When we talk with prospective students about the MBA program we often emphasize that you’re connected to the HBS community for life. Certainly you’ll always be part of your section – but did you know alumni also have access to career resources and the research expertise of the Baker librarians?
In his role as Director of Business for Baker, Jim Borron supports alumni and ExEd participants by helping them understand and take advantage of the information services and products offered by the library. “It’s very gratifying to be part of helping someone launch a business, win investors, develop new products, understand their markets, find customers, understand the competition, or be better equipped to have a conversation with their board or the teams they are leading,” he notes. “We do all these things. The variety is endless and the alumni and their projects are fascinating.”
Here are a few more things Jim thought you should know about how Baker works with alumni.
1.We’re on your team, for life
Alumni use Baker Library in a variety of ways. Hundreds call or write each year, thousands use our eBaker remote database access resources, many pay us visits in person because they live nearby, are in town on business or for a reunion, and many use our premium alumni research services. We enjoy working with alumni because it informs our work with students and faculty and helps us stay in touch with the current business environment.
2. We’re always here for you, no matter where you are
eBaker - a subset of the 150 premium electronic business resources available to students – can be accessed 24 hours a day, from anywhere with an internet connection, at no cost to alumni. eBaker provides access to thousands of journals, data sets, news sources, analyst reports and many other types of information. In addition, you can write us at any time and we will get back to you within a day and during library hours, you can give us a call.
3. We can help you when Google isn’t cutting it
In addition to no-cost consultations and free access to eBaker resources, we also provide research help to those who are conducting research on their own and who want to go beyond Google. We help with search strategies on any topic, including how to access and use eBaker resources and provide advice on how to best locate the information needed for a project, a new job, a new business, or a new product. We are happy to meet with alumni and it is easy to set up an appointment. We regularly work with alumni who are in career search mode and provide them with intelligence on countries, industries, organizations, and people.
4. We can do your homework for you - accelerate ideas, launch conversations, inform decisions…
We conduct fee-based research for alumni who appreciate the convenience, time savings and thoroughness provided by Baker Librarians and researchers, or who want their work to be fueled by Baker. We have helped members of the alumni community with their pitch decks, business plans, and new product and service development research. We have helped them value firms, find new customers, investigate suppliers, and check in on the competition. We help alumni stay current with state of the art practices and management topics. Some organizations engage us on a retainer basis, too – they appreciate having a remote research team to complement their in-house team.