Beyond Graduation: IE Celebrates New Alumni with Career Prep, Networking & Donuts

With the countdown to summer graduation for nearly 4,000 IE students officially underway, IE Alumni Relations launched a first-of-its-kind event to prepare these soon-to-be graduates for life beyond the classroom—offering them an intense week of career support and a smooth transition into the IE alumni community.

Some 270 graduating students attended the 5-day “Beyond Graduation” event series, which pulled together mentoring sessions, networking events, well-being and LinkedIn masterclasses, and special pop-ups to welcome them to the IE Alumni community. 

“We designed Beyond Graduation to meet graduating students where they are in their journey and ensure they are prepared for their next steps, regardless of whether they are finishing an undergraduate or master's program,” said Elizabeth Stallard, Director of Alumni Integration and Engagement.

A flash mentorship session held at the IE Tower on Monday kicked off the week-long event by offering students job search strategies, insights into hiring processes and tips to become more competitive candidates.

This was a time-efficient alternative that prefaced other long-term mentorship programs offered to IE Alumni with diverse purposes and in different fields.

Five IE alumni working in Human Resources roles mentored attending students, sharing diverse perspectives across multiple industries and companies, including Amazon, Fever and South Summit.

Beyond Graduation included two different Networking Nights, one focused exclusively on International MBA students and the second for all students. Each of the Networking Nights offered a tailored approach, with the first catering to senior and specialized job functions, and the latter curated for more junior profiles and organized by sector.

Students applauded the initiative that allowed them to share wisdom, forge connections and foray into the rich and diverse IE alumni network.

Beyond networking and mentorship, the event offered graduating students sessions on two fundamental skills: stress management and LinkedIn.

“Events like the Flash Mentorship session and Networking Nights gave students the opportunity to tap into the alumni network before graduation,” said Stallard, “while the classroom sessions were designed to support them with their job search strategy and well-being.”

Professor Shane O’Connor, renowned for making well-being accessible to everyone through his scientific approach, delivered a stress-management workshop on Tuesday. The session, held in collaboration with the IE Center for Health and Well-being, introduced graduating students to the well-being toolkit that IE alumni are offered as a community benefit.

IE BBA Alumni Jacob Lundén-Welden, who worked as a Senior Account Director at LinkedIn and is now a career coach,  spoke to attendees about how to use tools to build a tailored LinkedIn strategy that leverages the platform’s inner workings to their advantage. 

Finally, the series featured two pop-up “Donut Stands” with the motto “Do not lose touch with IE”, allowing graduating students to get connected with the alumni community before graduating.

Stallard delivered a final online info session on Friday to inform all students about the benefits that await them. Attendees discovered perks of being an IE graduate– including continued access to premium press and a two-year post-graduation subscription to The Economist.

“We're extremely proud of the impact Beyond Graduation generated in its first year, and we're already looking forward to building upon this success to strengthen the impact on the next graduating class to participate,” said Stallard.

Looking ahead, Stallard emphasized IE Alumni’s commitment to fostering a network of alumni who gather, share and enrich their community at special events like the Beyond Graduation series. Seeing the success of the first edition, the series will be expanded in future iterations, with more specialized Networking Nights and a wider scope of activities.