inDegree.com, connects four separate yet interdependent groups to improve professional networking and job searches : graduate students and graduate alumni seeking jobs with employers searching for top recruits and with universities who need to stay connected with high-value alumni.

The service is free for everyone, even employers, who can post jobs and view unlimited resumes at no cost.

Each group faces unique yet related challenges :

• For graduate students, placement services have been cut back, on-campus recruiting is down, and increased enrollment means higher competition for fewer jobs.
• Graduate alumni have watched their competitive advantage shrink, as the number of people with graduate degrees increases.
• Universities’ costs to maintain alumni services have climbed as donations have dropped.
• Employers’ costs for hiring graduate degree holders continues to rise, along with the resources it takes to find the right candidates.

On the positive side, some recruiters—anticipating a thaw in hiring in the first half of 2010—are reaching out to candidates, planning to scoop first-string talent as soon as they have openings. At the same time, social and professional networks enable students to increase their exposure online.

In addition to the benefit of improved placement, inDegree combines career and alumni services that are separate at most universities, eliminating the duplication of resources—that can free up budget for other priorities. Graduate programs can also track student placement with inDegree.

“inDegree.com is a niche site that employers can use to efficiently target candidates with advanced degrees only,” says Alex Miningham, cofounder and chief executive officer of inDegree.

inDegree’s partnership with the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students will bring on a number of the top public and private universities across the country. Beginning in 2010, universities can access additional premium services such as exit surveys, benchmarking studies, and other analyses.

For students and alumni, the benefits are manyfold:

• Access to over 500,000 jobs that target graduate degree holders only
• Interactive platform to publish a professional profile, apply for jobs, manage applications, and see who’s viewed their resume,
• Automatic links to classmates and alumni, with real-time updates on connections, and
• Ability to search networks across many dimensions, such as employment information.