With the SLA Annual Conference in less than a week, here are a few of the many networking tips in The Information and Knowledge Professional’s Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success
- When you introduce yourself, clearly say your name and your organization’s name or your area of interest. You can take 20-30 seconds for your introduction, which will go quickly. In order to make a smooth introduction, you should practice it. Jill (the book’s co-author) used to practice her introduction in her car as she drove to networking events. She wanted her introduction – or infomercial – to be stated perfectly and to roll off her tongue effortlessly, but without making her sounds like a robot.
- Although you are networking to advance your career, a successful networker makes the other person the center of the conversation. If you show interest in others, they will likely show interest in you. Along the way, you will learn more about those with whom you interact and build an authentic connection.
- Ask questions about what the person does, the event you are attending, or some topic you seem to have in common. Open ended questions are wonderful conversation starters.
- If you have trouble approaching people who are standing in groups, find someone who is standing alone and talk to him or her. The fact that an individual is standing by himself does not mean he isn’t worth knowing.
Thinking specifically about the SLA conference, here are ways of applying these tips:
- If you are job hunting, consider mentioning that in your 30 second infomercial. For example:
- “Hi, I’m {your name}. I am looking for a position in the Northeast that would use my background in X and Y.”
- “Hi., I’m {your name}. I have a track record doing {…} and am looking for a position in an organization that would value that experience.”
- If you are keeping your eyes open for a new position, but are not openly “on the market”, then you need to make connections with people who might know about potential openings. Figure out who those people might be (by location, subject area, etc.) and then mention that you are looking for people who meet that criteria. For example:
- “Hi, I’m {your name}. Because of my interests, I’m looking to connect with librarians who are in the { } industry. Who would you recommend that I should meet?”
- Getting a conversation started can seem awkward, so consider these questions that will surely get someone talking:
- “What sessions are you looking forward to attending?”
- “What session has impressed you so far? Why?”
- “Is there a vendor booth that really interested you? Why?”
- “Which vendor has the best swag? (The person might even do a show and tell!)”
- “How does this conference compare with other conferences that you have attended?”
- “This is my first SLA conference. What pieces of advice do you have for me, so I’ll get the most out of the conference?”
- Walking up to someone you don’t know – who just happens to be standing by him/herself – can seem intimidating. You can start with “Hi…do you mind if I join you?” and then use one of the questions above. At some point, you may want to end the conversation and move on. If you aren’t good at extracting yourself from a conversation, try:
- “I have enjoyed talking with you. Thanks for your time. I need to keep moving so I can meet more people.” Yeah…it doesn’t natural, but it (or some variation) will work. If you want to continue the conversation later, make sure you get the person’s business card (or Twitter name) and then follow-up later.
Speaking of business cards, while they are still very important (and you should be coming with a stack of them), more people are using Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for remembering people. Therefore, don’t be surprised if you are asked what your Twitter name is and then watch the person instantly follow you on Twitter as a way of staying in touch.
It is also likely that you will find some people sporting QR codes during the conference. These two-dimensional bar codes may contain a person’s contact information or other details. The DC/SLA Chapter has had several blog posts in this (here, here and here).
The result of your networking activities may be useful information, pointers toward job openings, or new friends that you’ll look forward to seeing at future conference. So go forth and network because – as the saying goes – it’s all good!
