A new partnership between Drexel University Alumni Association and Brazen Careerist will provide graduates with an entirely new way to connect with one another, network and advance professionally. Brazen Careerist is an innovative communications platform offered through Alumni Career Services that organizes online networking events for Drexel alumni.
“Our alumni community continues to grow around the world, and we simply can’t host events in every city where they are located,” says Lauren Villanueva, BA ’04, MS ’09, director of Alumni Career Services and Lifelong Learning in the Office of Alumni Relations. “We have already implemented some initiatives like the Global Night of Networking Virtual Site and online career services workshops to mitigate that barrier, and now Brazen will take us one step further to provide the rich networking component that alumni are looking for.”
The Alumni Association can now facilitate online speed networking events through Brazen, allowing alumni to connect in meaningful ways to share career advice, job opportunities or simply build their personal and professional networks.
The first step to utilizing this exciting new platform is to understand how it works. So, exactly what is a Brazen event?
Brazen events provide real time, one-on-one engagement, allowing alumni to network online with fellow grads, as well as students, faculty, career counselors and potential employers, on a global scale. It offers all of the benefits of an in-person networking event without the common barriers that Drexel alumni struggle with: time, cost and geographic location.
This cloud-based, mobile-ready, interactive event platform connects alumni in text-based, timed conversations from wherever they are.
In addition to hosting these conversations, Brazen allows alumni to rate their connections and take notes for future follow up with those that they had the strongest connections with or want to collaborate with further. They can view and download résumés and LinkedIn profiles of individuals with whom they connect, view conversation transcripts, and connect to the platform seamlessly through LinkedIn.
“Because the platform is online, alumni can participate from wherever is most convenient — at home, at the office, while on the road for business — through a computer or mobile device,” says Villanueva. “The events will be fast-paced, with participants having the opportunity to engage in eight-minute chats with one another.”
Upon signing in to a live event, participants will select an industry cluster, or a specific professional service they are in search of; for example, résumé critique. This ensures that their time at the event is well spent as they are able to interact with others who share their interests, career paths and experiences.
The Alumni Association hosted its first Brazen event on Thursday, Jan. 29. It was a general networking event open to all alumni in which graduates had the opportunity share experiences with one another, exchange career advice and build their professional networks. To start, alumni were divided into six different industry-based groups, however they had the freedom to visit more than one industry cluster over the course of the hour-long event.
The Alumni Association plans to offer at least one event per month. “Some of these will be general networking events in nature, like the one we did in January, while others will be more specific,” says Villanueva. “For example, we will focus on connecting alumni who work in the same industries, live in the same regions of the country, or who have similar interests, such as those who work abroad.”
These are not limited to the alumni-to-alumni network, but can also be used to facilitate connections between alumni and current students. Especially as graduation draws near, students find the opportunity to network with Drexel graduates extremely valuable as they are looking for job opportunities or real-world advice.
As well, future events will focus on job search skills and will feature experts from the Drexel community including alumni, faculty and staff. These experts will facilitate sessions such as résumé critiques, mock interviews and LinkedIn profile reviews to assist in job search or career transition.
“As always, we are very interested to know what our alumni think of this new career-development resource,” says Villanueva. “Once they’ve had a chance to experience it, I encourage alumni to share their feedback, as well as ideas for future Brazen event topics.”
Questions, feedback, and suggestions for future events can be directed to Lauren Villanueva in the Office of Alumni Relations at lmr24@drexel. edu or 1.888.DU.GRADS.