WSO has a fair amount of posting about tapping alumni networks and sometimes stories of sour grapes that a fellow alumni has not helped a poster out.
I'd like to understand this more, particularly the expectation of alumni helping alumni.
I'm an INSEAD grad and occasionally get e-mails through the alumni network asking for tips or information. I'm pretty time poor, but will make an effort to give the person some time for about 75% of the cold contacts I get.
For the other 25%, I get these e-mails when I'm working crazy hours and I barely have enough time for my wife, let alone a cold contact, so no response is easier than finding 5 minutes to find a nice way of saying I don't have time.
It is far easier to say "how much effort does it take to respond" than it is to come up with a response. At this point, I'm sleep deprived, barely have 2 minutes in the day to give my wife, have got a huge amount of crucial stuff to get done, have to manage a team of people and use my empathy reserves to work around their personalities and exhausted states and I've got 2-3 higher ups breathing down my neck. I'm also looking at what looks like a generic contact which, I'm guessing, has been sent out to 100+ different people on an alumni list or LinkedIn group like a mass marketing e-mail.
When I do respond, I respond to most cold contacts in the same way regardless of whether there is an alumni connetion. The only difference with the alumni network is that I occasionally go to alumni functions (usually populated by recent grads looking for jobs), which leads to conversations which leads to coffee and chats.
All of the people I've spoken with have just asked for information and never pressed for job opportunities.
However, I've seen a few posts on WSO where posters seem to have expressed frustration/rage that an alumnus has referred them to the general HR desk for an internship, rather than making more of an effort.
I'm wondering how this works. From my perspective, if the only data points I have on a cold contact are:
- they went to the same business school that I did
- at best, we had some lecturers in common
then they are an unknown quantity for me. Even having coffee or a call with them doesn't tell me anything useful.
Putting my internal credibility on the line by backing them for a position is not rational.
On top of that, at least the way my IB works, I don't have pull to land someone a job, other than working in my team. So it's not like I'm being an a*sehole and withholding favours. I don't have any favours to give. It's like working at a movie theatre and finding everyone thinks you can hand our free movie tickets. That's not how things work.
At best, I may spend some time on a call with the alumni and help him/her prepare, give them some inside view.
While I do have headcount for my own team, if I had a position open and an alumni contacted me, the only action that seems rational to me is to tell them to join the same queue as everyone else. I might have a coffee with them and effectively have an informal interview with him/her, but at no point would I give a fellow alumnus a job over someone else unless they are, at the very least, equal in merit. Even then, I'd worry about having an echo chamber of similarly trained minds and would prefer a some diversity in my team.
So, what am I missing? Is what I'm already happy to do pretty much the common expectation and I'm misreading the sour grapes posts as expecting more than this?
Or are alumni networks expected to work more powerfully than what I think is rational. If so, what's the reason for this?
I believe the main point of these informational interviews is to gain information. Just by being in your current position affords you more information than a college student whose knowledge is mainly based on sites and interview guides. On the topic of finding a job, I doubt asking the alumni for help, when there is no connection other then alma mater, has a high success rate.
However, I am interested in other's opinions on this topic.
It's both sides here...
The recent graduate/student should be interested in learning from you and making an actual real connection with you to broaden their professional network. Their interest should not solely lie with having you refer them to an MD or someone of equal weight. This is their own fault if they become frustrated and express rage at an alumnus' lack of effort.
The issue that some recent graduates and students encounter are the alumni who have no interest in helping and blow you off or ignore your communication. When I first graduated I was referred by one alumnus to another whom he had helped get a job, this person chose to blow me off and ignore me. This in turn is wrong, as they were once helped and used the same network to gain a position, why can't they take the time and give back either through direct job help or just through knowledge.
It also seems like you don't hold any favoritism towards your alma mater. This differs from person to person and school to school. Some alumni feel a strong connection with their alma mater and feel they should help out students more than someone else may believe. After all, they share a common interest in some way as you attended the same school and have similar career interests. If you don't feel the need to bother helping, then that is your decision. You should consider giving some alumni a chance though by at least just getting to know them and provide some knowledge that could help them, you never know when they could in turn help you one day. Maybe one day when you have retired and this younger alumnus has moved into a senior position, they can help your kids make the same steps you did.
You would be willing to put your credibility on the line if you felt a real strong connection with a fellow alumnus. However, the alumnus may have poorly communicated with you and in turn you have no desire to help. It could also be you don't let the connection develop because of a poor selfish attitude. All time-permitting though...
Thanks for sharing the view from the other side. I never thought about alumni in that way and it's really eye opening!
I think any person who EXPECTS someone who is an alumni at the same school to help them is being unreasonable in the first place. Sure, it would be great if you had the extra time to reach out and help them but it sounds like you are strapped and that's perfectly fine. I wouldn't feel bad about it in the least. As Miley would say, only god can judge you bro.
I think OP's perspective is unique because he is from Europe and attended a European university. When Europeans are asked about what aspects of the US they find the most unusual, the average American's passion for their alma mater hits the top of the list.
OP, networking is a big deal here in the (in the US at least) because it's so effective. Traditionally the American banking industry has been dominated by grads from a select list of schools ('targets'). As more and more non/semi target grads have broken in, they typically feel and obligation to help out as they want to help out their school in a significant way.
It's my understanding INSEAD is a pretty well-reputed university in Europe so grads from there can typically score an interview through an OCR drop, but the same isn't always true for other universities. One tactic to consider is to treat chats or info interviews as a chance to test these students to make sure they're worth promoting. If they're legit, you don't need to get them a job, but at least pushing them for an interview can make a huge difference.
Something to consider.
agree with above
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