Guild – what is it and why should I use it?

Guild is our exciting new platform to help our attendees connect with one another ahead of an event. It's an inclusive space designed for you to share your thoughts, make friends and stay in the loop of important event information.

1. Make friends ahead of the event – attending an event alone can feel daunting but with Guild you can say hello and connect with like-minded members to join up with during the event.
2. Participate in competitions – the Bright Network team runs several competitions on Guild. Join for the chance to win prizes, such as employer 1:1 meetings, CV reviews, vouchers and more!
3. Knowledge sharing – share and gain helpful advice, tips and tools with other members who are in the same boat as you to help you take the next step in your career.
4. Have access to the Bright Network team – if you've got a query about the event, the team can be contacted via Guild for some speedy responses.
5. Gain commercial knowledge – in the run-up to the event we’ll be sharing useful articles, Bright Network Academy modules and employer information to help you have productive and memorable conversations with representatives at the event.
6. Find a travel buddy – if you're attending an event in person, you can use Guild to connect with other students travelling from your area.

You'll be invited to join your dedicated Guild group upon gaining a place at one of our events. Each group will have a few conversations started by our team that state the group's rules and our various initiatives. The rest is up to you and the other attendees!

First things first - join the group via the joining link in one of your acceptance emails, create an account and set up your profile. Add a photo, your university, what you’re studying and any other fun facts you’d like to add to make it easier for people to find common connections with you and start up a conversation. You can do this by clicking on the avatar at the top of the page.

Guild is also primarily designed to be used on their app, so feel free to download it on the App Store or Google Play so you can use it with ease.

Secondly, to use Guild effectively, make sure to:

• Introduce yourself in the Introductions thread
• Start a new thread to engage others in conversation
• Engage with other people by using the applause reaction on messages
• Use the polls feature to gauge how other attendee's are feeling
• Share useful information with fellow attendees
• If you know the answer to someone's question - feel free to respond

For more advice on using Guild, take a look at the platform's getting started with Guild video.