In my last two columns, I addressed what the alumni office has accomplished in the last few years and how you can be involved. This column addresses what’s next in alumni services.
Global Workplace
The GSB is now part of the Global Workplace, an Internet-based, private recruiting network for senior appointments. Membership is limited to the top business schools worldwide. The Global Workplace is password-protected, and you have complete control of confidential details––only you can choose to release them to a company or recruiter. Currently, most listings are from Europe and Asia, making this service of particular interest to alumni living outside the United States or wishing to work abroad. The Global Workplace will have listings from North and South America shortly. We expect services eventually to include local workshops and conferences, as well as constant additions to the Web site. For more information, visit www.global-workplace.com.
Online Payment
Soon you will be able to use credit or debit cards online to pay for GSB events and products using a new secure system. You will receive rapid confirmation of your payment, making transactions quick and easy. In the next year, a “shopping cart” system will be added, as well as a new line of GSB products.
Coming Soon
Other upcoming projects include an online network for career mentors, broadcasting of events and speakers via the Web, and more opportunities for the establishment of virtual groups and conferences. New alumni chapters will be formed and new events introduced. We also will work to improve the quality of existing groups and programs.
Online Community
Most new initiatives have been and will continue to be electronic. Recently, we have given much thought to what new services should be added. We have been inundated with vendors wishing to create some variation of an “online community” for the GSB. While some of these “communities” have nice features, overall they seem to be oriented to a very different type of organization.
This leads to the question, What does an online community mean for GSB alumni? What features are meaningful, useful, and not readily available elsewhere? We already have a solid foundation: an alumni directory, a job search database, Email4Life, and a Web site that provides information about alumni events worldwide. Alumni are updated through periodic e-mail broadcasts––some global and some geographically targeted. What else should we offer? What is missing that would make this a cohesive community? Please share your thoughts via e-mail at danielle.palmer@gsb.uchicago.edu.
