Lisa Lewis knows that students aren't the only ones who may need career advice. Sometimes, so do alumni, even years after they earn their degrees.

Now, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association is stepping up its efforts to help graduates who may be looking for jobs or a change in career.

Lewis, the group's president, says it's part of "a whole new program that we're rolling out to try to be relevant and helpful to our alumni."

In October, the association began hosting a series of webinars featuring U experts, with a heavy emphasis on career topics. The first two were titled: "LinkedIn and Twitter Can Make or Break Your Job Search" and "Is It Time for Your Second Act? Making the Most of Career Transitions." Both can be found on its website, minnesota­alumni.org, under the heading "Connect With Alumni," and more are planned over the next few months.

The plan, Lewis said, is to create an online resource center for alumni at all stages of their careers.

"Lifelong learning has always been a hallmark of strong alumni associations," Lewis said. But in the past, it required showing up in person at special events. "We still do a lot of [those] events," Lewis said. But alumni "don't always have time. We're trying to make access to the university and to resources more convenient for them."

It's just one of the ways, she says, that universities are trying to reach out and nurture their ties with alumni, whom they hope will turn into lifelong supporters.

One goal, she says, is to encourage students and young alums to connect with older grads through the U's LinkedIn network. "We have so many successful alumni with experience who can mentor [them]," Lewis said. By her estimate, the U has 445,000 alumni living all over the world. She wants them to be able use the alumni website to find each other.

"We shouldn't limit the access of students to alumni by where they live geographically," she said. Technology, she said, is "the answer to making that quick and easy and seamless."

maura.lerner@startribune.com