Columbia Mailman Connect

Last September, the Mailman School launched Columbia Mailman Connect, a free, secure, and user-friendly online platform that facilitates mentoring and networking relationships between alumni and students. The launch of the platform reflects the culmination of a years-long effort by the Office of Career Services and the Alumni Board Student Engagement Committee to create an effective online networking platform for the Mailman community.

As alumni, you can use Columbia Mailman Connect to:

• Seek advice from members of the Columbia Mailman community who are eager to provide guidance and support;
• Expand your professional network and receive introductions to others outside of your immediate network;
• Learn about job opportunities shared within the Columbia Mailman community; and 
• Post and advertise job opportunities, in addition to those posted on the Mailman CareerLink site.

Users also can create and join different groups and communities based on diverse interests, identity groups, industries and locations, and engage with others through focused group discussions. Columbia Mailman Connect, which at the time of this writing has over 560 registered users, features groups for each Mailman academic department and for various geographic locations and identity groups (e.g., LGBTQ+, Latinx).

Columbia Mailman Connect also offers:

• A running feed of alumni and staff updates, interesting content, photos and conversations;
• A full opt-in directory of alumni and staff, allowing you to connect with the global Mailman community; and
• Invites to upcoming gatherings, career events, webinars, etc.

As an added bonus, the Columbia Mailman Connect platform, unlike LinkedIn and other public networking sites, is operated through a private database hosted by the software company, Graduway; this means that users’ data remain secure.

Whether you are a seasoned professional looking to give back or a recent graduate seeking to jumpstart your career, sign up and complete your profile on Columbia Mailman Connect today. We look forward to seeing you online!

Here are what users of Columbia Mailman Connect are saying:

Thanks to Mailman Connect I am able to form meaningful relationships with other alums and pass on my learnings to current students!

After graduation, I was on the hunt for a job and didn’t know where to start networking with a wider reach of alums. Then I got a notice for Columbia Mailman Connect and immediately got connected to some of the most helpful advice ever, it made me proud to be an alum of this program!

I'm a job search consultant and a dual degree graduate of the School of Nursing and Mailman. I always find it interesting to speak with graduating students and alumni to develop their career plans. I especially find that hindsight is 20/20 especially for individuals who want to switch industries or functional roles mid-career or following graduation armed with new knowledge and ideas. At the heart of the Connect program is the generosity of volunteers and the sincere appreciation which alumni and students are quick to give. It's a professional, polite and supportive community.

– Nicole Iny, MPH ’10