Professional Conferences can Lead to New Jobs
Every month, there are conferences running all over the country in virtually every profession. Depending on your career path and industry, you may even be able to find free conferences. Attending these conferences can increase your chances of landing that next job, if you plan our attendance wisely.
Be picky when choosing a conference:
To get the most out of networking at conferences, you must first choose conferences wisely. For most people, job focused conferences are not going to be very rewarding. There are simply too many attendees and too few jobs. This leads to discouragement. Instead, look for conferences that focus on teaching, networking, or workshops in a specific industry.
Be Realistic:
It’s always good to have realistic expectations when attending any conference. Some people think you should go right into a conference asking for work. However, the goal of conferences is to build relationships and expand your network. People don’t take kindly to being asked for a job the first time they meet someone. Set a more realistic expectation of meeting people in companies that are hiring.
Follow up:
Expanding your network is great. However, if you don’t follow through the conference will be wasted. Within 24 hours of the event, schedule time to review business cards and start conversations with your new contacts. During these follow up conversations, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask about the companies HR procedure & possibly even open jobs.
With a little bit of practice, you too can take advantages of conferences during your job search. Just remember to focus on the people at the conference and not the job.
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