So you’ve graduated, now what?

It’s been a long road for our new graduates. After countless late nights, challenging assignments and far too much caffeine, many Seawolves have finally earned a hard-fought degree. It’s finally time to celebrate and take a well-deserved break. But, after all that is done, a question remains: Now what?

For those looking for additional resources and support, many UAA services are available to alumni after graduation. These resources are available for those yet to graduate as well.

Alexis Rasley is the Career Development Coordinator for Career Services. Rasley said that Career Services is open to all students, current and former. In addition to one-on-one appointments about resumes, cover letters, mock interviews, and job searches, career services also provides workshops and career fairs that are open to alumni as well as students.

“We can also do appointments on things like salary negotiations, and how to accept or decline an offer. We get a lot of questions about that from our alumni,” said Rasley. Appointments can be made online using Handshake.

Handshake, UAA’s free career management platform, is a resource for those looking for jobs after graduation.

“What’s really great about Handshake above LinkedIn or Indeed,” said Rasley, “is that the employers that are connected on Handshake are the employers we’re building relationships with, so they’re specifically looking for UAA students or recent graduates.”

Rasley said this helps decrease some of the competition for jobs that exists on other sites. Jobs, internships, and a few fellowships and volunteer opportunities can be found on Handshake.

Career Services’ next career fair is March 6th and March 7th from 2-6 p.m. at the Student Union and is open to students and alumni.

Rasley said that when looking for a job, it’s important to think about what you want as a whole: consider your ideal lifestyle, hours, benefits and other priorities when looking for a career. She also said it’s important to research prospective employers and do informational interviews in order to make sure they match your needs. 

Emily McLaughlin, who graduated in 2013 from the Journalism and Public Communication program, said the advice she has for graduates is to be curious.

“If someone came to me and was like, ‘Hey, I'm curious what it's like working at an agency. Could we grab coffee? And can I pick your brain about it?’ I would say yes, in a heartbeat.”

McLaughlin said that the connections she had with clubs and other students is the reason she has her current job in public relations. In college she joined the Public Relations Student Society of America, which helped her gain professional connections. A classmate in the same group that connected her to the internship would lead to her current job at Thompson & Co Public Relations.

“The classmate connection was huge.”

Kate Consenstein graduated in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Public Communications, and is now the president and founder of Rising Tide Communications. She found a lot of support from the professors in her program who helped her figure out where she wanted to go after graduation. She said, “I always felt that I could return to UAA, specifically Paola [Banchero], and seek good advice and good resources.”

Consenstein said that graduates should keep their minds open. “My advice is to look at all different kinds of jobs and consider what skillsets you may have generally developed through your education that might take you in a direction you may not have necessarily thought you’ve been prepared for during your education.”

For those looking for help with any kind of writing endeavor, professional or otherwise, the Writing Center is also a good resource for alumni.

“As far as the resources we can provide, we encompass all areas of academic, professional, creative, or personal writing,” wrote Mark Zimmerman, a consultant at the Writing Center, in an email. Zimmerman wrote that any kind of writing is encouraged from anyone in the community regardless of their status at UAA.

In addition, alumni are still welcome to access the Consortium Library. According to Steve Rollins, the dean of the Consortium Library, alumni with an Alumni WolfCard can get access to the library’s after-hours facilities and check out materials.

After graduation students can’t use online library databases, but Rollins recommends the Statewide Library Electronic Doorway, known as SLED, for Alaska residents who need database access. More information about alumni library access can be found at the Consortium Library website.

Finally, for those interested in staying connected with UAA after graduation, the UAA Alumni Relations website provides a list of current alumni chapters.

According to the UAA Alumni Relations website, “Graduates of UAA and our community campuses across Southcentral Alaska earn automatic membership to the UAA Alumni Association, as do individuals with 12 or more credits who are no longer active students. The association is open to all our alumni; there are no membership fees.”