Industry events and conferences can be very appealing. The provide a chance to learn something new, a venue for great networking and opportunities to socialize, or simply a break from routine and to visit a new place. While conferences can have their perks, they can also be draining to your financial resources. That’s why it’s important that it should not be considered as some sort of mini-holiday, but as a time to work hard, even as you play hard. You need to maximize on your investment out of these events and conferences. So how you make them pay off? Read on and find out.

1. You can be picky. Don’t attend every conference on the planet. Be selective and only pick ones that will be helpful in reaching your top organizational goals. Prioritize needs and objectives accordingly, so you know what to focus on.

2. Establish connections. It’s not just about work. In addition to being a venue to hone your skills and learn new ones, the conference is also a great place to meet people and make friends that work in your industry. Social events can provide many possibilities. Get involved and establish links. If you’re in sales, it’s one of the ways to meet prospective clients, too.

3. Contribute something. Many academic and professional conferences encourage and accept materials for presentation to the public. Anybody can submit a workshop proposal, a panel session idea – even a paper. Go ahead, participate and submit your work; it’s an excellent way to communicate what you do and can be very rewarding even if you’re submission doesn’t get published or your proposal gets rejected. You will at least get feedback from experts and what they think of your work; you sure can benefit from that.

4. Ease up and have fun. You can learn much better if you’re also having fun and enjoying the people you’re with, so don’t take conferences way too seriously. You don’t need to be fixated on being always on time for the session or not staying too late. When you’re under stress, you will not appreciate what the event has to offer. So, relax. You’ll find yourself more receptive to new ideas and approaches, which will be helpful when you get back to the grindstone.

5. Maintain the momentum. How many times have you attended a conference and just file the materials when you get back, never to look at them again? Take action immediately after the event. You should realize that attending the conference is only half of the equation if you want it to pay off. The other half is all about putting into use the knowledge and information you gained, and reconnecting with the contacts you made. A great conference should make you feel empowered, inspired and ready to take on the world. Study the materials; follow up on new connections; maybe even write blogs or articles and post them on your social media network.

Conferences are what you make of them. If you aren’t quite sure why you’re attending the event, or what you want to accomplish from the experience, you’re not likely to get anything. You are responsible for your learning, so make the most out of conferences and events.

Tags: job, jobs, new job, Personal Branding, professional, Social Networks

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 9:38 am and is filed under Applying for a Job, Career Changes, Free Advice, Job Search Tips, Social Networking & Jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.