Longwood community members flocking to multipurpose network to find connections, advice, jobs
Officially known as the Longwood Network,
the online resource replaces Longwood Link.
It’s part career hub, part social network and part events calendar—and all about Longwood alumni and students connecting with each other and with the larger Longwood community.
Officially known as the Longwood Network (longwoodnetwork.com), the online resource replaces Longwood Link and has been fully functional since January.
“The focus of the network is the world after graduation,” said Ryan Catherwood, assistant vice president for alumni and career services. It’s the home for all of our job and internship postings, and it’s a directory in which you can find alumni who are willing to offer specific advice in certain areas of expertise.
“For example, if an alum wanted to hire Longwood student interns to work in his office, the Longwood Network enables members to search for each other by interest and major to help find the right candidates. We’re trying to develop a culture of Lancers hiring Lancers,” Catherwood added.
Anyone with a connection to Longwood is welcome to join the network, including faculty, staff, parents and friends.
New members can join via their Facebook or LinkedIn accounts or through email. If they sign up through LinkedIn or Facebook, all of their information is automatically incorporated into their Longwood Network profile, so establishing an account is much easier. New members are asked if they’re willing to speak or videoconference with other members about their education and areas of expertise. They also can choose to serve as a resource for reviewing résumés, and they opt to receive information about volunteer opportunities at the university.
This is about making connections. It’s a great fusion of professional and personal.’
— PAIGE ROLLINS ’15, ALUMNI AND CAREER SERVICES
Job and internship postings include an “apply” link. In addition, the network provides information about and registration for upcoming alumni events and gives members a place to share photos.
Through interactions with the University Career Center, students will receive etiquette training on how to ask alumni for informational interviews and not for jobs. “We want students to think of themselves as ‘alums from Day 1’ and about building their network of connections as soon as they begin their Longwood educational experience,” said Catherwood.
“This is about making connections,” said network manager Paige Rollins ’15, assistant director of live digital events in the Office of Alumni and Career Services. “It’s a great fusion of professional and personal. You can still search for fellow alumni as you could on Longwood Link, but it’s far more of a social network than that was. You can find people in your graduating class or major or geographic area. And the fact that you can post and apply for jobs is huge.”
—Kent Booty