Tough Times? Call Your B-School Counselor

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Alumni Databases Browsing through a database of employed alumni is also a good way to incorporate the career management center into a job search. Kozicki encourages students to do self-directed job searches by identifying companies and searching the database to connect with alums at the targeted companies. He adds that an alumni database is an effective method for networking and career exploration because those in the program's database have agreed to be contacted and are interested in maintaining a network. While someone at the career management center can help jump-start the search, alums have access to the databases via the Web.

Job Boards While job boards have been one of the traditional methods of finding positions for current students, they are also helpful to those who are out of school. They're most helpful for those alumni who have left school within the past few years, says Fuqua's Dirks. A number of schools are using a service that will allow cross-posting of jobs, increasing the number of postings.

Networking Events For a job-hunter, any type of face-to-face interaction is important — even if it's not job-related, explains Dirks: "The introduction may come about from something electronic, but we say that the job search is a contact sport." Dirks adds that it's important for former students to attend events hosted by their alma mater in order to have the chance to mingle. For example, Fuqua's recent event in New York attracted everyone from the newly appointed B-school dean to prospective students to alumni. Many of the 200 alumni present at the event were in the banking industry and interested in supporting one another through the economic downturn. Dirks explains these types of events are especially important to former students who work in a different city or country from where they went to school.

Personality and Career Assessment Evaluations Online personality assessment programs at most career offices help alums reconnect with their original goals and interests. "Losing a job gives you the opportunity to rethink," explains Guy Groff, who heads the career management center at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He encourages alumni to research the facets of their personality that can help them be successful in a future position. Groff says while many alums have already done career assessment as students, it is beneficial to come in and evaluate current goals.

While using a career center to help start your job search is a good move, it's also important to keep in touch and continue to build a network during periods of employment, say experts. In fact, many of the calls career centers are getting these days are from employed alums who want to help others who may be looking for work. Fuqua's Dirks says reaching out through the career management center to network before you're laid off is a good approach and urges MBAs to stay in contact through their network throughout their career: "If the only time you go to [your network] is when you actually need something, you are going to run it dry."

Dizik is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com.