Alumni Who Hire Summer Interns Pay it Forward

The partnership between alumni and current students provides an essential professional network that benefits everyone. Hundreds of alumni participate in programs of the YUCareer Center, including student mentorship, participation on career panels, and opportunities to hire students as interns at their own companies.

“Yeshiva University alumni are an amazing resource for career information and the most ardent advocates of our students in the job market today,” said Jocelyn Coalter, the Director of Employer and Alumni Relations. “They give so much of their time and energy to help YU students succeed and achieve their goals. Here at the Career Center, we feel very strongly that one of our roles is to facilitate and manage those alumni-student connections.”

Daniel Krul ’10SB, a senior analyst at Sunrise Securities, hired four students to intern in his firm this past summer. Working at Goldman Sachs for five years both during college and after graduating from YU, Krul met many alumni and saw firsthand the strong network of committed alumni willing to offer professional assistance.

“When I first began working at Goldman, I had a mentor named Dorian Levy ’01SB, who worked at Lehman Brothers, and I spoke to him weekly,” said Krul. “I asked him why he helped in this way, and he told me that there was a YU alum who mentored him when he was just starting out and he wanted to pass that benefit along. It inspired me to continue carrying that torch, and I’ve helped recruit and train YU students for interviews at Goldman and other major banks in this industry.”

Krul is just one of over 300 alumni who are part of YU Info Link, a database of alumni available to assist with career development . Alumni conduct mock interviews or discuss graduate school programs and careers with aspiring students.  They also regularly visit campus to conduct one-on-one informational interviews about their industry.  The Career Center manages a “Women in Business” mentoring program and co-coordinates an accounting mentoring program. Recently, the Career Center collaborated with the pre-law advisor to initiate a pre-law mentoring program.

“Yeshiva University’s mentoring program for pre-law students provides incredible engagement potential among alumni and current students,” said Eliana Baer ’06S, an attorney at Fox Rothschild LLP who mentored two pre-law students last year. “Not only that, but the larger alumni community benefits.  A strong alumni network makes for a stronger Yeshiva University, and increases the value of each of our degrees. For Yeshiva University to continue to be a strong university, a strong alumni network is essential.”

The YU alumni network is already quite vibrant, enhanced by the interconnectedness of our alumni through families, communities and the professional world.  As Krul said, “Yeshiva University’s alumni network is unique, and if utilized correctly, doesn’t compare to any other university’s network that I’ve encountered,” continued Krul. “The extent to which a YU alum will help a current student is unparalleled.”

With so many ways to give back, alumni can easily find the right fit for them:

• The Career Center coordinates more than 100 programs and events each year for students. Last year, more than 90 alumni participated in programs such as Being Orthodox in an Unorthodox World, How to Succeed at Work, Mock Interview Night, Careers in Psychology, and Hot Tech Careers. Alumni and their firms can recruit students by posting internship and job opportunities, presenting company and career information sessions on campus, attending career fairs, and conducting on-campus interviews. The Career Center currently works with several thousand alumni in this capacity. To post a job or internship, click here.
• Every year, 20-40 sophomores participate in a job shadowing program over their winter break in January. Students visit the work site of an employer in their field of interest for a day, learning more about that career path and industry. The Career Center also coordinates site visits where a group of 10-20 students can tour a company and hear about the different types of opportunities available.

And, when alumni reach out and give back, it inspires ripple effects for future students.

“Over the years, I have had the pleasure of providing various internship and other job opportunities to Yeshiva students, and I am confident that they will do the same for the students who come after them,” said  David Rabinowitz ’80YC,  Director of Equity Research and Head of International Equities and Portfolio Manager at ING Investment Management, who has taken interns in his department last few summers.

The Career Center invites alumni who might have creative ideas regarding programming or ways to contribute their assistance to contact Jocelyn Coalter at coalter@yu.edu or 646-592-4140.