Conferences and Your Career
.Business Cards
You
should always have business cards. There are two different kinds;
personal and business. Which do you take?
Depends
on who is paying and our objectives for attending the conference. If
the company is paying and you intend to stay at your current company
for the time being, always give out your company business card. If
you are quietly looking for something new, then give out your company
business card. Only use the personal business card when you are not
worried about anyone at your current employer finding out that your
are looking or you are out of work.
Attendee Lists
Many
smaller niche conferences will give you a list of attendees. You can
also contact the organizer ahead of time and ask them if they would
be willing to give you the names of attendees.
The
plan should be to scour the attendee list for key people that work
for companies in your target list .(companies you want to work in or
work with) A good goal is to plan to meet at least one person from
each company on your target list. You want a list of individuals that
you can on the look out for on the day of the conference.
Conference Agenda
Review
the agenda and determine which conference speakers you would like to
meet. Prepare several salient questions that you could ask the
speaker that will demonstrate your knowledge of the topic. BE
PREPARED TO ASK FOR A-I-R .(SEE
BELOW THE MAIN ARTICLE ANNEXURE)
Day of Event
Arrive
early and plan your day. Pick the sessions you plan to attend with an
eye for topics where key people that Work for companies in your
traget list might be attending.
This
is kind of like being a teenager again. When you wanted to meet a
certain girl you would hang out where you thought she would be. Same
thing here. Where will the people you want to meet be hanging out?
Make
sure your name tag is easy to read and placed on the right shoulder.
I like to attach it to my collar on the right side of my body.
If
there is a speaker that is of particular importance to your career,
arrive early for the session and sit in the front row. Do not sit in
the back row!!
If
possible, introduce yourself to the speaker before the session and
give them a business card. Be careful to not interfere with their
session preparations. When the session is complete, you can approach
the speaker with the salient questions you previously prepared.
Take
notes on business cards on where and when you met each person.
Lunch and Breaks
Do
not eat lunch with people you know. Seek out tables where key people
that
work for companies in your traget list might be sitting. At worse
case, randomly pick a place to sit. You never know who might sit down
next to you!
Post Conference
The
day after the conference, sort through all of the business cards and
select key individuals that you need to follow up with. If possible,
send them a handwritten thank you note and insert your business card
in the envelope. Yes, this is old school but when they receive it,
they will open it and you business card is no longer just another
card in the stack but it is right in front of them on their desk!
Send
LinkedIn connection requests to everyone you met, and schedule follow
up meetings with key individuals.
Conferences
are a great way to make initial contact with key individuals who can
help you with your career.
Real
networking does not happen at conferences but the real networking
comes afterwards in the follow up meetings.
BY
MARC MILLER Career
Pivot | Author - Repurpose Your Career - Practical Guide for Baby
Boomers | Forbes Top 100 Career Websites
ANNEXURE
A-I-R Advice, Insights, and Recommendations
Frequently,
when people use their contacts to try to change jobs or careers, they
make one of several mistakes:
- They spend the whole time talking about themselves
- They spend the whole time asking questions the other person doesn’t feel comfortable answering
- They squander the opportunity and forget to meet their primary objectives.
How
you present yourself to the people who are helping you furthers your
personal brand.
If you make one or more of the mistakes above, then you’ve
communicated that your personal brand is self-centered,
unprofessional or scattered. Whereas if you’re focused, clear and
appropriate, that’s what your interviewee is going to walk away
saying about you
Let’s
say you are looking for a new position. You want to check out this
hot new startup. You did your homework and received an introduction
to one of the managers, who we will call Jeffrey.
Do
you ask for an informational interview? No…..
What you want to do is ask for A – I – R. You will ask for advice, insights and recommendations.
A
– Advice-
When you ask for advice it is a compliment. Rarely will anyone ever
turn you down when you ask advice. In an e-mail to Jeffrey, ask for
30 minutes of his time to ask for some advice.
It
could be about how to pursue a position at the company or to learn
more about the company. The magic word is “advice!”
I
– Insights-
Once you meet Jeffrey ask for his insights into how the company
functions, the culture and management structure. You might ask him
how he was hired or does he like his job. You will want to ask very
open ended questions to give Jeffrey to talk. This is NOT ABOUT YOU.
R
– Recommendations –
This is the part that many people forget. Ask what should I do next?
Is there anyone else you would recommend I talk with? Can you
introduce me to anyone else within the organization?
You
will ask Jeffrey questions and only talk about yourself when asked.
It is not about you!
This
is all about building the relationship. Asking for advice, insights
and recommendations is a great way to initiate and cultivate a
lasting relationship.
You
have not asked for help to get a job, but you have asked for help in
understanding the organization and for further networking
opportunities. You are networking to build relationships and
not to find a job. The opportunity to interview for a position will
come later after you have established relationships.
Jeffrey
will likely provide an introduction to at least one person, if not
two, if you made it clear you were interested in him and his
perspective.
You
will ask for advice,
insights, and recommendations from
each of the individuals that Jeffrey made introductions.
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