Yahoo! Kickstart
Tuesday November 6, 2007
Yahoo! Kickstart is designed to address, in part, the issue I mentioned the other day about whether to use Facebook for professional networking. It is also designed to address the concern that LinkedIn is for grown-ups and isn't the best professional networking tool for college students or recent grads.
Kickstart is brand new and in preview release, aiming to build a critical mass of students and alumni. The goal is to connect college students, recent grads, and alumni with internships, jobs, career advice, and mentoring, as well as for alumni employers to source candidates. In order to sign up, you'll need a Yahoo! ID. Once you've logged in, you can add your school if it's not listed, build your profile, and add a photo.
As said, it's in preview mode, so feedback is welcome. As an incentive to get users on board, Yahoo! will donate $25,000 to the alumni association of the college with the most profiles by 12/31/07.
Comments
As a career advisor, I cannot count how many times clients have made a quantum leap in their career search when they accessed their college alumni list for the area in which they were interested. Many colleges realized the importance of keeping a college email address for those who attended. It is an easy way to find someone you knew or someone you would like to meet in a new town. When it comes to networking, college alumni are usually more than happy to help someone else who attended their university. Most people have a very special feeling about the years they spent on campus. Haven’t joined the association? Do it!! It will be on of the best investments in your career. And, if the university has an alumni chapter in your town, figuratively speaking you’re no longer at home plate hoping to hit the ball - - you’ve just hit a triple and are on third base poised to score a run (or a job!!)