"Things are always changing, always - and yet there are some things that stay the same, like networking," said Buckman. To that end, the Career Center hosts P2P gatherings, as well as employer-to-employer gatherings. At an event Harano attended, she was able to talk about her experiences both as an employer and a job seeker, and connect with people who had similar interests. "It was a value on both sides," she said.

UI alumni already have a huge networking resource in each other. More than 40,000 alumni from numerous areas and industries have volunteered to serve as networking contacts for other Illinois graduates. Their contact information is available only to Alumni Association members and accessible under the "Search For Assistance" heading of the UIAA Online Directory at https://www.uiaaconnect.org/UIAA/SSOServlet?toPage=directory. All three counselors mentioned again and again the value of the directory in making those initial contacts, noting that each contact leads to others.

The Online Directory isn't the only electronic job tool the Career Center offers. When alumni purchase career packages, they receive password-protected access to Experience eRecruiting Network and MonsterTrak, sites that post jobs from employers who have indicated a specific interest in UI alumni. The Career Center also offers access to CareerSearch, a national employer directory that allows job seekers to look at specific companies and regions.

Lori Mrowca '86 (UIC) found her job online. When she was looking to make a career change within her industry, from working on accounts receivable to letters of credits, Mrowca purchased a career package, consulted with Hays and registered her resume in an online database. A bank saw her resume, contacted her and hired her.

"The job kind of found me," Mrowca said.

The Career Center functions as a gathering place, a home for all UI alumni, both in its physical form at the corner of Adams and Wacker and on the UIAA's Web site. In the physical Career Center, the Lou Liay Career Resources Library offers daily job postings (separated by field), career magazines, newspaper job ads, and guidebooks and pamphlets on every career-related subject imaginable. Staff Assistant Christian Collins '02 (UIC) helps alumni find any information in the library.

The library also offers a place for University of Illinois graduates to come in from the windy city, complete with free access to computers, a printer and a copy machine.

Marren has used the Career Center's services since his graduation. "It was an advantage coming out of college, where you could have a central resource," said Marren.

Newhouse agrees. "I just think it is so vital to the University," she said.

Though many of the events and services the Alumni Career Center offers are free, others, like individual advising and career interest assessments, have a nominal fee, often less than one-third the amount of a non-alumni-related professional career service.

All of the services are offered individually. Alumni can also choose a self-directed package, where they would receive access to all the tips, events, Web sites and three workshops the Career Center offers; or the Comprehensive Package, where they would also receive unlimited time with the career counselors and unlimited access to professional development workshops.

For his part, Marren found the Alumni Career Center's services invaluable. "The value they delivered was totally out of proportion to the nominal fee," he said. "I went from playing without the ball to playing with the ball."

For more information on the UIAA Alumni Career Center, go to www.uiaa.org/careers or call 312/575-7830.