Economics 101:
Lose Your Mustang Modesty and Use Your Cal Poly Connections
by Teresa Mariani Hendrix
Need an economic lifeline in 2009? Experienced executives say Cal Poly connections – especially among alumni – may be the key.
In 2008, Jennifer Rosky, an alum and a Los Angeles-based recruiter and career coach, placed 18 executives in jobs paying $100,000-plus. She helped place hundreds more on corporate ladders elsewhere.
But so far in 2009, “all those jobs have all dried up,” Rosky said. “Most places aren’t hiring, and the employers who are hiring are getting 400 applications for every opening. They’re overwhelmed.”
Her advice to those looking for jobs or who think they might need to look soon: be a part of multiple online business and social networks, and join industry-specific as well as location-specific groups within those networks.
Networking at Cal Poly
Alumni Adam Milne (FIN ’07),
Ashley Gaghagen (FIN ’05)
and Allison Byler (FIN ’07),
all of Triage Consulting Group,
talk with current student Nicolle MacDonald
at a campus reception in fall 2008.
“Everything is based on networking now. It’s who you know, and who’s in your network. I tell everyone to create your own web, just like a spider,” she said. “You need to let your network know who you are – and what your ‘leveragable’ skills are.”
John Sweeney (CE ’89), an Alamo-based consultant, agrees. You’ll find Rosky and Sweeney’s own business profiles on both LinkedIn and PolyLink -- Cal Poly' free, private online community for alumni. They log in to both Web networks and groups regularly.
Sweeney has also used the PolyLink Job Boards feature to post openings for clients. As the current president of the Cal Poly Alumni Association, Sweeney is urging all alumni to use PolyLink’s job boards for recruiting and hiring.
In February those PolyLink job board included leads to 69 engineering jobs, 24 business and finance jobs, and 26 marketing and sales jobs, many in agriculture-related fields. All of the employers posting jobs there are specifically looking for experienced Cal Poly alumni.
Sweeney is passionate about alumni networking for practical and personal reasons. Currently he is an established consultant with clients in healthcare and agriculture. But when the economy shrugged off jobs in 1991 and 1992, he was a young grad and one of the nation’s layoff casualties.
“I was crushed after being laid off for the first time and came
back down to Cal Poly. I talked to (CENG Dean) Peter Lee,
who had been a mentor to me while I was a student, and he
personally helped me find my next job,” Sweeney said. “I want
our young – and not so young – alumni who are experiencing
the same thing now to have that same kind of help from Cal
Poly friends, alumni and faculty.”
Cal Poly does have a strong tradition of alumni hiring alumni and recent grads. A Cal Poly degree “is a great pre-screening device,” Sweeney said.
Northern California employers are already familiar with Cal Poly and want to recruit those graduates, he believes. Even so, all alumni – especially all those in a position to influence hiring decisions – need to be more vocal about their alma mater, both executives said.
“Stanford alumni have that. UCLA alumni have that. But Cal Poly alumni are a little quiet,” Rosky said.
Despite what may be Mustang modesty, “We need to band together and be very vocal about being Cal Poly alumni, and we need to let people know what that means,” Rosky said.
Using PolyLink and online communities for career networking
With 11,000-plus alumni members, PolyLink is a prime place for free online career networking, say Rosky and Sweeney.
PolyLink is free and private – it’s limited to alumni, faculty and staff. Partly because of that online security, most PolyLink member alumni have their business and career information listed on their PolyLink profiles.
While LinkedIn charges for some information and search results, everything in PolyLink is free. Alumni also have the ability to contact roughly 25,000 other alumni through “blind” e-mail sent through the PolyLink network.
Alumni recipients of PolyLink in-system e-mails always have the option of choosing to ignore the message or responding, just like in other online networks. Replies can be direct from the alum’s own e-mail basket, or sent in-network via PolyLink (without revealing any e-mail address information). More than 1,200 PolyLink alumni have said they’re willing to mentor other alumni.
Even if you think your job is secure, Rosky said networking is always a good idea. “The truth is everyone’s career is always in transition.”
Business Networking Pointers from the Coach:
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Networking means getting to know other alumni in your desired field or geographic area on a business level – not asking a complete stranger for a job.
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Networking today means joining online networks.
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Join multiple online social networks – and make sure PolyLink is one of them.
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Join industry-related groups within your online networks, and also geography-based groups for the region where you want to work.
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Attend “real time” alumni gatherings – both business and social -- in your geographic area. (Check the PolyLink Alumni Events Calendar for events)
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Let others in your business and social networks know about your “leverageable” career skills, strengths and experience.
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Give advice and offer help in your fields of expertise
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Share information within your networks about any job openings or possibilities you may know of through family, friends or business.
How to Get in to PolyLink
Non PolyLink Alumni: Haven't gotten into PolyLink yet? All you need to get in is your first time login code. Look in the e-mail announcing the Spring 2009 edition of Cal Poly Magazine to find your code. Or, if you have the printed version of Cal Poly Magazine Spring 2009, look for your first time login code on the mailing label.
Don't have that magazine or the e-mail anymore? Click here to fill out a form to get your first-time login code emailed to you.
PolyLink Alumni: If you HAVE already gotten in to PolyLink, but you forgot your password, use the 'Reset Password' link to create a new one. You must remember your PolyLink Username to do this.
If you forgot both your PolyLink Username and Password? Use the 'Forgot Username' link to have it e-mailed to your e-mail address on record with Cal Poly.
Alumni, parents and friends can visit the Alumni News, Alumni Events, and University Photo Galleries section of PolyLink anytime -- no login needed.