inCircle networks students, alumni

Juniors and seniors can now access the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association's social networking service, inCircle.

The program, now in its third year, aims to connect UC students and alumni. "It is basically an online social network for UC alumni and students," UC Alumni Association program director Jennifer Heisey said.

The network is similar to popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, said David Macejko, alumni affairs executive director.

The program was initially developed by a group of Stanford University students in 2002. UC was the second public university to adopt the service when it joined four years ago.

About 70 organizations are using the service, which is provided by California-based Affinity Circles. Among other schools participating in the service are the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan and Ohio University, according to Heisey.

InCircle is part of the UC Alumni Association's growing effort to make connections with students before graduation.

"Most students don't understand the Alumni Center is there for them as a student," Heisey said. "This is one way we felt the students could connect with alumni."

One of inCircle's features is a career module. According to Macejko, members have the capability to search for employment through networks of friends, and friends of friends.

"There are a ton of [job] listings," Macejko said. "They're all over the world."

The job feature was added six months ago, and a number of companies now use the service to post opportunities regularly.

"In the past month, employers have posted 200 premium jobs as they target UC grads," Heisey said. Employers looking to advertise jobs within the community may post job listings for a small fee, Heisey said.

In addition to formal job searches, members also are targeted directly by employers seeking UC alumni. "We have a lot of informal career networking happening on a regular basis," Heisey said.

Employers also have the option of posting opportunities to all members making up the inCircle network.

Alumni have the opportunity to join groups centering around a city or region of focus. Such groups often have suggestions for new UC alumni expressing interest in relocating to a new city, Heisey said. Such groups exist for Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and many more, Heisey said.

The service also provides an opportunity for international recruitment. "The alumni center is attempting to reconnect with international students," Macejko said. He also said he hopes UC promotes former international students who would then help recruit interested students from their home countries.

The Alumni Association also is partnering with Exploratory Studies to help provide direction to students seeking career guidance. The program allows students the chance to job shadow past UC alumni and build a network of contacts, Heisey said.

While the network is a closed system, UC faculty and staff also are encouraged to join the community, Macejko said. The inCircle community at UC has 7,000 members, Heisey said. "The more people who use it, the better it will be."

Becoming a member of UC's inCircle community is free. "There is no cost to participate," Heisey said. The service is provided to the UC community by the UCAA.

The Alumni Association is promoting inCircle in a variety of ways. In January, 300 new members signed up following a promotion for a free iPod drawing, Heisey said. In addition to planned quarterly promotions, the Alumni Association is visiting professional development classes to express the importance of career networking.

"We have already visited classes in the College of Engineering and we are scheduled to attend classes in the College of Business and other colleges throughout the quarter," Heisey said.