Monday, March 18, 2019
How to Follow Up with People After a Conference
hbr.org: Attending a conference is a whir of activity — flying to a destination, engaging in several days of nonstop networking, and coming home to an inbox that has spiraled out of control in your absence. Back at work, most of us immediately go into catch-up mode; the last thing on your mind is following up with the people you just met. That’s especially true if you’re an introvert and feel overtaxed by the whole process.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I know that networking is important, but thinking about it as networking always makes me feel kind of icky. I feel like networking has this connotation that you are trying to get something from people, and consequently feels kind of selfish and manipulative. I’m also very bad at staying in touch, even with people who I’ve worked with for several months. I just never know what to say, even if I do genuinely want to talk to them. Knowing that, I don’t know how I’d manage to turn a conversation at a conference into an actual relationship. It is definitely a skill I need to work on, but I feel like the hard part isn’t the first email, it is maintaining the connection. Logging business cards and sending follow ups is easy (at least I find it easy), trying to figure out what to say to start a conversation up two months later is much more nebulous.
Whenever I interact with someone for a professional purpose, the follow up after the meeting is the aspect that I find most beneficial. Since I have been going through the process of getting a job for the summer, I have applied to a number of places that just seem to shut down after you apply and you never hear from anyone again. This is really frustrating, but not because I may or may not have gotten the job, because these companies just leave people hanging and guessing if they have been selected. This article brought up a very good section about building deeper relationships. Personally, I like to know who I am working for and what the environment is, so I am usually the type to try and establish a professional relationship with the people I interact with when searching for a job. I think the first impression is the most important, but yet, sometimes the most forgotten about.
Post a Comment