We Represent You

Dear Fellow Alumni:

I am so pleased to be writing to you again as Chairman of the Wharton Alumni Association Board of Directors. In the last issue, I talked about our mission and goals. In this message, I want to give you a glimpse as to how the Alumni Association Board, which represents all of you, is integrated into the Wharton community.

The President of the Alumni Association and I meet regularly with Dean Harker and other administration leaders. In addition, I serve on a steering committee of the Joint Boards, which includes the chairmen of the School’s Board of Overseers and other Boards. The purpose of this steering committee is to ensure that all of our activities are coordinated and working toward the same purpose. The Alumni Association also conducts annual Alumni Leadership Conferences with the regional and affinity club presidents, to hear their concerns and challenges, and we meet regularly with student representatives. Finally, in an important development resulting from Dean Harker’s leadership, our full Alumni Association Board meets twice each year with each of these other Boards.

Why are all of these meetings and activities important? Because they give a real voice to the rank and file alumni who make up our 77,000 living Wharton gradu­ates. They ensure that our voice is heard by the Dean and the other key leaders of Wharton. The good news is that you can be part of that voice, in any number of ways. If you participate in your local Wharton club, or join an affinity club tied to your industry, you can help your club leaders determine what we should be focusing on for our graduates throughout the world.

So my message to you is this – get involved, and make your voice heard. Getting your message heard is my mission, and the mission of my dedicated Alumni Association colleagues who lend their time and talent to make Wharton the great institution it is – but we can only do that with your participation.

Thanks for listening. I look forward to our next issue.

Best regards,

David N. Feldman, W’82, L’85

Enhanced CareerConnect Services for Alumni

Wharton has expanded the number of services available to alumni through CareerConnect www.wharton.upenn.edu/alumni/career connect. The CareerConnect team’s approach has always been to view managing a career as an ongoing and lifelong process, and that long-term view has become especially important in the current economic environment. The CareerConnect website reflects that approach, focusing on successfully navigating through the career management process – including career transitions. You will find the site to be the gateway to a number of resources and information, specifically designed to help Wharton alumni manage their job search process.

Following are the highlights of Wharton CareerConnect:

The Wharton Alumni/Student Network

Whether you’re influencing the next generation of business leaders—or lending an ear to a fellow alumnus—make the connection, and participate in the Wharton Alumni/Student Network, an online initiative enabling alumni and students to identify career development resources within the alumni base.

SERVICES FOR MBA ALUMNI:

EXECU-PLANET CAREERTOOLS

A comprehensive, user-focused career resources portal that helps you through the process of accomplishing your career goals—be it a new job, career change, or career management.

CAREERSEARCH

An extensive database that includes over one million companies along with contact names, addresses, phone numbers and company background informa­tion. The database can be searched according to industry type, location, and keywords. It is a flexible list-generation source for a direct campaign.

FACTIVA

A comprehensive collection of business data compiled by Dow Jones and Reuters. Data is easily available in compiled reports of your choosing.

BRIEFING SESSION

Coaching session with a Career Management Advisor.

ALUMNI JOB BOARD

Populated with over 2500 job opportunities across the United States and around the world.

SERVICES FOR UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI:

(Available through the Penn’s Career Services office)

CAREER COUNSELING

Wharton alumni are welcome to make an appointment to speak individually with a career counselor. Call 215-898-7533 for an appointment.

GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADVISING

Alumni considering graduate or professional school can speak with a graduate/professional school advisor about this option and get assistance in preparing application materials. Call 215-898-1789 to schedule an appointment.

RESUME AND COVER LETTER REVIEW

Career Counselors review cover letters and resumes for alumni. Reviews can be conducted via fax, e-mail, or during an individual appointment with a counselor.

ON-LINE JOB LISTINGS

Career Services provides on-line job listings for Penn students and alumni through PennLink. While many of these listings are for relatively recent graduates, there are some listings for experienced professionals. The job listings can be accessed from the main Career Services web page www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices. Please call 215-898-7533 to request a password. (Note: If you are seeking to hire a Penn student or graduate, you may post the position on PennLink. It is free and easy to do. Access the employer site by visiting the Career Services website and clicking on Employers and then PennLink.)

ALUMNI JOB LISTSERV

Occasionally employers ask us to e-mail job announcements to students and alumni, instead of posting them on PennLink. Please e-mail Barbara Hewitt at hewittb@pobox.upenn.edu if you would like to be added to the alumni career listserv. (It is best to use a non-work e-mail address when subscribing to this list.)

JOB FAIRS

Penn alumni are invited to participate in our annual business career fair, CareerLink, to be held on September 22, 2004. Alumni interested in technical opportunities may want to attend Engineering Career Day to be held on September 23, 2004. A list of employers attending each fair will be available on the Career Services web page in late September.

PENN CAREER NETWORK

The Penn Career Network provides the opportunity for students and alumni to network with over 4000 Penn graduates who have volunteered to speak with you about their career field, particular company, etc. The database is searchable by industry, job field, geographic location, undergraduate major or keyword. This is a terrific way to learn more about a particular career field or company. We also welcome Penn graduates to serve as network members. An on-line registration form is available. Please call 215-898-7533 to request a password.

CAREER LIBRARY

Career Services has an extensive, searchable career library with over 2000 resources.

CREDENTIALS SERVICE

Career Services maintains letters of reference for alumni. Credential files can be opened at any time.

Register at: http://accounts.wharton.upenn.edu/alumni/registration.

Committee Spotlight: The Alumni Association’s Students Committee

The mission of the Students Committee is to encourage students to become active members of the alumni network. In order to accomplish this, undergraduate, MBA and WEMBA student representatives work with alumni on the Students Committee to generate and implement ideas. The Students Committee is focusing on two projects this year. First it is conducting an inventory of all student-alumni programs that currently exist, in order to identify which programs are working and which ones have room for improvement. The Committee will then work with Alumni Affairs and student representatives to implement the resulting suggestions. For the second project, the Committee is working with MBA students to encourage student clubs to set up advisory boards of alumni. Based on the successful example of the WWIB Alumni Advisory Board, Anne Kalin, WG’90, of the Alumni Association Board is working with students and administration to create best practice guidelines. With all of these projects, students and alumni work hand in hand to implement these projects, bridging the gap from active students to active alumni.

Club Spotlight: Wharton Club of New York

The Wharton Club of New York is one of the largest alumni clubs and has a full slate of activities and programs for New York alumni. The Club has also extended an invitation to all alumni whose travel plans take them to New York to join any events that may be happening during their visit. Given the long list of Club activities, chances are that if you are in New York, the Club will have something going on, whether it’s a President’s Forum, an event in the Entrepreneurs’ Speaker Series, or simply a Happy Hour. Check out the calendar at www.whartonny.com.

In addition to being one of the largest clubs, the New York Club has also been a leader in developing new programs and resources for its members:

•Networks to support New York Club members develop their business are running full throttle under the leadership of Robert Herzog, WG’95. Two business Lead Councils meet twice a month to ask for and provide qualified “hot” leads. The 20 to 30 members of these non-competitive councils are all from different industries and have been quite successful in sourcing new business. At Peer Advisory Group meetings, business owners obtain input on how to grow their businesses from other Wharton alumni who are encountering similar situations. In the future, Business Development Programs will also include a CEO Support Group and a mutually beneficial Mentorship Program.

•New York Club members who own or run a business now have a venue to access private equity investors by presenting to WIRE (Wharton Investment Resource Exchange), a group of approximately 20 private equity professionals who are also Wharton graduates. Since the first session in September of 2003, one-third of the presenting companies are in continuing discussions with WIRE members, most of whom manage a private equity fund or their own capital. Presenting companies must have at least $1MM in revenue and be within one year of profitability. Pointed feedback enables the presenters to learn from the investors, and WIRE members have a network to exchange ideas and source leads.

To learn more about these or other programs the New York Club has developed, visit www.whartonny.com.

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