The Career Center also serves UMBC alumni as they grow in their careers or transition to new ones, and we create partnerships with local and national employers to provide outstanding talent.
Recent alumni may participate in on-campus interviews through the next following semester after graduation (Fall graduates through Spring, Spring and Summer graduates through Fall).
All alumni are welcome to attend career fairs throughout the year.
Handshake, our job portal
Alumni (those individuals who have graduated from a degree or certificate program at UMBC) are eligible to continue utilizing their Handshake account for one year following the date of graduation. After that, alumni can request to have their Handshake account reactivated on a per semester basis, but are urged to schedule an appointment with a career specialist.
Recent UMBC graduates have a Handshake account prepopulated by Registrar data feed, and you can simply log in with your myUMBC single-sign-on credentials to activate the account. If Handshake does not find an existing account for you, using single-sign-on or your UMBC email address (in the username1@umbc.edu format), you can sign up for an account:
- If you sign up with your UMBC email address the new account request will automatically be approved. Note, that because you are signing up manually you will need to always log in using your email address and Handshake password. You will not be able use the myUMBC single-sign-on method unless you return to UMBC as a registered student in the future (i.e. your account is auto-updated by the Registrar data feed), or you contact the Career Center to add your Campus ID to your Handshake account to allow for single-sign-on authentication.
- If you sign up with a non-UMBC personal email address (gmail, yahoo, etc.), your account request will be sent to a pending bin and a Career Center staff member will need to review and approve it. If you don’t receive approval within 2 business days you can email careers@umbc.edu to check on the status.
If you are having trouble with your job search we urged you to schedule an appointment with a career specialist to review current job search strategies and to receive recommendations for the most effective practices of branding, networking and resource utilization. We strongly suggest that job search candidates utilize a variety of methods to conduct an effective job search and not focus exclusively on online resources.
Appointments and Fees
Recent UMBC alumni may schedule appointments for free up to six months following their date of graduation.
All alumni who are past 6-months since graduating may schedule one appointment for free. Any additional appointments are $30 per 60-minute session. No-shows and appointments canceled with less than 24-hours notice will be assessed the full fee.
Alumni can easily schedule appointments directly via Handshake (if you already have an account) or by calling us. We recommend selecting a 60-minute appointment slot. Any follow-up appointment will incur the $30 fee per appointment. If you need support with your Handshake account, e-mail careers@umbc.edu.
The fee for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® assessment along with the corresponding appointment for interpretation is $30.
Alumni Coffee Chats, and Conversations with Alumni
These events types are opportunities for students to conduct informational interviews with alumni, in a short 15-minute scheduled format. If interested in participating in the future please email paige2@umbc.edu.
Join Retrievers Connect – a Networking Platform
The Career Center, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Engagement, is pleased to offer Retrievers Connect – a networking platform just for the UMBC community. You can connect with other alumni for career discussions, advice, and new contacts. There are filters to search the database on industry, major, location, topic of interest, student organization, sport, and identity information. The platform also gives alumni the chance to share their expertise with students and other graduates.
UMBC Alumni Association
UMBC offers alumni a free, lifetime membership in the UMBC Alumni Association. They host events, post exciting university and alumni news, and showcase a variety of ways to get involved.