Brock grads networking at the Young Professionals Networking event in St. Catharines

Build your network, refine your value proposition, practice your handshake, leave a lasting impression. Networking is a skill that everyone acknowledges is important for career advancement, in which few actively participate and fewer still feel comfortable doing.  With a network of over 75,000 Brock alumni, however, your alumni group is a great place to start.

This is the year of Brock Alumni events. In fact, we’re on schedule for over 20 events across Canada during the next 12 months. To kick off the new year, we have helped host a series of events targeted at graduating students and young professional alumni.  The goal? To provide a networking forum, offer professional development opportunities, help graduating students transition and bring alumni to campus to speak.

Young Professionals in Niagara:

We held our first Young Professional Networking Series event in Niagara in January.  With 40 in attendence, the event was a great venue for local alumni to meet one another and network, while renowned speaker Tony Miele, of the Investors Group, discussed how to develop from being ordinary to extraordinary.  If you are interested in participating in future events in Niagara or Toronto, please email mmoore2@brocku.ca

Smart Finish:

Alumni panelists share their career advice at Smart Finish

When you were finishing your final semester at Brock, did you ever worry about what was in store after graduation? Some things don’t change.  Cue, Smart Finish!  Think of it as an “exit-orientation” event – the transition conference out of University.  This one-day conference in January featured breakout sessions on resume writing, student loan repayment and travel excursions while taking a year off. Brock alumni participated on our “Where are they now?” panel, including a youth services worker, filmmaker and HR consultant. Alumni answered student questions about post-university life, getting your foot in the door and paying your dues.  Thank you to our alumni for participating in the day!  If you are interested in participating in an alumni panel, email mmoore2@brocku.ca.

Mentorship Plus:

Hindsight is 20/20. Or, “If I knew then what I know now…” say many Brock alumni. Our Mentorship Plus program is a great opportunity for alumni to share this wisdom in a 1-to-1 relationship with a graduating student over the course of a year.  But we recognize that not all alumni can commit to the full year, or there isn’t a perfect match for a student.  This year, we started SharePoint to bridge that gap.  SharePoint is a roundtable networking and mentoring event.  It features one to three Brock alumni set up at tables around a room, allowing students to rotate through and ask questions and gain insight. American businessman Robert Kiyosaki says, “If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there.”  SharePoint is the event to find those people.  If you are interested in participating in future SharePoint events through Mentorship Plus, contact mmoore2@brocku.