Of course, you were well-rehearsed in the career routine from your early days. Study and do your homework, take the career assessment test in grade school that determined if you should be a fireman or a lumberjack, ignore the skewed test results because you were making a pretty picture on the standardized answer form, listen to the moms and dads at the front of the class talk about their jobs, then shake up the Magic 8 Ball and reveal your future career. The process was quite simple – until you enrolled into college and stepped closer to the real world.

The real world is tough, especially in an economy that boasts record unemployment, unstable corporate security and collapsing industries. Want ads, headhunting firms and job networking sites can be misleading or confusing. But, it doesn’t have to be so tough for Emory’s up-and-coming future full-time workers.

As an alumnus, you are a valuable resource. You have power. You have the power to help change the life and future professional direction for a current student – simply by opening up and sharing your experience. By spending even a few minutes sharing what you know about your profession, you might well influence the course of their endeavors, and as a result, broaden the creative intelligence in your own field.

Become a career contact, for as little or as long as you like. All that’s involved is reading and responding to an occasional email from an interested Emory student or taking a phone call or meeting to discuss your career and answer questions. If you find the experience as rewarding as many of your peers do, you may wish to do more for Emory’s Alumni Career Services by volunteering your time for chapter events and other programming such as moderated panels.

Emory University is built on strength and camaraderie amongst its students and alumni. To become a career contact, simply visit the alumni directory and update your information. Step by step instructions and a link to the alumni directory are available here under the heading Be a Career Contact.