Step 1: Build your professional brand

Partner with the UCR Career Development Center, and LinkedIn Learning to perfect your resume, LinkedIn profile, and elevator pitch.

• Perfect your job search

  Perfect your job search

  Perfect your job search with help from the UCR Career Center. Workshops are available on Handshake.  Topics include:

  • Resume Writing
  • Cover Letter Writing
  • Ace the Interview
  • Where are the Jobs? The Hidden Job Market
  • Networking Your Way to a Job
  • Choosing a Major
  • Career Plan Series
  • Mastering LinkedIn
  • How Not to Get Fired: Professional Etiquette
  • Nuts and Bolts of Internship
  • Part-Time Job Search/Resume Writing

   

  RSVP to Workshops

   

Step 3: Network strategically

Connect with alumni, faculty, and industry leaders.

• Network Strategically

  Digital Networking & Mentorship Platforms

  These tools allow you to find "warm" leads—people who have already raised their hands to help Highlanders.

  UCR Alumni Career Network (The "Highlander LinkedIn")

  • What: A dedicated portal for 1-on-1 mentorship with UCR alumni.
  • Best For: Informational interviews and long-term mentorship.
  • Action: Create a profile and use the "Industry Matching" tool to find alumni in Finance, Marketing, or Tech.

  Handshake (The Professional Bridge)

  • What: UCR’s primary hub for job postings and employer interaction.
  • Best For: Messaging recruiters directly and finding "Peer-to-Peer" reviews of internships at top firms.
  • Action: Follow "Dream Companies" to get notified the moment they schedule a campus visit.

  LinkedIn : UCR School of Business Group

  • What: A specialized group for School of Business students, faculty, and alumni.
  • Action: Join the group and search the "Members" tab for specific job titles you aspire to.
     

  Exclusive School of Business Connections

  Business students have access to elite-level industry leaders through these specialized programs.

  • Executive Fellows Program: Connect with C-Suite leaders (CEOs, Founders) who serve as mentors. These are "heavy hitters" in the School of Business ecosystem.
  • Dean’s Speaker Series: Attend these quarterly high-profile lectures to meet innovators. Always stay for the "mixer" afterward.
  • Professional Organizations:
    • ALPFA / Beta Alpha Psi: The direct pipeline to the "Big Four" accounting firms and Fortune 500s.
    • Business Fraternities (AKPsi/PCT): Intense professional development and a lifelong alumni network.
    • American Marketing Association (AMA): Focuses on agency-side networking and creative industry leaders.
    • All Student Organizations at UCR: business.ucr.edu/undergraduate/student-organizations
       

  Use LinkedIn to Network and Engage: To move beyond a passive profile, these courses focus on "Social Selling" and authentic community building.

  How to use Linkedin Learning

  • Strategically Build and Engage Your Network on LinkedIn * Focus: How to find the right people and engage with their content so they actually notice you.
  • Professional Networking for Career Starters * Focus: A quick, 16-minute "jump start" for those who feel awkward reaching out to strangers.
  • Digital Body Language * Focus: Understanding the "unspoken rules" of online engagement—how to sound professional yet approachable in comments and DMs.

  Create your Elevator Pitch: An elevator pitch is your "About" section and your first message to a new connection.

  • Delivering an Authentic Elevator Pitch Focus: Creating a 30-second story that demonstrates both warmth and competence. It includes specific examples for virtual vs. in-person settings.
  • Giving Your Elevator Pitch Focus: A high-energy course on making your pitch memorable and "selling" your value quickly.

  Develop a portfolio / website: To move beyond a flat resume, these courses focus on visual storytelling and "proof of work" to provide a tangible home for your professional achievements. 

  • WordPress Essential Training Focus: If you want a standalone website (e.g., yourname.com), this is the definitive technical guide.
  • Portfolio Development in Canva Focus: A modern, visual approach for non-designers to create stunning digital portfolios that can be shared via a link.