📣YOUNG ALUMNI MENTORING GROUPS ARE NOW OPEN FOR FALL 2021!
Are you looking to gain clarity on who you are and how your work aligns with what’s important to you? Are you hoping to figure out what’s next for you, personally and professionally?
Young Alumni Mentoring Groups provide a unique opportunity for Wake Forest young professionals to come together in a small group for facilitated conversation and make meaningful connections about life and work.
For over 10 years, these groups have empowered young alumni to answer their most pressing career questions:
• How do I excel where I am?
• Or how do I figure out that next step?
• Is it possible to find work that aligns with my personal values?
• How can I get feedback from my manager and colleagues?
• Can I set boundaries with my teammates?
This group is designed for the young professional. @wfualumni must have graduated within the last five years from the undergraduate class years of 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.
Swipe to see what past participants have to share about their own experiences! Learn more and register at the link in our profile.
📣NEXT LEVEL MENTORING GROUPS ARE OPEN FOR FALL 2021!
What does “Next Level” mean to you? For some, it means moving into formal management or leadership positions. For others, it’s gaining clarity on what comes next both personally and professionally. No matter where you are, the move from entry-level to next-level can be challenging, the path unclear. How do you figure out what should be next for you? How do you seek out the voices that you need to speak into your career and life decisions? How do you transform entry-level skills and strengths into strategic management and leadership abilities?
This group is designed for those with 5-10 years of experience in the workforce. @wfualumni must be from the undergraduate class years of 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. To participate in the program you must fill out an application of interest by August 2nd.
Swipe to see what past participants have to share about their own experiences! Learn more and register at the link in our profile.
The re-entry to our office spaces will be challenging, for both employees and managers alike. There are technical challenges to plan for, health concerns to navigate, and emotions underpinning all of it.
We think it’s important to talk about this stuff. We’re creating two discussion spaces to address these concerns, for managers and employees.
On July 14th, we'll structure a conversation designed for managers who are seeking to implement return to the office plans. On July 21st, we'll design a similar conversation geared towards employees who are seeking to address their own concerns about returning to the office.
In both groups we’ll lift up concerns and challenges and learn from each other about how to navigate this return to work. Come ready to ask questions and share advice!
Welcome to all of our newest @WFUalumni from the class of 2021 🧑🏻🎓👨🏽🎓 who have started following us here @LifeAfterWake! 🎩🎩🎩 We're so thrilled to bring you into the alumni fold and to support you as you navigate your life + career after college. 🖤💛🖤💛
Each month, we feature new "expert advice" posts on our website. For the month of June, we wanted to focus on YOU, 2021 grads! Our guest contributors (almost all are @WFUalumni themselves) are bringing their wisdom and experience to tackle several topics related to your first year after Wake:
@ryanriccordella ('15) dishes up advice on setting boundaries at work and home. ☕️🥗🌮
@chelseakeen_careers ('12) tells you how to negotiate your first-ever salary. 💵💰
@tycely ('97) is the queen 👸🏽 of Pro Humanitate - and offers tips for getting involved in your local community. 🏘🏢🏠
@stephenjedwards ('10) shares how to be mindful about your finances + budgeting. 🧠💵🪴
@allison.e.mcwilliams ('95), our resident guru on all things young professionals-related 👩🏻💻👨🏾💻, created a Post-College Starter Kit for you PLUS provides advice for navigating Year One (of your first job after Wake).
Visit the 🔗 in our profile to read all of these posts and more! 🙌
📸: WFU/Ryan Herriman 2021
We’re doing it again!! 🔁 Coffee Chat with Alumni was so popular in May that we’re offering these conversation opportunities again in June!
Register by Friday, June 4th and we’ll pair you with a @wfualumni for a casual chat! We’ll introduce each pair and then you and your partner will find a good time to connect. Easy peasy! ✅
Register at the 🔗 in our profile.
All of our new expert advice posts this month are written by and/or featuring @WFUalumni! 🎩💛🖤💛🎩
@thelordrach Rachel Lord ('13) gives some insider advice on what questions to ask yourself before joining a start-up company. 📝
@samanthalarsen Sam Larsen ('16) offers up tips for using UX strategies to land a new job. ✔️
@yourbrandnetworker Erin Andersen (MSM '17) shares how to nail your next virtual job interview and determine company culture over a video call. 💻
@allison.e.mcwilliams Allison McWilliams ('95) explores 🔟 key strategies for thriving in your first job after college. 💡
@tourdefrank John Champlin ('06, MBA '15) explores how you can find your strengths in the unexpected, particularly in moments of major change. 💪
@katherine_laws Katherine Laws ('20) provides tips and advice for moving from indecisiveness to commitment to decisions (hint: baby steps!).👣👣
@pivotpointprofessionals Kristin Winkle Beck ('97) shares expert advice for navigating a career pivot (she should know, she's actually done it)! 🗺
Y'all. We have some really brilliant Deacs. 🙌 Go read/listen to their advice and start applying it to your life + career!
Go to alumni.opcd.wfu.edu or click the 🔗 in our profile.
Join us for the next gathering of our Alumni Book Group on May 12th from 12-1pm EST! We’ll discuss “5 Steps to Designing the Life You Want”, a Ted Talk based on the popular book, Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.
(We know, we know! It’s not a book club exactly...but watching the TED talk is even easier!)
From connecting the dots to find meaning, to identifying and reframing gravity problems, to choosing well to make yourself happy, we’ll talk through the 5 steps, share strategies, and make a commitment for what’s next for you.
Space is limited to 12 alumni. Register at the 🔗 in our profile!
We know it's tough to connect with new people right now. Whether you're hoping to build your network professionally or just take a few minutes to meet someone new, sign up for these 1:1 alumni conversations!
Here's how it works:
• Register by Friday, May 7th
• Our team will match alumni for 1:1 conversations
• On Tuesday, May 11th, we'll connect each conversation pair with a short introductory email
• Each conversation pair will work to find a time to meet that works for you both!
It's that easy! Plan to chat for 15-minutes, maybe over coffee or a quick bite to eat!
Register at the 🔗 in our profile.
Have you experienced a reassignment or realignment in job duties due to the pandemic? Are you longing for the “normal” days when your job description matched the work you were performing each week?
Join us for our next Wednesday Webinar this week with @wfualumni John Champlin (’06, MBA ’15), Director of Engagement Programs in the Alumni Engagement Office at Wake Forest University, as he discusses strategies for continuing to engage in work despite significant changes. He’ll stress the importance of continuing to focus and align your strengths on the work at hand to prevent disengagement and burnout.
Even if your job responsibilities haven’t fundamentally changed during the pandemic, you’ll walk away from this webinar with a greater sense of your purpose at work. TRUST US, you don’t want to miss this session (we’ve seen the slides and they’re 🔥)!
Register at the 🔗 in our profile!
We’ve been hearing from @wfualumni that building and maintaining your networks right now is especially challenging. Sound like something you’re experiencing too? 👋🏾
We’ve put together a series of networking conversations to help!
Join us on April 13, 2021 at 12pm ET as we dive deeper into the topic of leadership.
In this Alumni Networking Conversation, Andy Chan, Vice President for Innovation and Career Development at Wake Forest University will deliver a 20-minute Keynote Opening Address on Leadership in the Year 2021 before we pair alumni into 1:1 conversations. We’ll provide thought-provoking prompts and questions for you to reflect on with a conversation partner! We’ll switch questions and partners in several rounds of discussion to ensure you meet alumni interested in this same topic.
Register at go.wfu.edu/next or at the 🔗 in our profile!
Welcome to LEARN with @LifeAfterWake! Come check out your new go-to resource for online learning designed to help you grow and thrive in your personal and career development.
Over the past year, we’ve built out an incredible platform on our website stacked full of easy-to-access content. Follow the 🔗 in our profile to explore our on-demand online courses, facilitated networking conversation with @wfualumni, book groups, and of course, our library of Wednesday Webinars.
What are you waiting for?
What does networking look like when events aren’t happening? If you’ve always dreaded in-person meet-ups, give these facilitated conversations a chance! 💻 Choose a topic that’s interesting to you and we’ll provide thought-provoking prompts and questions for you to reflect on with a conversation partner! We’ll switch questions and partners in several rounds of discussion to ensure you meet alumni interested in this same topic.
Join us THIS WEDNESDAY, March 17, 2021 at 12pm ET for a Conversation On Boundaries at Work! 🕔✅🔄
If there’s one topic that we spend tons of time talking about with alumni, it would be boundaries. This balance is personal and elusive, but there’s a lot we can learn from one another. If this topic resonates with you, come chat with other alumni in 1:1 conversations. Register at the 🔗 in our profile!
Assistant Vice President: Allison McWilliams, PhD
Associate Director: Lauren Beam, MS, NCC
Assistant Director: Megan Hoyt
