7 Ways to Get Noticed and Elevate Your Career - Conference Edition

Conferences are coming back in full force! Are you making the most of your attendance?

Today we're tackling conferences and how the right conference (IRL or virtual) can be a game-changer for your career and a goldmine of opportunities. Use the tips below to ensure you get a return when spending time, money, and energy attending events.?

I'm naturally an introvert, and events can feel overwhelming and draining to me if I don't plan to focus my time in a way that works with my energy. I encourage you to embrace the tips below to boost your professional opportunities.???

Badge Power:?Triple check that your name and company are correctly in the conference system. This way, you won't show up and discover a mistake. Consider bringing your own badge lanyard or pins to add. It's easy to strike up a conversation with someone who has added something interesting to the dull traditional badge.?

Text Your Personalize Contact: I highly recommend having a professional contact for yourself in your phone address book. That way, you can text someone quickly. This conference contact should just have your phone number, email website, and maybe social info like your Twitter and LinkedIn handles. Keep this separate from your general contact, which typically has additional information and notes. Use the same photo that you use on LinkedIn.?

LinkedIn QR Code: Leverage this option available via LinkedIn to share your profile with the people you meet. One strategy is to make it your cell phone home screen image for easy access. ?

Event Specific Pitch:?Most people have one elevator pitch for everything. This is a mistake for conferences. You want a conference-specific elevator pitch tailored to the people you are meeting. This approach will help you be more relevant and memorable.?

Be Of Service:??Instead of thinking about what you can get from the conference, consider focusing on being of service. What can you offer, and how can you make an impact by helping the people that you meet and want to me? You will end up having the most interesting conversations with fascinating people. How can you help people at the conference? What can you give them? What do you have to offer the people you meet? You are more likely to come across as authentic and confident. This approach will help you make lasting connections and gain a reputation for adding value.??

Maximize Engagement:??Use conference-specific conversation starters like what do you think of the keynote? Have you learned anything exciting so far? Which breakout session are you going to any booths? Working on anything intriguing recently? Who is the most interesting person you've met here??

Customize Your Experience:??If you're not an extrovert, don't try to be. Focus your time so that you don't end up exhausted or out of your element. If you do better one on one, setting up coffees at conferences will be way more productive than attending a breakout session. Do you love late nights that host an after-party? Knowing your limits also comes to food, sleep, and timing. If you aren't a morning person, think about skipping the morning session to have more energy later on for the happy hour event.?

Pre Networking:??Maximizing a conference doesn't just happen at the meeting. About a week before the event, you should try to connect with speakers, VIPs, and notable attendees on LinkedIn and Twitter. It will allow them to see your face and name in advance.??

Have a Follow Up Plan: You want to nurture the contacts you make. I recommend connecting with people on LinkedIn while the conference is going on. Want to increase your Twitter followers? Tweet every single person you meet that it was nice meeting them. You will get the activity retweets and follows, especially if you use the event hashtag. Block out time in your calendar the day after the conference to follow up while everything is still fresh. The most significant overlooked part of leveraging a meeting is the day after.?

Show Your Gratitude: Thank the organizers, conference planning committee, and sponsor attendees on LinkedIn and Twitter. They work hard to put on events and very rarely get thanked. Expressing your gratitude is both the right thing to do and something that will help you stand out.??

This week Esther shares valuable tips to get the most out of attending events. #3 is one of my favorites and something that many people don't do.

Join us today at 12:30 PST for Lorien Live (or watch the recorded version!)