Approach Alumni in the Field of interest

Question

Hi Guys,

I want to switch career both industry and function. Although I have done some work to support my move, I would like to meet the Alumni in the same field of the schools where I want to apply. I just want to ensure that the direction I am moving is realistic and I will get the job that I seek after I pour gazillions of $$$$$ into a full time MBA.

So the question is how can I reach the Alumni, so that they answer my queries and not mark my emails as spam.

1. Try career services of schools so that they can give me some contact information.
2. Try HR of prospective companies.
3. Use social networking sites
4. Don't do anything and hope that my stars are aligned when adcom reads my essay.

Are the first two options even practical? Are they tall orders to accomplish?

I would appreciate any input?

Are the first two options even practical? Are they tall orders to accomplish? I would appreciate any input?

asimov · Answer

Great question to ask ahead of time. I think the first 2 options may be impractical due to legal restrictions. I feel the best way for information is through personal contacts, because the information you get will less likely to be skewed. You can try LinkedIn to see if you have any connections in common with the contacts. You can also get of a feel of the fields students go into by looking at the employment statistics. If you really want to communicate with someone, you can try cold e-mailing current students/alumni in those fields through Bing searches. Although, the response rate may be low, since the alumni/students are extremely busy. And alumni are probably been contacted by current students for advice as well.

ak2012 · Answer

Several universities also put up contact information of officers in various campus clubs. You can try contacting some of them in clubs that are related to the industry/function you are interested in. Several clubs even have prospective student representatives to help answer questions. Hope this helps.

get2aditya · Answer

Student blogs of the respective schools may have contact information. You can leave a comment on the students/admissions blogs and solicit information. (I am not sure if this is definitely going to yield results, but definitely worth a try.)

Approach Alumni in the Field of interest

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