Jeff Leadford, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, gets some career pointers from Mark McCrerey (Bus’74), president of McCrerey & Roberts Construction, at a Night of Networking event in December sponsored by the Alumni Association and Career Services.

When we launched Forever Buffs and added undergraduate students to the alumni family, we learned they genuinely want to speak with alums. They want to learn about the career paths you’ve taken, what company cultures are like and what it takes to work in a certain field. They want direction and guidance.

As a result, we created Ask a Buff, an online service to enable alums and students to seek and give advice. Volunteer to be an Ask A Buff resource by registering on the Forever Buffs Network online community at www.foreverbuffsnetwork.org.

Alums have been lining up in front of the office of new Career Services alumni career counselor Lea Alvarado, seated in front. Photo by Casey A. Cass

When Lea Alvarado began her new job as alumni career counselor at CU-Boulder in August, the phone started ringing off the hook.

She wouldn’t have it any other way in her role as the first alumni-specific staffer at Career Services. She aims to counsel, coach and create special programs for alumni at all levels, including serving as a resource for alumni looking to hire other Buffs. Her position was created as a result of an Alumni Association and Career Services partnership fostered by the new Forever Buffs program.

One thing that makes her job easy is many employers understand the strength and value of a CU degree. Despite the tough economic times, CU-Boulder ranks seventh among state universities for salary potential and second among western colleges (public and private), according to PayScale, a market leader in global online compensation data.

“If you need career support or guidance, no matter where you are in the U.S., please contact me,” Alvarado says. “My goal is to provide counseling and services that will help alumni navigate their way through these difficult economic times.”

Network with other Buffs online at www.foreverbuffsnetwork.org, search the robust job listings in the Career Services database, e-mail Alvarado at lea.alvarado@colorado.edu or contact the front desk at 303-492-6541 to set up a phone or in-person appointment with her.

In these hard economic times, reaching out to students has never been more important. Use the network’s directory, participate in special interest groups and become an Ask a Buff expert to offer professional and relocation advice to students and alums. Log on to the Foreverbuffs Network today.

The University Memorial Center is a great place for students to network with alums while attending career fairs.

Andy Burwell’s (Fin’98) career in financial planning started with an internship he had while a CU student. And because of that, he has opened his door to help CU students like Jenna Garofalo (Bus’09) get some real-world experience through an internship.

“My biggest reason for wanting to hire was when I was in school someone was nice enough to give me an internship,” he says, noting he hired Garofalo as a summer intern researching market trends last summer. “I wanted to give someone else the same opportunity.”

His internship gave him a sense of direction — and led to a job offer and his career path. In this weakened economy, alums like Burwell are helping realize the goals of the Alumni Association’s new Forever Buffs program: to help alumni and students create stronger professional and social networks and encourage a culture of contribution.

Broaden your Buff network by posting your company’s job openings and internship opportunities in the Career Services job database and in the Alumni Association’s Forever Buffs Network (formerly My CU Network), a social and professional networking site. The Forever Buffs Network also provides a platform for you to reach out through career resources, mentoring tools, discussion groups, chapter links, a Facebook application and robust alumni directory. As part of the Buff family, you can be that person who changes a student — or an alum’s — life.

“In this economic environment, whether you are a student or have been in the working world for 20 years, being able to go back to the alumni base and ask for help, which in other situations most people are not comfortable with, is key,” Burwell says. “It’s great to be in a position to be able to help.”

To help you find a job, the Alumni Association and Career Services are collaborating in unprecedented ways. Career Services Online (CSO), a job database, now is free to CU-Boulder alumni. Other services include job fairs on campus, online networking opportunities and professional development workshops.

Find CU-Boulder Career Services at http://careerservices.colorado.edu/. The Alumni Association’s career page is at www.cualum.org/services/career/. The network is at www.foreverbuffsnetwork.org.