Ready to Network at HR Conferences?
by Lois MelbourneWhen you are planning your visit to a conference please think about some of the following tips. These are provided by Marc Ramos, networker extraordinaire, who presents a “How to Network at OHUG” (Oracle HR User Group) to a standing room only crowd each year.
- Do your planning: Who do you want to meet?
- Don’t “Work a Room”…”work” can be tedious, laborious, and sometimes painfully awkward – just socialize instead.
- Leverage a “Wing-Man/Wing-Woman”…think Maverick/Goose (Top-Gun). Network with a partner so that you can feel more comfortable when you walk up to a group.
- Diversity: talk to others who are VERY different than yourself. Age, Race, Gender, Role…you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your findings.
- Be humble/generous: the greatest networkers in the world are Shoe-Shine professionals at the airport. They have a ton of information to share and make you feel like the most important person in their world during your time with them.
- SMILE…this incredibly simple act invites conversation.
There are many great opportunities for HR education and networking this fall. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I thought I would share several good choices.
HR Technology Conference Large industry show covering the technology and best practices it takes to implement the technology well.
HR-XML Technology conference designed for those needing to integrate systems or make systems interoperate.
SHRM Strategy Conference
Creating the HR Leadership Agenda
OAUG (Oracle’s User Group) and Quest have great conferences in Virginia, Atlanta, and Midwest; and other conferences have education for Peoplesoft and Oracle users.
HR.com’s Employer of Excellence
Certification Classes for PHR, SPHR, GPHR
A challenging endeavor worth the time you put in, because you are getting new ideas while you are diving into the intricacies of the HR trade. (December is testing the window.)
Then there are the webinars – WONDERFUL webinars – and too many to list here, but check out sites like:
http://www.shrm.org/
http://www.ihrim.org/
http://www.hr.com/
http://www.hronline.com/
http://www.workforce.com/
Cheers,
Lois
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