Leverage conferences and trade association meetings

- Professional conferences can be a great way to meet new people and drive your job search. Think about it. Who goes to professional conferences? Thought leaders. Often, companies pay for their employees to go to conferences to either network, drive sales, or recruit. When you're meeting someone at a conference, it's a highly likely that they have access to a decision maker or they are the decision maker for the company. Finding conferences can be as easy as a simple Google search of your industry. However, it's smart to be selective. You want to make sure that you're using your time and resources wisely. Look at the attendee in vendor list before signing up to make sure that the event has companies that you're interested in working for that might be sending representatives to the meeting. You can also ask people in your professional network for some recommendations. Some conferences offer a discount for event volunteers. If you're unemployed, this could be a great option as a discount could make the price more palatable and could give you more exposure. After identifying a conference, you should set realistic goals for your time at the event. Keep in mind that it's highly unlikely that you'll leave the conference with a job. It's more likely that you'll meet people at the conference who can champion you for future opportunity with their employer. Make meeting interesting people the goal. Set yourself up for success before you go to conference. Peruse the schedule and vendor map before the event to see what potential employers will be represented and who's speaking. Is there someone there who you really want to meet? If so, send them an email before the event to let them know that you're looking forward to hearing their talk or that you'd like to grab coffee. The more leg work you can do before the event, the greater likelihood that you'll have an interesting conversation. At the actual conference, don't be afraid of introducing yourself to other attendees. Some of the best conference connections have been with people I sat next to during sessions by chance. You want to bring business cards and not resumes to the conference. You also want to make sure that you are asking for business cards in return. So that you can follow up with the people that you meet at the conference. If somebody ask you what you're doing and you're an unemployed job seeker, don't begrudgingly tell them that you've been laid off or that you're no longer employed. The best way to handle this is to give them a preview of the type of work that you're looking for. Let them help you. Let's go back to Josie, the avatar. In Josie's case, Josie could've said that she is looking for an innovative company where she could leverage her technical recruitment skills. This gives the person that Josie is meeting at the conference an opportunity to make introductions, to potential decision makers or companies on her target company list. Great conferences have happy hours. Don't skip out on these events. This is a great way to network and meet new people. Make sure you bring lots of business cards. Once the conference is over, take the time to follow up with everyone that you met. One great strategy is to look for these individuals on LinkedIn and add them as a connection. Make sure to send a personal note to remind them where you met them and if you had a meaningful conversation, you could mention some things that you discussed. You can also start following their content that they produce on the platform. Liking or thoughtfully engaging with the things that they share. This is a great way to stay on their radar and continue the conversation that you had at the conference.