Graduates tap online alumni networks for job leads, lost friends
By Alan Scher Zagier, Associated Press Writer | November 27, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. --When recruiter Soraya van Dillen was looking to fill a retail industry job in northern California, she could have put a help-wanted ad in the local newspaper, or posted the vacancy on an industry Web site.
Instead, the graduate of Santa Clara University went back to her alma mater. Within days, she had found the right match through a Web site limited to Santa Clara students and alumni.
"I'm very aware of the caliber of students and graduates they produce," said van Dillen, who works for Aerotek Inc. in San Jose. "Not a single candidate from Santa Clara has ever failed me. My first step is to go back there."
More than 50 colleges nationwide, from Dartmouth and Northwestern to Florida, Santa Clara and Missouri, have tapped into the "trusted social networks" offered by Affinity Circles of Mountain View, Calif.
Started by a group of Stanford undergraduates four years ago, the company targets alumni clubs, fraternities and other campus groups whose members often scatter after graduation.
