1 - What is ESSEC Alumni?
Founded in 1923 by a young graduate, ESSEC Alumni is one of the largest biggest alumni associations in France. It has over 60,000 graduates among its members, with a new class of 2,000 young working people joining the ranks every year. With a presence in more than 85 countries, it covers 5 continents. ESSEC Alumni has around 600 volunteers and 10 employees who run more than 125 clubs worldwide and organise around 500 events per year.
ESSEC Alumni has made it its mission to:
- support alumni in their careers
- manage the network through professional and personal networking
- help the School gain exposure for the ESSEC brand
2 - What is the connection between the Association and the School?
ESSEC Alumni operates in all aspects of School governance (supervisory board, management board, etc.). As indicated above, helping the ESSEC brand gain exposure is one of ESSEC Alumni’s key driving forces.
ESSEC and ESSEC Alumni are also inherently interconnected as the value of the ESSEC’s programmes is partly derived from its network of graduates, and is based on the ongoing support of its graduates who sit on admission panels, become involved with academic courses, etc.
In 2017, ESSEC and ESSEC Alumni strengthened their connection by deciding together to implement a system of Lifetime Membership to ESSEC Alumni. Joining ESSEC means joining ESSEC Alumni. This is the general model adopted by the School, and which is clearly defined in the student registration agreement.
3 - What is the connection with the School’s Career Services?
During the academic years:
- Career Services’s role is to assist students with their career paths (defining, implementing, sourcing internship opportunities, etc.).
- ESSEC Alumni also helps to advance students’ career paths by focusing on networking. (see the “Services” section below for a list). In this way, both teams offer students a number of shared initiatives and events (Mentorship, Prep’Week, etc.), offering them a springboard to get where they want to be.
After graduation:
- ESSEC Alumni Career Services aims to support graduates throughout their careers (job searches, Reorientation Training, Lifelong Learning, etc.)
4 - Why was the decision made to opt for Lifetime Membership?
This virtuous system allows Alumni Associations to dedicate all of their time and resources to meeting the needs of students and graduates in the long term, rather than focusing on the collection of annual subscriptions.
While ESSEC was one of the first in France to adopt the Lifetime Membership model, it has now become the benchmark at major international universities (Harvard, Yale, Cambridge) and Business Schools (HEC, EMLyon, EDHEC, etc.).
5 - Are you allowed to force me to become a member of the Association? Are you allowed to do tied selling?
Tied selling is allowed in France since 2011.
A law firm was consulted to consider the legal aspect at length in 2017, with the legal position widely shared with all parties over the past four years. Linking ESSEC Alumni membership to an ESSEC degree programme does not present any issues in terms of consumer law or unfair commercial practices.
A commercial practice is only unfair on the dual condition, firstly, that it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence and, secondly, that it affects, or is likely to substantially affect the economic behaviour of the average consumer in relation to the product concerned.
The membership process to ESSEC Alumni is not contrary to professional diligence. Potential applicants are informed about the principle and costs of the automatic membership to the ESSEC Alumni network (in particular on the School’s website) in advance. Members are informed about the terms and conditions and costs of this membership again on registration. Moreover, such membership is a standard practice at international business schools and universities (see previous question).
Simultaneous membership to ESSEC Alumni is also not likely to substantially affect the behaviour of students who remain free to choose whether to sign up for one of ESSEC’s degree programmes or not.
6 - Compared to annual membership, how does Lifetime Membership add to the service offering?
The Lifetime Membership offers access to the full range of ESSEC Alumni services, from your first day at the School and throughout your career, no questions asked. In addition to the student services, you benefit from during your studies, once you graduate, you will, amongst other benefits, enjoy unlimited access to ESSEC Alumni Career Services: 2 free coaching sessions per year, help finding jobs, support in embarking on your career path, access to 50,000 job offers, and Lifelong Learning training, etc.
Switching to Lifetime Membership fuels the development and broadening of the scope of services offered to the alumni network, making them more effective and sustainable, to ensure career support throughout ESSEC graduates’ careers.
7 - Can I not only pay for the services I’m interested in?
Personalised packages cannot be offered as part of what is essentially a global package:
- some of the services are already included in the School’s academic programmes
- it is when each and every one of us gets involved that we can build an effective and supportive network, and provide assistance to everyone, throughout our lives.
8 - What if I don’t want to become a member of ESSEC Alumni?
As indicated in your registration agreement, you can decide at any time to leave the ESSEC Alumni community if you no longer want to be a member. However, the Lifetime membership is not refundable.
9 - Some students have arranged “refunds”, and I also want a refund. How do I do this?
No refunds have been made. When launching the Lifetime Membership in 2017, students already registered at ESSEC were offered the choice of becoming a lifetime member, or to continue with their annual subscription. That year, and that year only, was a transitional year.
Some students chose to revert to the annual subscription after having chosen Lifetime Membership. The Registrar switched them back to the annual subscription system by refunding the cost difference.
For students who only started at ESSEC after the transitional year, from 2018, the annual subscription option ceased, as Lifetime Membership to ESSEC Alumni was automatically included in the tuition fees.
10 - What if I don’t graduate, what happens to the subscription I paid?
Lifetime Membership has been refunded in very rare cases where students do not graduate.
11 - I’m also a student (so a future graduate) at another School, so what’s the use of being a member of ESSEC Alumni? I want a refund.
Even if you graduate from another school, as an ESSEC student, you are a member of the ESSEC community and ESSEC Alumni has mapped out your academic path as some of the services are already included in the School’s programmes (admission panels, mentorship programmes, course facilitators, Business Cases, Alumni Talks, etc.).
It is when each and every one of us gets involved that we can build an effective and supportive network, and provide assistance to everyone, throughout our lives.
12 - Is the network really worth the membership cost to join ESSEC Alumni?
The network holds inestimable value as it is measured by the quality of its graduates (posts, responsibilities, international presence, etc.) and their involvement with their School; a reputable brand and solid community guarantee opportunities on both a personal and a professional level. Remember that 60% to 70% of jobs are found through the network.
The range of services offered by ESSEC Alumni is designed to support you for more than 40 years, from your first day at ESSEC throughout your career.
The Lifetime Membership subscription can be included in your student loan. Feel free to find out more information from ESSEC partner banks or from the Registrar: registraire@essec.edu
13 - Does Lifetime Membership give me preferential rates?
Lifetime Membership offers access to the full range of student services (see the Services section) during your studies. After you graduate, you will benefit from a number of free services and other at preferential rates. Detailed benefits can be viewed here: https://www.essecalumni.com/page/services-avantages
14 - As the ESSEC network is already on LinkedIn and Facebook for free, what more can ESSEC Alumni offer me?
LinkedIn and Facebook, which work with the ESSEC because of their attachment to their school, are additional tools to those provided by ESSEC Alumni. But the network and job search cannot work only through requests sent via LinkedIn. ESSEC Alumni’s aim is to make students meet as many graduates as possible during their studies and make them use the ESSEC network to find internships / jobs.
ESSEC Alumni’s directory offers you access to the personal email addresses of graduates, allowing for more direct contact to be made.
However, never take the close links that exist between all of the ESSEC graduates for granted. One of ESSEC Alumni’s roles is to maintain these connections by managing 200 ESSEC communities (professional clubs, regional clubs and international chapters) in an efficient, structured manner by organising almost 500 events per year.
15 - What services are offered to students?
An ESSEC Alumni team is dedicated to the student community, with a physical presence on the Cergy and Singapore campuses.
ESSEC Alumni has developed services exclusively for students, allowing them to interact with graduates and find jobs / internships through the network:
- Mock interviews with our graduates (more than 120 conducted in 2021)
- Alumni Talks for an opportunity to speak with alumni working in a particular sector (Google, BCG, L’Oréal, etc.)
- Job and internship vacancies posted by our alumni in our Career Center, along with the opportunity portal exclusively for the ESSEC community
- Individual appointments to put you in touch with graduates when looking for an internship or advice on a particular sector, etc. (approximately 200 per year)
- Monthly workshops on “using the network to find a job / internship”
- Student/graduate conferences and networking (e.g. Station F conference with the Moroccan Ambassador)
- Introduction to graduates around the world, through the 85 chapters (London, New York, Shanghai, etc.),
- Support for student entrepreneurs from ESSEC Ventures, through sourcing and assistance from graduates (“ESSEC Alumni in residence”, Business Angels club, etc.)
- Access to the online alumni directory (including graduates’ personal email addresses)
More details on the page Student services
16 - Can students join a Club or a Chapter?
Yes, you are a member of the alumni network from your first day at the School. This allows you to access all of the Clubs and Chapters. To join a Club / Chapter or to see its members, you just need to activate your account on essecalumni.com and sign up to the Club or Chapter. This provides access to the list of other members and you will be invited to events.
17 - As for the Reflets magazine, is it for life?
A digital version of Reflets magazine is open to all members for life. Free printed copies are also available on the Campus.
When you graduate, you will continue to receive the digital version. If you would like a copy of the printed version, you can subscribe here: https://www.essecalumni.com/page/abonnement-magazine-reflets
18 - What is the structure of the ESSEC Alumni team?
The ESSEC Alumni team is structured in such a way as to meet the various needs of a wide community of alumni as efficiently as possible. There are three community managers (for students, graduates in France and international graduates) who manage the communities to meet the various expectations and who draw on expert input (Career Services, digital services, etc.), to ensure the successful delivery of initiatives and services.
Meet the full team
19 - Are any additional subcriptions payable to ESSEC Alumni after I graduate?
No, the only subscription you have to pay for membership to ESSEC Alumni is on your arrival at ESSEC. It offers you unlimited access to the full range of ESSEC Alumni Services, for life.
20 - If I find myself in financial difficulty, who can I talk to about this?
The Lifetime Membership subscription can be included in your student loan. Feel free to find out more information from ESSEC partner banks or from the Registrar: registraire@essec.edu
Moreover, if you are a scholarship holder, from the start of the 2021 school year, the cost of the ESSEC Alumni subscription will be subject to the same allowance as that applied for tuition fees.
ESSEC Alumni has implemented a Solidarity Fund with the School. Every year, the fund supports a number of students in serious financial difficulty. If you are in this situation, contact the Registrar: registraire@essec.edu
21 - If I haven't found an answer to my question here, how can I contact you?
If you haven't found an answer to your question here, please send an email to: alumni-oncampus@essec.edu