10:59 a.m., May 13, 2010----Several UD alumni returned to campus recently for “Speed Networking” -- a program facilitated by the Career Services Center and the Office of Alumni Relations. While structured much like a traditional speed dating gathering, this event was designed to lead not to romantic relationships but to professional contacts so the participants could grow their networks.

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The event, held April 8 in the Trabant University Center, was attended by more than 50 students and 26 professionally successful alumni.

While alumni were seated at tables around the perimeter of the room, students rotated in pairs at five-minute intervals. During the 18 five-minute rotations, students practiced their professional communication skills and elicited valuable career advice from the alumni. Students were intentionally not paired with alumni based on major or career field to teach the value of transferrable advice and the power of a professional network that extends beyond one's specific discipline.

The students in attendance said they found the information and advice shared by the alumni very insightful. “What I really enjoyed was asking alumni what they enjoy most about their jobs,” Andrew Paulus, a junior mechanical engineering major, said. “This gave me the opportunity to determine what's most important to me in a job. It really opened my eyes.”

Alumni traveled from as far as New York City to attend the event and represented a diverse array of employers, including Delaware Health & Social Services, KPMG, KCI Technologies, the American Cancer Society, Christiana Care, Keller Williams Real Estate, DART and DuPont.

Many students said they appreciated the opportunity to speak with such a varied group of professionals - all of whom got their start at UD. Patricia Webster, a criminal justice senior, for example, said, “This event was very helpful, and I learned a lot: to keep an open mind, don't reject an opportunity because it's not directly related to your field [of study] and take the extra step to get an employer's attention.”

In additional to making new connections, a number of students were able to leave their resumes with the alumni and pick up information on internships and summer jobs.

Freshman Karoline Guererro, who is studying marketing in the Lerner College of Business and Economics, said she was excited to find out about a summer internship in marketing and development at the Delaware MS Society.

Alumni, too, said they were pleased to identify qualified talent for positions within their organizations. Manoj Phillip, a real estate agent for Keller Williams left with a stack of student resumes to evaluate for potential internships.

Additionally, alumni said they enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the University community and reconnect with alumni events, groups and resources through the Office of Alumni Relations.

The event concluded with a wrap-up discussion in which both students and alumni reflected on the experience and the importance of networking. Alumni shared what students did particularly well and noted areas for improvement, while students shared what pieces of information they found especially novel and helpful.

The Career Services Center's second annual Speed Networking Social was designed to provide a way for students to grow their professional networks and improve their communication styles, while at the same time allowing alumni to reconnect with the University, recruit qualified talent for their companies and grow their own professional networks. Career Services plans to repeat the event again next year.

Article by Stefanie Busch