Penn State Alumni Association members can request a career coaching appointment or resume review by emailing alumnicareer@psu.edu. Please note, Alumni Career Services does not use Nittany Lion Careers for scheduling.

A: Alumni Career Services (ACS) offers services to support alumni throughout their careers. Recent graduates are supported in many areas including successfully transitioning to a new job, finding a career path, or applying to graduate or professional school. As alumni advance through their careers, or stop and start their career journeys, career services are provided to assist with job seeking, networking, selecting the best career option, and setting achievable professional goals. 1:1 career coaching is available. To maximize the impact of a 1:1 or small group session, ACS has developed a variety of resources to help answer your career questions or at least narrow down the scope.

These resources include:

• Webinars and events to help you build or refresh the tools you need for your job search, including networking, writing a great résumé, interviewing, and more. Start with our free webinars on these and other topics. To register for upcoming webinars, visit our calendar of events.
• Virtual Office Hours, 15-minute Zoom meeting on career topics, résumé reviews, or social media/LinkedIn questions. To register for Virtual Office Hours, visit our calendar of events.
• 24/7 career tools in the “Resources” section of LionLink, our professional networking platform specifically for Penn Staters including recordings, documents and resources on job search strategies, résumé preparation, networking, and more.
• Job listings through Nittany Lion Careers and LionLink, Penn State’s searchable databases of job opportunities offered by employers and recruiters.
• Access to alumni for career insights, informational interviewing, discussions, and other opportunities to grow your network through LionLink, Penn State’s professional networking platform.
• The Job Search Tune Up program, designed to help alumni who are preparing for or are currently in a career transition and seeking job opportunities. Available to members of the Penn State Alumni Association, Job Search Tune Up includes specialized attention to support your career goals. If you are not a current member of the Alumni Association, please join or renew your membership before registering for this program.

A: Alumni Career Services provides résumé services and resources to all alumni. The following options are available:

1. Attend a résumé writing webinar first.
   Résumé writing webinars are offered frequently to keep you aware of current best practices. Applying what you learn in the webinar before asking Alumni Career Services to review your résumé will minimize the need for the reviewer to cover basic principles, enabling them to provide more substantive feedback. To register for upcoming webinars, visit our calendar of events.
2. Review LionLink’s Résumé Resources
   Our LionLink networking platform offers a variety of résumé writing resources and recordings of previous webinars.
3. Attend Virtual Office Hours
   After you attend a résumé writing webinar, you may attend Virtual Office Hours events for a 15-minute zoom chats to gather feedback on your résumé with an ACS staff person. To register, visit our calendar of events.
4. Request an In-Depth Review (Alumni Association members only)
   Penn State Alumni Association members can email their résumé and other related documents to alumnicareer@psu.edu for an in-depth review. To get the most value out of the review, be sure to attend a résumé writing webinar before submitting your documents.

A: Alumni Career Services offers 1:1 career coaching to members of the Penn State Alumni Association. If you are an Alumni Association member, you can meet with a career coach virtually to develop, implement, or evaluate a career change, job search, or educational plan. These plans will often include use of resources/services offered through Alumni Career Services. Appointments are scheduled at the discretion of the career coach, based on staff availability and alumni needs. A two- to three-week wait for an appointment is not uncommon, For this reason, and to maximize the impact of a 1:1 or small group session, ACS has developed a variety of additional resources to help answer your career questions or at least narrow down the scope. To find out if 1:1 career coaching is best for you, please send an email with your current career concerns to alumnicareer@psu.edu.

A: Alumni Career Services offers a few options to help you increase interviewing confidence and practice for job interviews.

1. All Penn State alumni can access InterviewPrep, our online interview resource. InterviewPrep allows you to independently practice and improve your interview skills to prepare for any job interview with the use of a computer/webcam or tablet. InterviewPrep makes it easy to self-review and critique your interviewing skills. To register for your PSU account, go to InterviewPrep.
2. Members of the Penn State Alumni Association also can request a 1:1 mock interview strategy and practice session. This individual appointment enables a participant to get feedback on their performance in a virtual interview video and practice interview questions. Sessions can be conducted via Zoom or over the phone. To maximize results, prior knowledge of effective interviewing practices including practice on InterviewPrep and access to other resources in LionLink is requested. If you are an Alumni Association member and believe you are ready for this practice session, please email alumnicareer@psu.edu to request a mock interview.

A: The most effective tool in securing employment is through networking.

1. LionLink is a networking program similar to LinkedIn, but exclusive to Penn Staters. The site allows students and alumni to search for alumni willing to answer career questions, provide valuable insights and facilitate formal and informal mentoring opportunities. In addition, LionLink offers online resources including webinar recordings on job search topics, tips on effective networking, and informative articles to assist all Penn Staters with résumé writing, cover letters, graduate school applications, and other career related topics.
2. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool is a great way to see where alums are working so that you can identify new companies and do some outreach for informational interviews. Access the alumni tool by searching for Penn State or clicking on the PSU logo in your education section, then click “alumni.”
3. The Penn State Alumni Association offers numerous events and opportunities to grow your network. Visit alumni.psu.edu to identify ways to become more involved and access contact information for our local and regional Chapters and Groups. Chapter leaders are often well established in their community and are a great networking resource.

A: Penn State Alumni Association members can meet with an Alumni Career Services career coach virtually to evaluate a career change, job search, or educational plan. These plans will often include use of resources/services offered through Alumni Career Services or career offices at Penn State colleges/campuses.

1. Typically, Alumni Association members need less than three (3) appointments to design and implement their career plans. To schedule an appointment, please contact us at alumnicareer@psu.edu or 814-865-5465.
2. Individual career coaching appointments are available exclusively for Penn State Alumni Association members. If you’d like to schedule a career coaching appointment but you are not a current member of the Alumni Association, please join or renew your membership first. Then, contact alumnicareer@psu.edu with your membership confirmation.
3. Self-directed tools can be found in LionLink, including topic specific webinars, informal career assessments, and exercise for guided self-awareness and work exploration.

A: The Career Services office at Penn State has an excellent guide covering many graduate and professional school questions. Access this at https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/career/resources/grad-school.

In addition, you can have a 10-minute one-on-one IM chat about your graduate-school-related questions during our Virtual Office Hours.

Also, you can use LionLink and LinkedIn to find alumni who have gone through the process and can offer valuable insights.

A: We are happy to hear that you are interested in helping Penn Staters find employment in your company. There are a few ways to get the word out about your opening:

1. Nittany Lion Careers is the Penn State job board that is open to both students and alumni. You can request an employer account and post your open position(s) as soon as you are approved.
2. The Penn State Alumni Group on LinkedIn is a great way to connect with many alumni, students, and friends of Penn State. (You must be a Penn State affiliate to join this group).
3. LionLink is an exclusive networking site that enables Penn Staters to connect with other alumni. LionLink includes a job board. After you post your job(s) on Nittany Lion Careers, contact alumnicareer@psu.edu with your Nittany Lion Careers job ID number and we will post your position(s) on the LionLink job board for you.Additionally, Alumni Career Services can promote your open positions to Penn State colleges and campuses that may have candidates with the experience, education, and skills you are seeking.

A: Penn State hosts a variety of events ranging from large-format career fairs to smaller and more specialized boutique-type fairs. Learn more about career fairs at Penn State.

A: LionLink provides resources and further explanation of many topics including finding salary information, applying to graduate or professional school, starting your own business, and careers in retirement.

In addition, you may want view the specific websites of specific colleges or campuses you are affiliated with. Alumni of the Smeal College of Business Administration are encouraged to visit the Smeal Alumni Career Services page.