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Cornell University

Career Services

Connecting with Students

Cornell Career Services sponsors a variety of programs that provide alumni, parents, and other professionals an opportunity to offer hands-on experience or an informational interview to current students interested in exploring different career fields. Alumni often tell us that participation in these programs is one of their most rewarding volunteer experiences.

CUeLINKS

As Cornell’s university-wide knowledge sharing platform, CUeLINKS (Learning, Informing, Networking=Knowledge Sharing) connects students with alumni to get the most out of the powerful Cornell community. Create a profile and start sharing your expertise and experience one-on-one with Cornell students. Volunteer your time based on your schedule and interests. Join the community and become a knowledge sharer. Students connect with Alumni through a message platform or will request a meeting (virtual or in person), but you can explore the Discussion Page and respond to student and alumni questions to share your experience and knowledge.

CUeLINKS Experiential Projects

Connect students and recent grads to real-world, experiential learning projects and shadowing opportunities. In minutes, you can create short-term, (virtual) projects for students and new graduates to help explore their career options, and provide opportunities for them to build on the skills they need to be career ready. We invite you to join the community and create an experience in Projects.

In the CUeLINKS navigation bar, select the “Opportunities” tab to explore the Student Experiential Page. Example Projects could include shadowing a Health careers professional, participating in a design or UX project, and many others! View the “Tips for Creating a Project” for more information. Questions? Contact the CUeLINKS team at cuelinks@cornell.edu.

Tips for Creating a Project

Poster (Your name): This should be the Cornell alum who is supervising the project. FYI – if a staff member posts for the alum, they are responsible for viewing applications and managing the post.  

  • Your Company Name/Organization, if applicable 
  • Project Basics 
  • Title/Role 

Description: Provide a thorough description of the expectations and what the Project will entail 

  • Icon
  • Industries 
  • In-person or virtual project requirements
  • Project schedule (e.g., 2 hours/one week in the month of June)

Additional Details: If the Project is considered an unpaid internship, note that the Fair Labor Standards Act sets expectations for unpaid internships; see Factsheet #71 for complete information.  

  • Duration (estimate total number of hours) 
  • Start Date 
  • Due Date 

Project Qualifications: State the requirements that a candidate must meet (e.g., skills, interests, college of enrollment, class standing, etc.) 

  • Career Readiness Skills students will gain during their experience 
  • Application Preferences 
  • Set “user type” to “Student”  
  • Enter “Expiration Date” for your Project 
  • Indicate what materials students need to provide as part of their application 

Select “Preview and Submit” 

Choose “Go Back and Edit” or “Review Terms and Submit” 

For assistance with posting contact cuelinks@cornell.edu.

Calby Fellows Program

The Calby Fellows Program invites Cornell alumni to engage with current students, providing opportunities to share their career stories and for students to interact with professionals for career exploration and advice. Alumni Fellows are selected from a wide variety of career fields, particularly those who may have an unusual or interesting career trajectory which is not “connected” to their undergraduate academic major.

Calby Fellows serve a three-year term as a career specialist-in-residence, and agree to interact with students at least once a year. The website will feature biographical and career profiles of present and former Fellows, along with video clips on various career topics and stories and recordings of the large group presentations. The website will allow students and fellow alumni to learn and explore even if unable to attend events in person. If you would like to participate or learn more about the program, contact Kimberlee Swartz, at kms273@cornell.edu.

View current Calby Fellows.

ILR Opportunities

ILR’s Field Shadowing Program and Career Exploration Program focus on ILR-related career fields. These programs allow ILR students to gain firsthand work exposure and network with alumni/sponsors. Learn more about ILR opportunities. 

Engineering Co-op Program

An engineering co-operative education experience provides an opportunity for students to advance their knowledge and skills in the context of industry, government, and society. Consider whether your employer might be able to offer a co-op experience to help students create a career plan and make well-informed choices for lifelong career success. Learn more about the Engineering Co-op Program.