Montenegro, 24, said counselors there helped him realize that he wanted to teach. He is struggling to find work in the midst of the recession, sending out as many as 20 resumes daily, but feels comfortable working through tough times at his alma mater.
"When I was thinking of going back to square one, that was literally the first thing I thought of," he said of Drexel's service. "There's more of a familiarity."
Career counselors at area colleges say they are increasingly helping alumni - not only recent graduates like Montenegro, but also those who are decades out of college. Such aid includes resume and cover-letter editing, mock interviews, and networking events.
This month, for example, a 1967 Villanova University alumnus returned to the career-services office seeking guidance. The New Jersey-based man, who asked not to be identified, said he lost his executive-level job in January due to downsizing.
"The university has the advantage in that they have access to a lot of alums, they're impartial, and they're already set up to do career counseling," he said.
Career counselors say such situations benefit both sides: Alumni get help finding jobs, and the college reconnects with former students. An employed alumnus or alumna, they say, can mean jobs for future alumni and more support for the school.
But while the types of services offered to alumni are often similar, how they access them can vary.
To accommodate heavy demand for counseling when the economy went south last year, Temple University's career center approved a policy limiting alumni to two appointments annually.
"We have to be able to still support" current students, said Linda Lawton, associate director of Temple's career center. In two appointments, "we're able to support them and get them moving in the direction they want to move toward."
Other local schools, meanwhile, are expanding services for alumni. Most are building a presence on the Web, forming groups on social networking sites or posting sample resumes. A few even have a designated alumni-only counselor on staff.
At Bryn Mawr College, career counselor Debbie Becker works solely with alumnae (nearly all graduates are women). A group of active alumnae based in New York City persuaded the school to create the position about 15 years ago, Becker said.
"They wanted career counseling to be readily available," she said. By having an alumnae-only staff member, they "cut out any wait time for appointments."
Nearly all schools offer alumni full access to online job postings and databases of alumni contacts, but some are also searching for ways to expand their presence on the Web.
The University of Pennsylvania's career-services office, like many of its counterparts, has a presence on social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
"Some of our counselors tweet offering advice, and then there's a Twitter just devoted to job postings," said Claire Klieger, associate director of career services.
Penn also runs Web-based presentations that students and alumni can download, a model that Villanova University is hoping to adopt.
Villanova career counselor John Murray and other Villanova counselors have been visiting Penn and other area schools, searching for ways to improve and expand services.
"We have 95,000-plus alumni," Murray said. "Especially in this economy, we needed to be prepared for an onslaught."
Although few schools report feeling overwhelmed, horror stories about unemployed alumni seeking help are common among counselors.
Murray said most of the alumni he has met with this year were laid off, including a husband and wife with children in college who both lost their jobs.
The number of alumni reaching out to career counselors at St. Joseph's University nearly doubled in the past year, said career-services director Matthew Brink.
St. Joseph's alumni once made up between 10 and 12 percent of career-counseling appointments; they are now approaching the 20 percent mark, Brink said.
"We're seeing more alumni in a career transition, and sometimes not by their choice, with layoffs," he said. His office offers unlimited free services for alumni.
Not all schools have experienced an increase. At Swarthmore College, the number of alumni seeking help has remained steady, for unknown reasons, said career-services director Nancy Burkett.
"I really thought we would" have an increase, she said. "I hope it means they're holding on to their jobs."
Career counselors say alumni get unique benefits when they get help at their alma mater.
Drexel counselors say they can best help alumni market their experience. Most of them went through Drexel's work program, known as the Co-op.
"We understand the education that they've gotten here," said Kathleen Neary, associate director for Drexel career services. "We can understand the value that they can provide."
And if that help is free, all the better.
"You don't have to pay someone an arm and a leg," said Klieger. Penn career services are free and unlimited for alumni.
The majority of colleges and universities nationwide offer counseling services to alumni, according to a survey published in January 2009 by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Schools with more than 20,000 students were most likely to charge alumni for counseling, although large local schools such as Penn and Drexel bucked that trend by offering services for free.
Helping alumni makes them more willing to help students and alumni in the future, said Pat Mullane, executive director of Dickinson College career services. Dickinson, in Carlisle, Pa., which offers alumni unlimited free services, has an alumni-only counselor.
"If I was told I had to slash my budget, the last thing I would slash is alumni programming," Mullane said.
Brink said schools should also consider the long-term benefits of a happy alumni base.
"If they're in a position to help the university financially, they might be more apt to do that," he said.
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