Tips on Using the Online

Alumni Directory

Getting Started:

Alumni may not be aware that students have access to the OnLine Alumni Directory.  When making an initial contact (whether by phone, e-mail or letter) introduce yourself as a St. Olaf student (include class standing and major), specify that you found the alum’s name through the OnLine Alumni Directory, and indicate your purpose in making the contact. 

Alumni are an invaluable resource for gathering information on a specific field or occupation, a particular organization, how best to approach the job/internship search, or on a specific geographical location.  Alumni may not be in a position to offer an internship, summer job or full-time employment, but can often offer valuable advice or assistance in how to go about securing these opportunities.  Whether you are researching career opportunities or seeking a job or internship, it is best to pursue the information you need in the context of an informational interview. 

When calling to arrange an informational interview, introduce yourself, state your purpose, and ask if the alum has a few minutes to talk.  If the alum does not have time to talk just then, arrange a better time for you to return a call.  Be prepared to leave a specific message if you get voice mail when you call; include your name, phone number and when you’ll try to call back.   If you choose to make the initial contact via e-mail or letter, state that you will call to follow up and then follow through with a phone call within the designated time frame.

If you are planning an event in which you’d like alumni participation, make the invitation no later than a month prior to the date of the event.  Be clear about the specifics of the event – date, time, place, duration of the event, expectations for the individual’s participation and the date by when you need a response.  Confirm a positive response to a phone invitation with an e-mail or letter so that the alum has the specifics of the event in writing.  If a contact is not able to accept an invitation, remember to thank the alum and ask if he/she would like to be invited to similar events in the future.

Using the Online Alumni Directory:

• Link to the directory »

• Search by entering a combination of two or more variables to get a more refined list of alumni.

• If searching by place of employment, educational institution or degree earned, you may need to enter variations of the name you are entering as the search variable.

• Each search will pull a random sample of alumni fitting the search criteria entered and will produce a maximum listing of 50 alumni.  If you are interested in contacting specific alumni listed, click on their name to get contact information.  If you do not have time to gather the contact information on alumni listed, jot down the names of those you’d like to look at more carefully in the future.  That way you can locate the specific alum the next time you use the directory by entering first and last name as the search criteria as the next sampling of 50 produced may be different than the first.

NOTE: Be sure to clear the form before beginning a new search.