ONWARD!

Many club members have been feeling significant job pressure lately, whether they're out of work or wondering if they will be soon. The Alumni Association has created a job and career website that houses what looks to be three extremely useful tools.

The site is called ONWARD, with emphasis on the "N" and the "D." (Cute, huh?) To access it, you will need an Irish Online account and password. (While you're logging in, be sure to update your address and email.)

The three tools are as follows:

CareerShift. A unique job-search tool with web-based services and contact information for millions of companies.

LinkedIn Network. Join the Notre Dame Alumni Network Group in LinkedIn and connect with Notre Dame professionals to parlay your online networking into job leads.

Career Catalyst is an innovative online learning tool designed to assist you with the management of your career.

The Alumni Association previewed these tools at the Alumni Senate in April, and they were impressive. With CareerShift, the user can search all job posting sites at one time. Once the user identifies a company with a job, he or she can find ND alumni who might serve as contacts. This service normally costs money, but the library on campus has donated some of its budget to allow the Alumni Association to provide it to Irish Online account holders for free.

The LinkedIn network will be replacing the networking tool found on Irish Online. The Alumni Association has set up a network so that members can connect with each other professionally. We'll set up a ND Club of Dayton LinkedIn site soon, and we'll link up with the national site.

Career Catalyst is a series of learning tools -- how-to articles and videos, fun quizzes on career development skills, and a moderated bulletin board to allow users to ask questions and seek advice. (If you are retired and would like to help other Domers through the Career Catalyst bulletin boards, please let me or Ron Zlotnik know so that we can pass your name along to the Alumni Association.)

This is what the ND alumni network was always supposed to be.