With technology on the rise, it is no surprise that companies have shifted from paper resumes to online submissions for job opportunities. Although it allows job seekers to browse the web at any time looking for job postings, it also opens the door to the dreaded "black hole". The "black hole", in the mind of graduating students, is where almost all of their resumes and cover letters end up. After spending hours perfecting the resume and cover letter, you press the "submit" button on the online application and receive a generic email response saying that they will get in touch with you if your qualifications match their needs. No contact person to follow up with. No way to check if anyone even read your resume. Just an email. This is the "black hole", and many students who are looking for jobs do not know how to avoid it.

At Quinnipiac, we have a unique website called QU'Net. Here you can go to the Career Center page to the job posting databank, add your resume to the resume databank, or read helpful information for career development. The most useful tool, in my opinion, is the link to the Career Alumni Network. Here I searched by industry and location to find a Quinnipiac Alumni that was in the industry that I hoped to be in after graduation. I emailed a few using their alumni email address, and within days I got a response. Although they were not in charge of hiring, they did give me some helpful advice on what employers are looking for in the industry, what are good skills to have, and how they ended up at their current job. Because they were Quinnipiac Alumni, they were more than willing to help me out and were thrilled to hear from a fellow alum. In some instances, they forwarded my resume to someone in another department, or pointed me in the right direction of the correct person to contact to get my foot in the door. The "black hole" was avoided! QU'Net really serves as a useful tool to network, find a mentor, and ultimately lead me in a direction to a person who could look at my resume and potentially set up an interview.

-Colleen Kelly MBA 2012