Career Development Volunteer Opportunities

We're grateful to our network of dedicated alumni and parent volunteers and excited to partner with you in many important ways.

Offer Mentorship

Mentorship creates a rewarding and collaborative career development process for students and is a critical component to navigating any industry. There are multiple ways to support mentorship efforts at Kenyon:

Create a LinkedIn account and join the Kenyon Network LinkedIn group. By joining this group, you make yourself and your background available to Kenyon students and alumni who can contact you for informational interviews and advice. If you're an alum, remember to add Kenyon College to your education so students and alumni can also find you with LinkedIn’s alumni tool

Join the Kenyon network.

Provide opportunities for students to explore careers of interest by allowing them to observe your workplace for 1-3 days. Students learn about the responsibilities of the job as well as the skills and qualifications necessary to succeed. To offer a job shadow, fill out this form. Hosts will be asked to reconfirm their availability at the start of each academic year.

Learn more about job shadows.

Through this original Kenyon program, alumni and parents creatively design discrete, hands-on exercises that students can complete remotely in 5 – 40-hours using commonly available software and equipment. Professional Extension Projects are unpaid and designed to maximize students' learning around a host’s career field. Hosts connect with the student to describe goals of the project and its relevance to the field. Upon completion of the project, student and host reconnect to debrief the experience, evaluate the work, and discuss the skills highlighted, areas for improvement, and reiterate how the experience was important preparation for the career field. 

Register a Professional Extension Project.

Hire Kenyon!

Hands-on experience is still one of the best ways for students to learn. We have several ways for you to connect with Kenyon talent:

We welcome you to share preexisting opportunities with Kenyon students and graduates. To recruit for full-time, part-time or internship positions, see our Hire Kenyon page for more details.

Discuss recruiting opportunities with our director of employer relations. Start the conversation by completing the Hire Kenyon interest form.

Alumni and parents understand the value of a Kenyon liberal arts education and the talent of our students upon graduation. Alumni and parents can help by:

• Making an introduction between HR/recruiting teams and the CDO director of employer relations.

• Browsing the Kenyon Candidates Resume Book and share with HR/recruitment teams. Students opt into the publication in order to explore post-graduate opportunities via referrals and suggestions from our alumni community. 

Create an internship reserved specifically for a Kenyon student. Unsure where to begin? We can help you design a program that is meaningful and engaging. Start by downloading our Kenyon Internship Guide, which provides valuable guidance and suggestions and is jam-packed with A-Z examples. Contact the Career Development's director of employer relations to ask questions or schedule a consultation.

Other Ways to Get Involved

Developed by Kenyon’s Alumni Council, the Career Development Office now connects students with alumni career fields by inviting Kenyon professionals to “take over” the Kenyon CDO Instagram for 24 hours. As a host, you can offer a virtual window into the day-to-day operations of your work, explain your career path and respond to student-submitted questions. If you are savvy with Instagram and think Kenyon students and alumni would enjoy working in your field, apply to this program with your Instagram handle here: 

Take over the CDO Instagram.

Kenyon is committed to providing opportunities for all students to participate in high-impact practices that can lead to lifelong fulfilling careers. Giving to the Scott A. Layson fund — named after a longtime, influential CDO director — provides greater access to internship and research opportunities for all students. Contact Sarah Tancredi or Anne Ellsworth '04 to discuss supporting this fund. 

The Kenyon Career Development Office (CDO) maintains information to help Kenyon students and alumni connect with individuals and companies that are willing to assist, mentor, or house students who are exploring careers and with internship and job opportunities that may be available. Students, employers and volunteers should be aware that the CDO does not vet or conduct background checks on the students that may seek assistance, employers that may be offering opportunities, or volunteers who may be providing support. Employers, students, mentors, and hosts are highly encouraged to meet via a phone or Skype call prior to confirming any arrangements to determine suitability of fit and discuss mutual expectations. While the CDO is not responsible for what happens in arrangements that come from its networks, it is happy to assist students, employers and volunteers with conflict resolution and resources should difficulties occur.