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Cornell University

For Alumni

Welcome, Alumni, to Cornell Career Services!

Are you a Cornell graduate looking to make a career change? Or perhaps you are a recent graduate now pursuing advanced studies or beginning your career. The Career Services website is a useful resource for you, and our staff are a phone call, virtual meeting, or e-mail away to answer your questions. 

If you are you an alum who is well established in your field, we invite you to become familiar with our services and to volunteer your expertise by advising students engaged in career exploration; and consider carrying on a tradition of excellence by hiring other Cornellians.

Look through the pages on this site for guidance on how to put into action the career change or alumni engagement you wish to make.

  • Be sure to explore our Career Development Toolkit in Canvas.
  • Information on the job search is available in the Jobs and Internships section. Much of the material is geared to first-time job seekers, however there is a lot of basic, useful information, as well as many online resources for the job-search process.
  • There is also useful information in the Resumes and Interview Prep section. 
  • Alumni continue to have access to Cornell Handshake, the system we use to post jobs submitted to Cornell. Job postings are geared towards current students and alumni with 0-5 years of experience. To use the system, you must first complete a brief Student Profile, which allows us to notify you of various opportunities pertinent to your career interests. There is no fee for this service.
  • In addition, we offer extensive support to alumni who are applying to graduate or professional school.
  • Investigate CUeLINKS, which has an Alumni-to-Alumni networking component that has recently been activated in the addition to the Alumni-to-Student networking features.

Alumni Affairs Resources

Additional Resources

Below are some resources in addition to those mentioned elsewhere or included in our Resource Library, that are particularly useful to alumni. You might be able to find the books listed here in a local library or purchase them online:

The Age Advantage: Making the most of Your Midlife Career Transition by Jean Erickson Walker, Ed.D.
A great resource for midlife career changers. Includes information on how to assess your career interests, research careers, and the book offers resume and cover letter examples as well as interview preparation related to the mid-life stage.

What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles
This book is revised and updated annually but continues to be a great resource to help explore areas necessary to conduct an effective job search. Reflection exercises are provided to assist with the career-exploration process, along with a wealth of resources for locating job and career information. Resume, cover letter, and interviewing guidelines are also provided.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Those who are trying to articulate what their natural talents are in order to pursue a career path will find this book and on-line tool very insightful. The StrengthsQuest model behind this instrument focuses on developing awareness of personality talents in order to pursue work that supports those talents.

Career Cornerstone Center. For those with a background in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), this website provides information about career options for 185 degree fields, including “day in the life” profiles, earnings information, and links to additional resources.

National Career Development Association (NCDA). Need someone to talk to about your career exploration? This webpage offers information to help you to locate career counselors in your geographic area who are members of this national organization and possess credentialing in career counseling. Click on the “Find a Counselor” tab at the top of the homepage.

Your local Employment Office. Many state and county employment offices now offer a wide range of career services to help job seekers within their area.