Crimson Compass

Search Help and Tips

Remember, all information in Crimson Compass is self-reported by members of the Harvard alumni community.

Tips for a Successful Search

• Begin with a broad, general search. If your search returns too many advisors, you can come back and refine your search.
  • Only select a few fields for your initial search (for example, State and Industry, or Employer and Job Description). You do not need to fill in every field on the search form.
• Be patient. The results you find are dependent on the information provided by advisors, so it may take a few tries to find the advisors you are looking for.
  • When searching by Job Description/Keyword, Employer Name or Job Title, enter a single word or a general phrase, as responses have not been standardized.
  • When searching by Industry or Field of Specialty, it is often useful to select a few related areas. Hold the CTRL key and click to select multiple values.
• Only select a Country when searching for alumni outside the United States.
• Select the Past Employment box, as alumni with previous experience in your area of interest can provide a candid assessment of a job or industry.
• Choose Advice Topics if you wish to limit your search to advisors who have indicated an interest in discussing a particular topic.
• Enter information under Harvard University Academics if you wish to limit your search to alumni from a specific year, degree, School or Department. Class Year filters by only one year (it is not possible to provide multiple years).
• Select "ALL of the above criteria selected" under Search Method to return advisor profiles that meet all of your designated criteria. If you have selected more than one Industry or more than one Field of Specialty, your search will still return advisors who meet any of your selections within these areas.

Help Understanding Search Results

Search Results will display basic information, consisting of Name, Job Title, Employer, School and Year. Click on a name to view the advisor's biographical information profile. You are allowed to view up to 100 advisor profiles per day; when viewing a profile, the number of views remaining will be displayed at the top of the page.

The Contact Information section displays the advisor's preferred form of communication. If an email link is not provided, this means that the advisor has no email on file, or has indicated that they do not wish to be contacted by email. In this case, please contact the advisor using a phone number or mailing address listed in the Contact Information section

Guidelines for Contacting Advisors

After selecting an advisor to contact, please review the following sections to ensure mutually beneficial communication.

Understand the Alumni Advisor

• Review the advisor's current and previous job history.
• Research the advisor's field of work.
• Review the advice topics the advisor is willing to discuss.

Understand Your Goals

• Think about how this advisor fits into you overall effort.
• Identify a few specific questions or areas you want to learn about from the advisor.

Making First Contact

• Be considerate of the advisor's time. Remember, Crimson Compass advisors are volunteering their time, and usually have busy professional schedules.
• Look at the Contact Information section of an advisor's profile to see how the advisor is willing to be contacted. Please respect the advisor's wishes by only using the email, phone and/or mailing address listed in the Contact Information section.
  • Use the "send an email" link to contact the advisor by email.  Your message will be sent to the email address the advisor has provided, and the message subject will indicate that it was sent through Crimson Compass.
  • If you contact an advisor by phone or mail, identify yourself as a Harvard student or alumnus/a contacting the advisor through Crimson Compass.
• Communicate a specific reason why you have contacted the advisor for assistance.
• Communicate your specific questions or areas of interest.
• Keep your first contact brief. Your first contact is an attempt to initiate a conversation; once you have established contact, you will have an opportunity to provide more information.
• If a dialogue is initiated, promptly send a thank you note to the advisor.

Remember, Crimson Compass is a career networking service, not a job placement mechanism. Therefore, you should not contact advisors for the purposes of asking them for a job

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Searching

What is a "Search"?

Search is where you go to locate advisors within the database. There are a number of alumni advisors in the program, and by including various search criteria, such as city, field of work or class year, you can find contacts that match your interest.

Are my searches unlimited?

Yes, you are allowed unlimited number of searches to locate advisors and their profiles. However, you may only open a limited number of profiles per day

How many advisor profiles can I view in a day?

You are allowed to view up to 100 advisor profiles per day. Each time you open an advisor's profile a view is counted, whether you open the profile from your search results or from your Contact List.

What is "Contact List"?

Every registered user on Crimson Compass has a Contact List which stores information on up to 20 advisors (your contacts) that you have selected through searches of the database. In addition, you can use your contact list to store comments on each of your contacts.

I couldn't find any advisors in my area of interest. What is wrong?

Your results will only find those advisors whose information matches all of the criteria you have entered. It may help to try searching with fewer criteria or more general search terms. Please consult our search tips for additional information.

I found an advisor, but there is no email link.  How do I contact this advisor?

Some advisors have not provided an email address, or have indicated that they do not wish to be contacted by email. If there is no email link, please contact the advisor using a mailing address or phone number listed in the Contact Information section of the profile

Guidelines and FAQ for Advisors

The Harvard Alumni Association encourages all alumni to share their experience and expertise with Harvard students and fellow alumni through Crimson Compass.

To sign up as an advisor, simply log in to Crimson Compass and click on the "become an advisor" link to create your profile. Please fill in the requested information as completely as possible. Once you click submit, your name will be added to the advisor list, and the information you provided will be available to students and alumni seeking career guidance.

If you have already signed up as a Crimson Compass advisor, visit the My Profile section of Crimson Compass to update or add information to your profile. Please look over your profile to make sure that all of your information is up to date and as complete as possible. In particular, please make sure that all of the employment-related fields are filled in, and that you have selected at least one contact method in the Contact Information section. Having a complete profile makes it easier for students and alumni to find your profile, and provides useful information for potential advisees.

Frequently Asked Questions for Advisor

What should I expect as a new advisor?

Once you have registered as an advisor, your name and contact information will be available to Harvard students and alumni through Crimson Compass. You can be found by students and alumni seeking to conduct career path research, based on the information you provided in your profile. For example, students and alumni can search for your profile based on your employer, job description, field of work, geographic area (city, state, or country), and Harvard academic information (school, class year, etc.), among other criteria.

How will I be contacted?

The primary way students and alumni contact advisors is through the "blind email" feature, which allows you to be contacted by email without revealing your address on the website. If you wish to be contacted through blind email, please make sure that you have a valid email address listed as your networking contact email, and that you have indicated email as a contact method in the Contact Information section. You may also reveal your phone and postal address information if you would like to be contacted by other methods.

What type of questions will I be asked?

The types of questions you will be asked will depend greatly on the career experience the user has had to date. For some users, this is the first time they have researched career options; for others, they have been in a professional environment for many years. You may specify which types of questions you wish to address by filling out the "Additional Networking Information" section of your profile; these choices will be displayed to students and alumni who view your profile, and can serve as a guide for their questions.

How many people will contact me?

We cannot guarantee the number of contacts that advisors will receive. The number of students or alumni who contact you will depend on the information you provide in your profile, the user's search criteria, and the level of interest in your field. In general, serving as an advisor does not require an overwhelming time commitment.

Can I limit who may view my profile?

Yes. While we encourage advisors to offer their expertise and counsel to alumni and students across all schools at Harvard, you may opt to limit your profile to students or alumni from specific schools. To manage these preferences, open the Contact Information area in your advisor profile.

I have been contacted by a student or alumnus/a seeking advice, but am not able to help right now. What should I do?

We understand that advisors may occasionally be unable to answer an inquiry due to time constraints or the nature of the inquiry. However, we would ask that you write back to briefly acknowledge the contact, even if only to inform the student or alumnus/a that you can't assist them, or only have a limited amount of time.

I am not able to serve as an advisor right now. How do I remove my advisor status?

Click on the My Profile link, and then click on "change status" to make your profile inactive. If you decide to opt out until a specific date, you will be automatically reinstated at that time. You may also opt out indefinitely by selecting "inactive until further notice", in which case your profile will remain suspended until you choose to make it active. When your status is inactive, your profile will not be displayed when students or alumni search in Crimson Compass

Still have questions about Crimson Compass?  Contact the Help Desk for assistance.