Health Care
Scroll through the blog posts and stories below to learn more about Hamilton student and alumni experiences in this industry. Finally, meet with your career advisor and explore the Career Center curriculum to learn how to network with alumni to discuss your interests and learn more about their work.
Health Career Blog
Utilizing the Hamilton Alumni Network
By Emily Dumont ’18
March 6, 2023
Tags Health Care
After graduating from Hamilton, I thought about applying to physical therapy programs, but wanted to work for a couple years before going back to school. I had no idea what I wanted to do; so, I networked. I went on HamNet and started emailing alumni who majored in biology (like me) and had careers that interested me. I sent dozens of emails consisting of a quick introduction about myself and asked if they would be willing to discuss how they got into their careers. I met for coffee chats, exchanged emails, and had many phone calls with Hamilton alumni. Everyone I talked to was so inviting and eager to take time out of their busy schedules to chat with a new alum. I used their advice to re-organize my resume, highlight different skills in my cover letters, and continue reaching out to people. After a couple months, an alum I had been intermittently communicating with sent me an email with a job posting at his company with something as simple as “thought this might interest you” in the message body. Because of that email, I’m about to reach four years as a senior orthopedic technician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., and have really loved my job.
When you’re on campus, it’s easy to feel how small Hamilton is, especially when you recognize most of the faces you walk by on your way to class every day. But what surprised me after graduating was that when you get out in the real world, the Hamilton community is extremely vast and yet still acts small. It might seem scary reaching out to someone new, but with the Hamilton connection, those strangers become fast friends. The alumni network is an incredible resource for current students or recent graduates who are still trying to figure out what they want to do in this world (or who want to ‘know thyself’ if you will). No matter what you want to pursue in the future, there are Hamilton alumni who will want to help you along the way. So, send that email, request to connect on LinkedIn, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there because I promise you as a Hamilton student/alumnus, you are already an old friend.
