There are many opportunities for students to engage and connect with alumni, including career exploration chats, alumni-student meetings hosted by Wharton External Affairs and the Undergraduate Division, and Career Services events such as Discovery Days. Alumni may also serve as company recruiters and promote internships and jobs through the Career Services recruiting platform Handshake.
Inviting Alumni to Speak at a Club Event
Alumni enjoy the opportunity to speak at undergraduate club events and conferences. You can use MyPenn to identify alumni to invite to speak at your events. Please note that all potential speaker names must be submitted and approved through the Speaker Request Management System prior to any outreach or invitations being sent to alumni.
Networking with Alumni
Wharton alumni can serve as supportive connections and resources for learning more about careers or business topics. They are often eager to share their experience and provide advice and are generally pleased to hear from current students. You should feel encouraged to reach out to them through MyPenn and other resources, provided the following guidelines are kept in mind:
- Be professional, courteous, and prepared.
- Take time to research appropriate information before communicating with alumni.
- Make calls or send emails individually, as contacting multiple alumni at once could be interpreted as spamming.
- Be clear in communicating your agenda early, and stick to it.
- Do not start any communications with alumni by sending your résumé or requesting a job or internship.
- Do not solicit individual alumni for gifts or club funding (see the Corporate Sponsorship and Solicitation Policy for more information).
- Remember that alumni are busy and may not respond to your contact immediately. Allow them time to respond.
- Follow up; a brief thank you note is always appreciated.