BOBCATS HELPING BOBCATS MENTORING PROGRAM
Bobcats Helping Bobcats is a collaboration between UC Merced’s Alumni Relations office and the Center for Career and Professional Advancement. The program provides opportunities for UC Merced Alumni to support the career success of current UC Merced students. Alumni provide feedback on resumes, help students prepare for interviews, and offer general career and graduate school guidance based on their own professional journey. Learn more about becoming involved as a mentor by contacting Alumni Relations at: Alumni Volunteers.
TIMELINE
Once alumni have submitted the online webform, they can expect an email follow up 1 to 3 months after submission from the Office of Alumni Relations (alumni@ucmerced.edu) with additional next steps which will include identifying a time to participate in an orientation led by CCPA staff.
If alumni are unable to participate during a specific period of time because of scheduling conflicts, there will be an opportunity to defer participation to another time using the emailed webform link.
EXPECTATIONS
Student Matches
Alumni will be attempted to be matched with students based on their interest in providing support and the current need of the student population. CCPA staff will continue to identify student populations based on school/major using the Handshake platform. Because students opt in, there may be delays in coordinating alumni-student mentorship/career talk opportunities.
Alumni Engagement
Once alumni have opted into the Bobcats Helping Bobcats registry, they can expect to be contacted with a webform link that will include questions about their interests and request sign-ups for an orientation/training that will be led by CCPA staff. Additional time may be required to identify an appropriate opportunity with current students. Once an opportunity is identified and interactions occur, students will be encouraged to contact alumni, however, in order to ensure organic and meaningful mentorship opportunities occur between the two groups, staff will not be intervening nor specifically coordinating student-alumni interactions.
QUESTIONS
Alumni are encouraged to contact the Office of Alumni Relations (alumni@ucmerced.edu) during the initial 1 to 3 months after completing their submissions. Once orientations/trainings are scheduled, they may contact designated CCPA staff for questions regarding next steps.
FOR STUDENTS
If you are interested in registerting to participate in a Bobcats Helping Bobcats session, sign up using the Career Center's Handshake platform to learn about upcoming opportunities. To learn how you can create your free student/alumni account, visit hire.ucmerced.edu/handshake.
