Alumni Career Events for Alumni Clubs
Since 2001, the USC Career Center and the USC Alumni Association have partnered to provide high
quality and innovative alumni career events for local, regional, and international alumni through the USC
Alumni Career Program.
Below are some ideas for career events that you might host for club members in your regional area.
These events may be hosted at a local business, a club member’s company or affiliated organization,
larger corporations who might donate a conference room, city or state public spaces (for example, large
library meeting room) or spaces available to the residents of certain communities.
Title: From the Employer’s Perspective…. (Educational event)
Event description:
Gain employer and hiring manager perspectives on the overall hiring process and what they are looking
for in resumes, candidate interviews and qualities of potential employees.
Target audience: All alumni
Goals
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Offer feedback to alumni regarding resume content and interviewing skills
Provide forum to ask job search related questions in a “safe” environment
Acquire insight into hiring procedures within various industries and organizations.
Gain helpful tips of best practices for alumni job search from local companies seeking to build a
pipeline of potential employees
Resources for Locating Speakers: Human resources professionals from local companies, hiring
managers and executive search firm recruiters. You can find these professionals by talking with alumni
club members, the Chamber of Commerce, the state employment agency and referencing a local business
journal.
Venue/Set-up
 Secure a panel of three to four speakers or invite a keynote speaker
 Large room for presentation
 Several tables and chairs for speed resume critiques and practice interviews (more or less
depending on number of registered alumni)
 Provide sign up sheets for speed resume critiques and practice interviews (more or less
depending on number of registered alumni)
Length of program
 2 hours: 1 hour for either a keynote speech or panel discussion, 1 hour for speed resume critiques
and practice interviews
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Title: Six Degrees of Separation: Trojans Helping Trojans
(Networking event)
Event description:
Meet diverse alumni from many different backgrounds and industries in the regional area. Come and
network with your fellow alumni and make a connection for your next job, area of interest or
volunteer opportunity. Find alumni who know people that work for companies you are interested in
and begin the process of informational interviewing.
Target audience: All alumni
Goals:
 Leverage networking skills and meet fellow alumni through practical application
 Provide easier access to people to start the networking process
 Start the dialogue about your professional background and areas of interest with fellow alumni
Venue/Set-up
 Large room for networking
 Sheets of paper, name tags, Sharpies, and tape for each alumni to post info about themselves and
what they are looking for
Length of program: 2 hours
 First 10 minutes
o Alumni post what they are looking for (job, information, etc) on a sheet of paper. Tape the
paper on a wall in the room.
 Next 30 minutes
o Look at what other alumni posted on their sheets and think about ways you might be able
to help them
o Choose two people in the room that you can help and write your name down on their paper
 Last hour
o Find the people in the room who said they might be able to help you and start the
conversation and good old Trojan networking.
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Title: USC Alumni Recruiting Night (Recruiting event)
Event description:
 The USC Alumni Recruiting night is similar to a mini-job fair where local companies and
organizations may recruit Trojans and build their hiring pipeline while promoting their
organizations. Alumni are encouraged to bring their resumes to share with participating
employers.
Target audience: All alumni and local employers
Goals:
 Build awareness of job openings
 Increase networking opportunities
 Promote local organizations as potential employers
Resources for Locating Employers: Club members, Chamber of Commerce, local business journals,
state department of labor, job developers or career counselors.
Venue/Set-up
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Secure representatives from local organizations who can talk about their company and take
resumes back to their organizations for review
Secure a large enough room for employers, alumni and tables
Multiple tables and chairs for each employer to set-up displays
Consider charging a fee for employers to attend to help defray event costs
Water for employers
Length of program: 2-3 hours
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Title: Community Service Fair (Networking event)
Event description: Meet local community service organizations with volunteer opportunities to help
alumni leverage experience and learn new skills while building their resumes and networking with
community members.
Target audience: All alumni and local community service organizations.
Goals:
 Provide opportunity to help alumni connect with various volunteer opportunities while building
new work skills and networking opportunities
 Promote philanthropy and giving back to the community
 Develop contacts and strategic partnerships for future alumni events
Resources for Identifying Employers: The following are great resources to help identify potential
organizations:
www.Taprootfoundation.org
www.Serve.gov
www.Idealist.org
www.Volunteermatch.org
www.Getinvolved.org (Baby Boomer- specific)
Venue/Set-up
 Secure representatives from local organizations who can talk about their organization’s services
and volunteer needs
 Multiple tables and chairs for employers to set-up displays
 Secure a donated room based on total number involved
Length of program: 3 hours
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Title: Entrepreneur Showcase (Educational event)
Event description: Meet local entrepreneurs and learn what it takes to build a successful business. This
could be an ongoing event series highlighting different businesses.
Target audience: All alumni and local entrepreneurs
Goals:
 Increase awareness of local businesses
 Learn resources useful in starting and running a successful business
Resources for Locating Speakers:
 Local Small Business Association/Small Business Development Centers
 Venture Capital Firms who invest in small businesses and/or start-ups
 Business loan personnel from banks
The following are some resources to help identify potential organizations:
www.nawbo.org
www.naoem.com
www.eonetwork.org
Venue/Set-up
 Host at a local business location
 Secure keynote and panelists
 Extra chairs for panelists
Length of program: 2 hours
We hope these ideas will inspire you to host a career event for your club members and Trojans in your
region that may not be affiliated with your alumni club! Our experience is that alumni will engage in
career events if they are offered. The Alumni Career Services Program at the USC Career Center is
available to consult with club leadership in helping to plan these types of events, please contact us at
213.740.9111. FIGHT ON!
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