How an Alum Landed a New Job, With Help from the Alumni Association

Alexander Mikhailovsky ’18 didn’t have much time to celebrate his graduation from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Within days of receiving his finance degree, the U.S. Army Reservist headed to Afghanistan to provide logistics support for the military.

“I volunteered to be deployed,” Mikhailovsky said. “I supported combat operations and coordinated various types of equipment. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot.”

When he returned to the United States in 2019, he faced a new mission: finding a job.

He turned to the University of Maryland Alumni Association for help. Mikhailovsky registered for the association's free “Maryland Masterclass: Career Development Webinar Series," led by Danny Rubin ’07, vice president of Rubin Communications Group. The three-part webinar series was designed to improve association members’ career and professional development while broadening their network of Terp professionals.

The first part of the series focused on how to write an unforgettable headline and profile summary for LinkedIn. Mikhailovsky said Rubin’s tips helped him better “choreograph” his story.

“For my profile summary, I didn’t just rephrase my resume,” he said. “I made it more of a timeline, more of a story of where I’ve been, where I’m going and what attributes I have that would fit in many roles.”

Mikhailovsky also found inspiration in Rubin’s tips on sending genuine LinkedIn invitations to people that highlight why you want to connect, and filtering the network to find people who have similar experiences.

“I started networking with people I knew from the past, and I used those conversations to see what my possibilities were for getting a good career started,” he said.

One of those connections was a man Mikhailovsky met during his U.S. Army training in 2013 who now works at Northrop Grumman, a global aerospace, defense and security company. He told Mikhailovsky about several open positions that would fit his skill set.

Mikhailovsky applied to become a supply chain analyst, and within weeks, had a job offer.

“I did my research and talked to the individual who worked for them, so I knew the lay of the land beforehand,” he said. “And I knew what was expected. That made it a lot easier.”

Overall, Mikhailovsky credits the skills he learned during the Alumni Association hosted webinar for helping him land his job at Northrop Grumman – and for boosting his confidence.

“It was difficult coming home from deployment and trying to find work,” he said. “I needed to change something to improve or to have a different result. The webinar gave me confidence that I can change and adapt. That’s what I was looking for.”

Due to the overwhelming success of the program, the Alumni Association will now offer these masterclasses three times a year. Join now to take advantage of this exclusive members-only benefit.