From finding their first graduate job to renting for the first time as a working professional, recent graduates can offer relatable and current insights to students about to take the first steps in their own careers. Here at the University of Southampton, we want to harness these insights from the newest members of our alumni community. But how can we build and maintain engagement with a community of young professionals busy building their own careers?

In this workshop, we will consider how we can amplify engagement with recent graduates through making volunteering opportunities more appealing and impactful for these young professionals, all the way from sourcing volunteers to stewardship. At the University of Southampton, we are building these bridges through the Graduate Ambassador programme which has created an evolving community of recent graduates who are regularly matched with volunteering activities across the University. We will share that we have learnt by working with these volunteers and where this community can take us next, discussing more widely how we can consider the needs of specific groups of volunteers to maximise our impact.