Accessing the strength of the ’Canes network

Sipping coffee provided by BrewBike Miami, University of Miami alumni and students discussed career opportunities and shared stories about life at the U at the first annual Connecting ‘Canes Networking Exchange. Held during Alumni Weekend & Homecoming, in collaboration with Student Government and Toppel Career Center, the event was a new opportunity for alumni and students to connect and expand their network in a casual setting.

It was also part of a larger effort by the University to scale alumni career services, with new initiatives providing career support and resources to the nearly 189,000 living alumni, and culminating in the launch of Career Corner, the new alumni career services online platform.

“We want to support the career aspirations of those who have graduated from UM, long into their careers,” says Sarah Seavey, director of alumni career services. “It is our mission to build strong connections with our alumni and serve their diverse career needs to the best of our ability.”

Officially launched by UM President Frenk during Fall commencement, the new Career Corner site allows alumni to easily navigate the full range of career development resources, events, job opportunities, and mentors available to the ‘Canes Network. It will also feature Cane2Cane, the online mentorship directory connecting students with alumni mentors launched in August.

The site was developed in partnership with uConnect, the leading provider of career services marketing systems for higher education. It provides a wealth of career content curated into industry clusters, allowing users to browse resources related to their career interest and to where they are in their careers. As such, alumni can now conduct self-directed, customized career development on their own time from wherever in the world they may be. 

At the Connecting ‘Canes event, Dr. Christian Furman, A.B. ’92, emphasized the importance of networking and utilizing resources provided. “You can’t do anything on your own,” she said, “you have to have a team.”

Alumni Career Services supports ‘Canes at any stage of their career, whether they are actively looking for work or just hoping to strengthen their professional networks, or as an employer interested in recruiting UM alumni. By building a great digital career development experience on the Career Corner, Alumni Career Services hopes to encourage alumni to access the strength of the ‘Canes network as their career journey progresses.

To visit the new Career Corner website, go to alumnicareer.miami.edu. Read advice from our six key alumni mentors from the Connecting Canes Networking Exchange.