Syracuse University alumni have some of the greatest jobs around, and a new Twitter account launched by Syracuse University Career Services aims to showcase the neat career paths that SU graduates follow after their time on the Hill.
The Twitter account @WorkingOrange launched on Jan. 14 and has grown to more than 1,000 followers. The account features guest alumni tweeters who take followers through a “day in the life” at their workplace, providing background on their careers and offering advice as well. What did they study at SU? How did they land their first job out of college? What is a typical day like at the office? The tweeters share pictures of their workspaces, show sneak peeks of projects they’re working on, share advice with followers and much more. Followers can interact with the account and ask questions throughout the day.
Guest tweeters to date have included a blogger, sports broadcaster, luxury travel agent, attorney, public relations executive, database administrator, community manager and several others.
“One of the best ways to learn about an occupation is to spend a day with someone in that occupation. Social media expands such opportunities incredibly,” says Mike Cahill, director of the Office of Career Services. “While traditional job shadowing provides a one-to-one connection, @WorkingOrange provides hundreds of students and alumni with insight into a typical day in these various careers at the same time.”
The account is active Monday through Thursday and occasionally on Fridays. The goal is to showcase a variety of different career paths.
“What’s neat about @WorkingOrange is that no day is ever the same. Our followers are being exposed to all of the different directions our alumni travel in after graduating from SU—and perhaps to some opportunities that they never even considered, but can now explore,” says Kim Brown, Career Services’ assistant director for alumni programs, who developed the account with the office’s social media team and now oversees it.
Local illustrator Michael Borkowski created the Working Orange logo, which features Otto heading to work. The logo is designed to be eye catching when followers are scrolling through their Twitter timelines.
More than 90 alumni have volunteered to be guest tweeters and will be scheduled over the coming months. Career Services will be making a request for additional tweeters over the summer.
Anyone with questions can contact Brown at kmbrow04@syr.edu or on Twitter at @kimincuse.
