VCU Link Explained: Ask VCU Alumni
VCU Link is the largest professional networking space that is home to over 10,000 VCU alumni. It”’s your one-stop shop for career exploration and advancement.
The VCU Link Explained series walks you through the platform and shows you how you can make the most of this exclusive resource. In this article, you’ll learn about Ask VCU Alumni, a feature that connects students and fellow Rams with alumni who can offer real-world guidance, and how you can be part of it.
What is Ask VCU Alumni?
Ask VCU Alumni is a feature inside VCU Link that lets students and alumni post a question to the community and get a response from someone with the right experience to answer it. No cold messages, no awkward outreach. Someone asks a question, the platform identifies the alumni best suited to help, and routes it their way.
As an alum, that someone could be you.
How alumni can show up as a resource
When you have an active profile on VCU Link, the platform can match you with questions from students and fellow alumni based on your background, including your industry, job titles, areas of study and the topics you’ve indicated you can help with.
Here’s what to expect when a question comes your way:
Step 1: You’ll receive an email letting you know someone has a question that matches your experience. If it’s your first time receiving one, you’ll get a heads-up email 24 hours before so you know what to expect.
Step 2: You can respond directly by replying to the email or clicking the link to open a response page on VCU Link. It’s quick and low pressure.
Step 3: Once you respond, a conversation thread opens in your VCU Link inbox so you and the person who asked can keep the exchange going if you’d like.
You’ll receive no more than two questions per week. If your availability changes, you can update your preferences at any time.
To manage your preferences:
- Click your profile photo and go to My Preferences.
- Under the Availability tab, scroll to the bottom and toggle “Questions from the Community” on or off.
- Under the Notifications tab, choose how you want to be notified, whether by email, SMS or not at all.
You can ask questions, too
Ask VCU Alumni works both ways. If you’re navigating a career transition, exploring a new industry or just have a question you haven’t been able to answer on your own, you can post it to the community and hear back from alumni whose background matches what you’re looking for.
To ask a question, look for the Ask VCU Alumni prompt on the Home or Community pages inside VCU Link. From there you can choose your audience, write your question and submit. The platform handles the rest.
Why it matters that you’re here
Every alum who joins VCU Link and fills out their profile becomes a potential resource for someone who is figuring out their next step. Ask VCU Alumni is one of the most direct ways to make an impact without a major time commitment. You answer when you can, on your own schedule, in your own words.
Your career path, your industry experience, your lessons learned, that’s exactly what someone in the VCU community is searching for right now.
Categories Alumni