Closing the Loop - Conference Diaries Vol III
I’ve just finished up presenting at my first in-person conference in over two years, and I’ve connected with many amazing teachers and contacts from the meeting. As I wrap things up on the trip I need to make the most of the fleeting moments of network building and make sure the trip was worth it for my professional development.
Travel has a baseline level of stress already so it can be really easy to lose track of every new thing you learnt or any new connections you’ve made. How should you close the loop and solidify all of the progress you made on this work trip after you’ve come home?
Making the List
You meet so many new people at conferences and it can be almost impossible to remember everyone’s name, let alone the details of their work. If it’s appropriate you can ask for the attendee list from the organisers, or do a bit of online detective work to connect the dots. More and more meetings are using online conferencing apps with contact details built in, so take advantage of these features if they’re available.
The Right Approach
Once you have their details, what’s the right way of approaching a new contact? I personally like to mix and match different approaches for different contacts. If it’s peers or other students you met socially, just do what you do with any of your friends - social media channel of your choice, away you go. For more senior contacts though you need to be more strategic. Connect with them on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter, and see what they post about?
You can of course send a follow up email:
Met you at conference, great to hear about your work, love to collaborate in the future, keep me in mind for projects or opportunities...
…but unless there’s something you can offer them right now, a light touch works best.
If they’re in senior management then all their inboxes are filled with people wanting things from them - so I don’t want to add to that pile of unread emails for no clear reason. Following them on professional networks may be enough to start with, and if they follow you back this increases the likelihood that they will see your posts. After that it’s up to you - how you choose to showcase your work or achievements on these platforms, and increase the visibility of your work over time.
Lost in Transit?
Timing is the key - you can either try to connect during the event (everyone is there to connect anyway) or wait a week - everyone will be tired after the trip so your email will likely be lost if they receive it during a connecting flight. After reaching out you just have to wait and see. A 12 month window is a good timeframe to judge if your efforts to connect are successful. A year is enough time for new grant schemes to be announced, new conference organising committees to form, new papers to have been published… if you have anything of value to offer then something should have come out of it after a year.
If after a year you have nothing to show for attending the conference, not a big deal - everyone starts out slow. But you should be asking yourself the question - did you approach this in the right way?
Is this working dynamic too one-sided - they can help you way more than you can help them?
Did you offer enough on your end, or maybe you need more skills and experience before you can make meaningful contributions?
Often it’s just bad timing so try to follow up if you can within a reasonable timeframe, and also ask your supervisor to help if the project window is very tight.
Building up Goodwill
Trying to navigate new professional connections with the most senior people in your field can feel very intimidating, but everyone builds up their professional value and goodwill over time. One of the most accessible entry points is to volunteer for conference organising committees. There’s never a shortage of meetings or conferences in academia, and each one needs a slew of volunteers to print nametags, organise catering, finalise venue hire, troubleshot AV requirements….
You really shouldn’t have to look too hard to find these opportunities, and doing the grunt work for a conference as a organiser rather than an attendee really helps build up your value within the academic community.
Jack.
