Career Advancement
Lifetime Support for Career Advancement
A benefit of being a graduate of Wellesley College is continued access to Career Education resources. Dedicated Alumnae Career Advisors and Industry Advisors are here to help you navigate your career journey, make meaningful connections, overcome obstacles, and celebrate success at every stage.
We offer one-on-one advising, resume and cover letter reviews, interview practice, professional development webinars, and advice on new trends that will impact your job search process. Our experienced staff can work with you to address whatever you are facing, including making a career pivot/change, advancing in your current career field, re-entering the workforce, or finding an “encore career” after retirement.
Connect using Handshake and The Wellesley Hive
Alumnae maintain lifelong access to Career Education technology platforms. Handshake is Wellesley's online platform for finding jobs/internships and making appointments with advisors. The Wellesley Hive is an interactive virtual space for professional networking and mentorship with other Wellesley alums and current students.
The Hive also includes a robust job board! Each job post features suggested connections to help you take your search to the next level. Find a good job match? Reach out to an alum associated with the role or company. Alums can also share opportunities directly with other alums by posting positions directly to The Hive.
For ease of use and security, your Wellesley username and password are required to log in to both platforms.
Opportunities for Alums to Engage with Students via Internships
Interested in creating an internship for a Wellesley student, or sharing an existing opportunity with the Wellesley network? This helpful resource outlines how.
Fall 2026 Alumnae Connections Programs
‘Ask a Career Coach’ Series
Wednesday, September 30 (Participation especially encouraged for 2025 and 2026 graduates engaged in a job search)
Thursday, October 8
Wednesday, November 11
Monday, December 7 (Participation especially encouraged from those thinking about fellowships and graduate school)
All sessions will be held 12:00-1:00 pm.
Whether you're looking for a new industry or position, contemplating graduate study, navigating a role change or promotion, returning to the workforce, or planning for an engaged retirement, drop in to ask our Alum Career Advisors your questions!
Designing Your Life Working Groups
This program is for alums who want to make a professional change, but need inspiration to figure out what that might be. Alumnae Career Advisors Dana Keep and Becky King will facilitate the discussion as a group of Wellesley alums help each other ‘build their way forward’ and design a new direction. Space is limited, and we kindly request that participants commit to all three sessions to ensure cohesiveness and continuity of conversation.
Fall cohort: Tuesdays, October 20, 27, November 3, 2026
Winter cohort: Thursdays, January 14, 21, 28, 2027
Spring cohort: Mondays, April 5, 12, 26, 2027
All sessions meet 12:00 –1:30 pm ET
Retirement by Design Cohort
Thursdays, February 4, 11, 18, 2027, 12:00 to 1:30 PM ET
Using the principles of design thinking found in the Designing Your Life book by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, Alumnae Advisors Becky King and Dana Keep will lead a small group through exercises and discussions to help you brainstorm, “try out”, and choose elements of your new chapter. Participants should commit to all three sessions to ensure cohesiveness and continuity of conversation.
American Studies Alumnae Career Panel
Monday, September 28, 2026, 7:00 to 8:00 PM ET
Four alums with diverse career paths will share their experiences about majoring in American Studies helped them navigate the professional world.
Panel Participants:
- Julie Daurio ’12, journalist, communications, and broadcast professional
- Charlotte Kasper ’20, Assistant Curator, Museum of the Moving Image
- Avery Lumeng ’21, Financial Director, Ayanna Pressley for Congress
- Alina Mota ’18, Creative Director, Walt Disney Corporation Motion Pictures
Reboot & Re-Engage: Navigating Unexpected Career Breaks
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Facing an extended job search, an unexpected layoff, or a long career break can feel daunting—and isolating. But you don't have to navigate it alone. Join us for an actionable, empowering session designed to help you regain momentum and tell your professional story. Whether you are aiming to re-enter the workforce, pivot industries, or recharge a stalled job search, the strength and encouragement of the Wellesley community can support you.
Book Club: T.A.L.K. by Alison Wood Brooks
Thursday, October 29, 2026, Noon to 1:00 PM ET
The acclaimed national best-seller by Harvard Business School professor, Alison Wood Brooks, T.A.L.K., illuminates the surprisingly tricky challenges of conversation and provides a simple, comprehensive framework to light up the world, one conversation at a time.
Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset Workshop with Emily Weiner ’96
Tuesday, 8 December 2026, 12:00 to 1:30 PM ET
During this 90-minute interaction session with Emily Weiner ’96, we’ll explore the different types of mindsets that can make each of us more entrepreneurial. You’ll learn to activate new ways of thinking, rethink your available resources, and cultivate conversations to approach your challenges differently, opening you up to a whole new world of possibilities.
Alumnae Career Advancement Team
Alumnae Career Advisors are here for one-on-one advising about career pivots, re-entry into the workforce, resume and cover letter reviews, interview practice, and more. You can schedule an appointment to meet with an Alumnae Career Advisor through Handshake using your Wellesley credentials.
Industry-Specific Advisors
Career Education's Industry-specific Advisors can provide industry expertise for alumnae exploring specific career paths, whether looking to break into a new field or advance in their industries with a competitive edge. Make an appointment on Handshake using your Wellesley credentials.
Resources
Our advisors have written a series of resources to jumpstart your research on a variety of career topics. Browse the links below, and schedule an appointment in Handshake to explore further!
Alumnae Webinars
Wellesley Career Education hosts professional development webinars to support alums at every career stage, often in partnership with alumnae who offer expertise on a specific topic. An archive of past webinars is housed below.
You can also watch a full playlist of our Alum Webinars on Youtube!
Alumnae Career Conversations
Wellesley Career Education regularly hosts career conversations with alums across a range of industries, who have generously offered to share their professional experiences with students and other alums. Recordings of many of these webinars are listed below.
Mentor Students & Connect with the Wellesley network!
The Wellesley Hive is a flexible, interactive virtual space for professional networking and mentorship. Through this Wellesley-exclusive platform, you can connect with alums and students as a mentor, mentee, or both. Log in to the Wellesley Hive using your Wellesley credentials, and follow the guided process to customize your involvement and improve your connections.
Alums and students are connected to The Wellesley Hive, Wellesley’s Mentorship Platform
Countries with members connected to The Wellesley Hive
Fellowships for Alumnae
Fellowships serve as an investment in individuals, for opportunities like:
• studying a language
• conducting academic research
• completing a service project
• pursuing graduate study
• designing and executing an independent project
As an alumna, you still have access to Wellesley Fellowship Program resources and advice from our team. Let us help you make the most of them!
Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program (seniors & graduates)
Offers full scholarships for any graduate or professional degree offered at Stanford University, plus leadership development, aimed at preparing leaders to find creative solutions for the world's greatest problems. Eligible are graduating seniors and recent graduates, from any country. Apply to the Knight-Hennessy by their deadline in early October, and to the Stanford degree program of your choice by the deadline for that program.
Elisabeth Luce Moore ’24 Wellesley-Yenching Fellowship at Ginling College in Nanjing (seniors & graduates)
Each year the Wellesley-Yenching Program sponsors two English teaching fellowships in cooperation with Ginling College, part of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. Wellesley College seniors or graduates are eligible to apply for this one-year fellowship which can be extended to a second year. The Wellesley-Yenching Committee interviews applicants, then sends the credentials of one or two nominees for final approval by Ginling College.
Beinecke Scholarship Program (juniors)
Supports two years of graduate study at a university in the US or abroad for those aiming to pursue degrees in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Eligible are US citizens and nationals who are current juniors. Campus application deadline typically in January.
Schimke and Shackford Graduate Fellowships (women graduates of any US institution)
Wellesley College offers a number of fellowships and scholarships for graduate study or research open to seniors and graduates of Wellesley. Two of these awards are also open to women graduates of any American institution. The Mary McEwen Schimke Scholarship is a supplemental award to provide relief from household and child care expenses while pursuing graduate study, and the M.A. Cartland Shackford Medical Fellowship is for the study of medicine with a view to general practice, not psychiatry.
Negotiation: An Overview
Negotiation means asking for changes to the terms offered by a hiring organization, which may include any number of factors beyond the salary, including: hybrid schedule, start date, professional development funds, and other factors listed below. This can feel like one of the most intimidating parts of the job search for many people, and you may feel unsure whether you should try to negotiate, and if so, when and how to do it. Preparation, practice, and experience will all help you to negotiate with confidence.