in the St. Martin Career Exploration Office within the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture's Career and Professional Success team. See more tips and tricks from Stephanie and the COLSA team.