Biola’s alumni department just launched their new Career Advisor Network in hopes of helping students with career readiness.
Biola’s alumni department has been promoting the new network for some time now, and it was finally launched before Easter break. The purpose of the new network is to help students prepare for life after Biola, said Don Bernstein, alumni relations manager.
With LinkedIn starting their new alumni program, students have a new door open to them when connecting with professionals that have graduated from Biola. However, Biola’s advisor network is moderately different than that of LinkedIn. Instead of the possibility of matching with someone like on LinkedIn, you are able to schedule a time for a consultation on Biola’s network.
“It’s not like LinkedIn where everybody signs up to let the world know that they need a job or that they’re good workers,” Bernstein said.
Although LinkedIn has had their alumni program for quite some time, Biola has been working on their career advisor network for quite a long time as well, making sure it was just right to provide the students with the resources they need.
“We’ve been working on boarding it for almost a year, but it is brand new to Biola,” said Bernstein.
It also helps students who were nervous to talk to professionals or did not know how to get in touch with them, and now they can in a very easy way, Bernstein said.
“We want to see students building personal relationships with alumni professionals,” said Nicole Holleran, associate director of employer relations. “The big picture, philosophy, is that we want to see our students succeed.”
The program is easy to use and even walks you through each step when scheduling a consultation, Bernstein said. Even though prompts of questions are provided prior to a consultation with an alumni, students may be unsure of what exactly to ask the experienced professionals.
“[I would ask] probably specific questions related to the exact job that I want, the ins and outs. It would definitely be helpful coming from someone experienced,” said Karina Bodemeijer, junior human biology major.
Some students believe the network could be extremely beneficial to their particular career plans.
“It definitely sounds helpful, especially in an industry such as film where contacts are everything. I’d ask questions like where to start since entry level is hard,” said Caleb Hudson, freshman film major.
Students currently about to graduate said they wish they had something like this when they were in the first few years of their time here at Biola.
“If I had known about it as a junior that would have been helpful, but I have already filled out all of my applications,” said Addie Wadley, senior biology major.
If students are interested in starting out in the Career Advisor Network, they can email Don Bernstein at [email protected], or get started directly through the website at biola.evisors.com.
