Networking - without leaving your desk

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Kelley alumni can connect with other alumni through online networking events throughout the year.

INDIANAPOLIS – Kelley alumni will get a chance to connect with fellow alumni this month – all without leaving their desk.

The IU Kelley School of Business Alumni Association will host an event titled Kelley O.N.E. (Online Networking Event), focused on entrepreneurship and startups, on August 19 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Eastern Time.

Alumni can join from anywhere, can connect and follow-up with other alumni with shared interests, and can get and give advice.

They will be able to visit virtual “booths,” including Career Services and Alumni Resources, as well as a booth for open networking and multiple booths for those interested in different stages of startups.

This is all possible through a startup called Brazen, which provides software that allows individuals with shared interests to chat in real-time online.

Kelley marketing professor Kim Saxton will host one of the virtual booths during the event. She likens it to virtual office hours.

Networking is so important. It’s likely the thing students overlook the most.

M. Kim Saxton, Kelley School of Business Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing

“You can’t reach everybody all the time. But everybody is online, and everyone has to take lunch,” explained Saxton about the ability to connect with people through technology.

“Their colleagues are going to be their best source of jobs in the future, and their colleagues are going to be their best source of employees to hire in the future. In fact, I’ve been able to help multiple Evening MBA and undergraduate students get jobs by connecting them with other people,” said Saxton.