College career offices aren’t just for students and recent alumni. They’re also for mid-career professionals who want help with resume touchups, interview preparation, and meeting other alums. Best of all, the assistance is entirely free!

The programs may come through an alumni office, a career center or a service linking both. In September, Bucknell sent an e-mail message to 47 alumni at the collapsing Lehman Brothers, offering the support of the school’s career counseling services, a network of 600 alumni in financial professions and a job database. In April, Middlebury College assembled an evening panel in downtown Manhattan – “Career Advice for Tough Times on Wall Street” – featuring graduates at Goldman Sachs and the Blackstone Group, as well as a career services representative from the college.

IN May, Notre Dame started face-to-face events and a coordinated Web site for undergraduate and graduate-school alumni, with links to professional networks, a career counseling hot line, job listings and a vast alumni database. Throughout the year, Lehigh presented job-skills Web seminars, usually at a lunchtime hour. The New York City alumni association of Howard University is planning career transition seminars. Northwestern is designing panels on midcareer advice and recession-era lifestyle adjustments this year.

Have you asked your school’s career office for help? Tell us how it went in the comments.

Rah, Rah, Résumé! [The New York Times]
(Photo: Adam, L’Iconoclaste Banal)

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