With U.S. unemployment topping 8.5 percent (4.3 percent for college grads), it’s no surprise the University of Miami Toppel Career Center has experienced a “significant uptick” in alumni activity since last January.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom out there—some of which is probably accurate,” says Jim Smart, the center’s director for eight years. But good opportunities exist too, he adds, citing engineering, retail, insurance, and the federal government as bright spots in what may seem a slim silver lining.

While more students and alumni are seeking help at Toppel, another career resource is your UM Alumni Association (UMAA). The UMAA is fortifying the ’Canes Hiring ’Canes network with support from key executives such as Jose Armario, M.S. ’03, the McDonald’s Canada and Latin America group president, and Kim Stone, M.B.A. ’04, executive vice president and general manager of the American Airlines Arena and Miami Heat, who are reaching out to hire other alumni and provide internships for UM students.

The UMAA provides free access to the online employment resource CareerTools and will host a National Alumni Career Development Series next year.

Certified executive coach Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, A.B. ’95, an organizational psychologist whose clients include Miami-based Bacardi USA, admits the number and type of people seeking work these days is “eye opening.”

“These are accomplished, successful professionals,” says Woodward, founder and president of Miami-based Human Capital Integrated. “We’re way past dead wood.”

Professional networking and personal connections are more vital than ever, he and Smart insist. And though getting laid off can be “psychologically paralyzing,” notes Woodward, “you can’t be a prisoner of your past, myopically focusing on the same job. Create a plan, think alternatively about what you bring to bear, and find a way to extract your skill sets from your old job.”

Smart agrees. “It’s like stopping someone on the street to ask for directions,” he explains. “You have to have some idea of where you want to go. That requires knowledge of self and knowledge of the work that interests you. It takes patience and persistence.”

And networking.

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