Career Advancement
Lifetime Support for Career Advancement
A benefit of being a graduate of Wellesley College is continued access to Career Education resources. Dedicated Alumnae Career Advisors and Industry Advisors are here to help you navigate your career journey, make meaningful connections, overcome obstacles, and celebrate success at every stage.
We offer one-on-one advising, resume and cover letter reviews, interview practice, professional development webinars, and advice on new trends that will impact your job search process. Our experienced staff can work with you to address whatever you are facing, including making a career pivot/change, advancing in your current career field, re-entering the workforce, or finding an “encore career” after retirement.
Connect using Handshake and The Wellesley Hive
Alumnae maintain lifelong access to Career Education technology platforms. Handshake is Wellesley's online platform for finding jobs/internships and making appointments with advisors. The Wellesley Hive is an interactive virtual space for professional networking and mentorship with other Wellesley alums and current students. For ease of use and security, your Wellesley username and password are required to log in to both platforms.
Spring 2024 Alumnae Programs
Introduction to Chat GPT
Exploring its capabilities, limitations, and potential applications with Supriya Bhuwalka ’96
Thurs, Feb. 15 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
This webinar aims to empower participants to identify AI technologies emerging in everyday life, considering their scope, limits, and societal impact, and understand potential applications of ChatGPT and similar tools. The session will include guided exercises on using ChatGPT for various applications; sharing strategies for best practices and effectively utilizing ChatGPT in different subject areas; and addressing participants' specific questions and concerns.
Strengthening Your Communication Skills
Thurs, March 14 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
Alumnae advisors Becky King and Dana Keep will share some current and highly practical information that will help you build two important things: 1) an authentic network to help with career exploration and 2) trusting relationships with colleagues in the workplace. Many of us put “communication skills” on our resumes, but we can always continue to improve them. We will draw from a few of our favorite authors/experts to inspire us all to make communication strides in 2024!
Alumnae Book Club
Tues, April 9 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
Dorie Clark's The Long Game offers a counterbalance to our immediate gratification culture and helps us find time to think more strategically about our own personal learning, development, and advancement. Her book offers practical ideas for small changes that can build over time to help us create the kind of interesting, meaningful lives we all seek. If you feel you’re constantly reacting to daily to-dos, this book could help you make a shift in investing in yourself. We look forward to discussing it with a group of Wellesley alums to offer each other encouragement and inspiration for becoming “long-term thinkers.”
Workplace Discussion: You Got the Job, Now What?
Thurs, March 28 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
This topic was suggested by a Wellesley alum: onboarding and best practices as you start a new role. We are excited to bring together anyone who has recently started (or will be starting) a new job, no matter your stage in life. If you have onboarded employees, you can offer helpful guidance too! You may be asking, post-pandemic, what are best practices for getting to know your colleagues, asking for feedback, managing communication, and more. We hope that all who join will contribute questions or experiences to elevate our thinking on this important topic. This is a discussion, not a formal presentation.
Wellesley MAP (Mentorship Affinity Program)
Wellesley MAP is an ongoing commitment to mentorship at Wellesley, which matches alums and students in virtual groups based on career interests and shared identities. The goal of this program is to create supportive mentorship connections that foster participants’ sense of belonging, identity development, values, exploration of possible career paths, and connectedness within the larger Wellesley community. Designed to support personal and professional development and growth, mentorship groups will provide opportunities to ask questions, seek guidance, share stories and resources, and offer informal networks for career development.
The MAP program will run from February to May 2024 and is open to all current Wellesley sophomores, juniors, seniors, and alums.
‘Ask a Career Coach’ Drop-In Series
We will continue our informal drop-in ‘Ask a Career Coach’ monthly Q&A meetings this winter and spring. If you are in a career transition — looking for a new industry or position, navigating a role change or promotion, considering graduate studies, returning to the workforce, or planning for an engaged retirement — you probably have questions. Two dates will be specifically focused and the other two will be open for any career-related topics. Alums have benefitted from sharing career challenges and crowd-sourcing solutions and possibilities during past sessions and we hope you’ll join us with your questions.
- Thursday, February 8 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
- Topic: Alumnae Fellowship Opportunities with Wellesley College Fellowship Advisors Kate Dailinger and Caitlin Roberts-Donovan
- Tuesday, March 5 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
- All questions welcome.
- Monday, April 8 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
- Topic: Negotiation Tips from Gerta Malaj ‘13, founder of YourNegotiations.com
- Thursday, May 9 • Noon – 1:00 PM ET
- All questions welcome.
Registration is not necessary and participants can drop in via this Zoom link.
Opportunities for Alums to Engage with Students via Internships
Interested in creating an internship for a Wellesley student, or sharing an existing opportunity with the Wellesley network? This helpful resource outlines how.
Alumnae Career Advancement Team
Alumnae Career Advisors are here for one-on-one advising about career pivots, re-entry into the workforce, resume and cover letter reviews, interview practice, and more. You can schedule an appointment to meet with an Alumnae Career Advisor through Handshake using your Wellesley credentials.
Industry-Specific Advisors
Career Education's Industry-specific Advisors can provide industry expertise for alumnae exploring specific career paths, whether looking to break into a new field or advance in their industries with a competitive edge. Make an appointment on Handshake using your Wellesley credentials.
Resources
Our advisors have written a series of resources to jumpstart your research on a variety of career topics. Browse the links below, and schedule an appointment in Handshake to explore further!
Alumnae Webinars
Wellesley Career Education hosts professional development webinars to support alums at every career stage, often in partnership with alumnae who offer expertise on a specific topic. An archive of past webinars is housed below.
You can also watch a full playlist of our Alum Webinars on Youtube!
Alumnae Career Conversations
Wellesley Career Education regularly hosts career conversations with alums across a range of industries, who have generously offered to share their professional experiences with students and other alums. Recordings of many of these webinars are listed below.
Mentor Students & Connect with the Wellesley network!
The Wellesley Hive is a flexible, interactive virtual space for professional networking and mentorship. Through this Wellesley-exclusive platform, you can connect with alums and students as a mentor, mentee, or both. Log in to the Wellesley Hive using your Wellesley credentials, and follow the guided process to customize your involvement and improve your connections.
Alums and students are connected to The Wellesley Hive, Wellesley’s Mentorship Platform
Countries with members connected to The Wellesley Hive
Fellowships for Alumnae
Fellowships serve as an investment in individuals, for opportunities like:
• studying a language
• conducting academic research
• completing a service project
• pursuing graduate study
• designing and executing an independent project
As an alumna, you still have access to Wellesley Fellowship Program resources and advice from our team. Let us help you make the most of them!
Career Advancement
Career Advancement can mean different things to different people. For some, advancement means reaching a leadership position within a company or a field. For others, advancement means performing at a high level in a given role. Sometimes, advancement means switching careers entirely to learn a whole new domain, or focusing on giving back to a field or a community.
