ECO Thanksgiving Message
Hello Economics Majors!
This week, our theme is gratitude. We have an enthusiastic network of alumni, students, and faculty to be thankful for. Each year dozens of economics alumni meet directly with our majors through ECO programming and 800 more have listed themselves on our Alumni and Friends list in box. In the last 12 weeks, more than 20 alumni and 35 upper-level majors participated in ECO programs through our Fall Career Series. You can see the full list of this semester’s alumni participants here. All guests are accepting outreach from our majors. Let us know who you’d like to connect with!
While you decompress from the semester and enjoy time with friends and family, think about dedicating some time over break to networking activities, which can be a part of any internship, job, or graduate school search. Use our resource list below as a jumping off point for a networking plan:
1. Brainstorm other contacts with friends and family, who may be good resources for you. See this article for ideas.
2. Read How to Network in a Virtual World The first 8 paragraphs are relevant for our majors. The remainder of the article offers food for thought as you begin growing your network and fortifying those professional relationships you've already begun to build. If you are firewalled, click this link for the full article.
3. How to Make the Most of Your Alumni Network Paragraph 6 through the end of the article seem most relevant for our students, post-Covid.
4. Online networking tips from the Wall Street Journal are shared here.
5. Not sure what to say in your email? Check out these great networking email templates!
6. Then prepare for your calls/meetings with these sample informational interview questions.
7. In addition to ECO tools, use the Virginia Alumni Mentor network to find alumni whose interests are similar to yours or work for employers in which you’re interested.
8. For more networking resources, check out UVA's LInkedIn page, UVA's Alumni, Friends, and Parents LinkedIn page, and UVA"s Economics Alumni page. Our students are welcome to join each and connect with alumni. You may connect with me here on LinkedIn, which will give you access to job posts once you’ve graduated.
9. Visit the ECO website for other professional development resources. And if you're wondering what econ majors do after graduation, look here for industry overviews and here for recent graduates' next steps.
10. Talk to your faculty/instructors. They are experts in their fields, belong to associations, some consult with private and public sector organizations, write in scholarly journals, and may have some good ideas for you. Share with them your interests and goals. You will build advocates and may find new networks to tap into.
Best wishes and safe travels,
Jen
If you're thinking about spending some time over winter break on your internship, job, or graduate school search, make an appointment with me to build your plan.