Who you know is beneficial if you want to build success as a professional or organization. For one, alumni networks allow for networking opportunities with knowledgeable professionals that could further lead to career assistance, access to resume reviews, job postings, and free resources not advertised anywhere else, promotions, and mentoring opportunities. Due to these benefits, almost all of the Fortune 500 companies have some kind of alumni program established.
When it comes to colleges and corporations, they both put a strong emphasis on building strong influence networks but with varying goals. For corporations, investing in alumni relationships can lead to a significant increase in revenue, product development, and employee attractiveness as well as access to a bigger labor pool, referrals for hires, and increased sales. When it comes to colleges, they provide better funding.
Businesses that put more attention in engaging their alumni see almost a 50% increase in new business. In fact, as brand advocates, alumni are worth at least five times more than the normal customer. In terms of investing, founders of startups who went to the same alma mater as the investors see more support in financing. Founders are actually able to raise more capital than other entrepreneurs if they went to schools that had large alumni networks.
Being as involved as possible is a great way to build up and leverage an engaged alumni network. For colleges and corporations to maintain an engaged alumni network, they should develop an alumni-centered strategy that is appealing to the members of the network, serve the needs of all alumni, and motivate alumni to stay in touch by leveraging nostalgia, spotlighting alumni successes, and providing more opportunities to network. Being as involved as possible and giving back to your alumni network will provide you with benefits in the future.
Infographic provided by: AcademicInfluence.com