Tips and Tricks to Enhance Your Conference Experience
Convince Your BossTips and Tricks to Enhance Your Conference Experience
NLS 2004 was my very first conference and I really wish I'd taken business cards. Since this event I have made my own using “off the shelf” business card paper and my own design using a template from Publisher. Now my employer supplies me with professional business cards for entering competitions and professional networking, but I still like to carry my own personal ones for the new friends that I am bound to meet at conferences and seminars.
If you are making your own business cards, include
Your name and don't forget the postnominals
Title/position and organisation
Address
Phone number (inc mobile if you want to)
Email (probably the most useful inclusion)
If you are making a personal card as distinct from a business card use your home contact details not your work contact details and don't include a title/position unless you want to alert prospective employers to the fact that you are a possible for their graduate program.
Happy networking!
Corrinne Hills
Library Technician
DRUG ARM Resource Centre QLDWhat do I wear?
Dress for comfort. Conference rooms tend to be alternatively too cool and too warm so a light top with a jacket or, dare I say, cardigan would be comfortable Dressing for the dinner:
Going on experience from the last NLS dinner, black tie is not de rigour, break out the long frock, stilettos and tiara if you want to but be aware that the tiara will be in on somebody else's head by 1am and the stilettos will be beside the dance floor. Wear something nice, dress up and have fun.
Guys, don't rush out to hire the tux just yet, a shirt with a collar and long pants are probably the minimum dress requirement, a tie wasn't necessary at the Hilton in 2004 so probably not this time.
Corrinne Hills
Library Technician
DRUG ARM Resource Centre QLD
My tip for both new and old timers will be to wear your biggest smile to show just how excited and happy you are to be at the conference. I am sure that this show of excitement will be infectious and assist in making everyone feel relaxed and comfortable.
Kerry Latto
Senior Library Technician
Galvin Medical Library
University of Notre Dame Australia WA
TIP#1
Be bold. Don't be shy.
From the moment you walk into the building on the first morning, be bold and confident. You are a super-fantastic new librarian. You are here to learn, be energised, and share. Be bold. Go out of your comfort zone. Take a breath and go and talk to people who you don’t know. Go on, they are just as scared as you are. Put yourself out there. Put the shy you on the shelf for the day and get the most out of the conference. The people you meet at this conference will be some of the most valuable and supportive friends you will make in your career.
TIP#2
Wear something comfortable! Something fun yet professional.
TIP#3
Don't drink too much at the conference dinner. Remember there will be people there with cameras and photos end up on websites ;)
TIP#4
Take cards with your contact details on them. If you don't have a work business card, make up a fun one of your own. This way you can be sure all the fantastic people who you meet and want to stay in touch with post-conference will have your details.
TIP#5
Be really bold and go and talk to the keynote speakers in the breaks. I know they are famous and a little scary - but they are at this conference because they have a professional and personal interest in new grads - that’s right - people like you! Go over and say hello and introduce yourself. You can guarantee you will be engaged in a very interesting conversation with them.
TIP#6
Blog, write, post, talk about the conference and your experiences there for us poor folk who can’t be there due to unforseen circumstances. We are dying to hear what went down at the conference and what your thoughts and experiences were.
TIP#7
If you enjoy the conference and wonder what you can do to help make the next one a success, get in touch with committee members of the ALIA New Graduates Group or ALIA New Generation Policy and Advisory Group (details on the ALIA website). These groups are always looking for enthusiastic and creative people like you to help plan events for new graduates to enjoy.
Kate Watson
RUBRIC Coordinator
University of the Sunshine Coast Library QLD
If you see someone standing on their own, go over and introduce yourself remembering how it was when that person was you.
Make up some business cards on the computer using thick paper so you can put your card into the competitions that the exhibitors have. Many Librarians don't have a business card but it is easy to make your own in Word.
Sally Toms
Librarian
Coffs Harbour Health Campus NSW1. Since NLS 2006 has many concurrent sessions, read the abstract for each session and plan which ones you'll attend well beforehand
2. Take business cards or if you don't have any make your own using a service like www.clickbusinesscards.com.au. Even if you're an unemployed student it's worth spending $50-$60 for some quality business cards. I exchanged plenty of cards with people at the first IT conference I went to and several months later was given a call by one of those people and offered a project paying $5000! It's much easier to give someone a card than to find a pen, write down your contact details and give them to someone
3. The most important tip, even more important than listening to the speakers [sorry speakers :-)] is to make a good impression with the people you meet. This is your chance to mingle and make contacts with junior and senior people from many different organisations.
Don't blow your chances by:
- Wearing casual clothes like you wear on the weekend or to TAFE/university
- Eating food at lunch or morning/afternoon tea that is messy, that gives you bad breath or that might splash onto your clothes. Make sure you especially avoid pasta with tomato sauce! Trust me it doesn't look good on a white business shirt
- Carrying too much with you (huge handbags, backpacks, briefcases) thus not leaving your hands free and taking up space when you're seated.
- Being careless when conversing with people, especially about other people like your boss or fellow workers. Remember "loose lips sink ships"
- Staying out or working late the night before and turning up to the conference really tired
- Not participating in the Cocktail Party or Conference dinner. Some of the most useful information you'll learn will be gained from informal settings like these where everyone's loosened up a bit
Some other tips from our American counterparts can be found at "Tips and Tricks for Conference Attendance"
Neerav Bhatt
ALIA memberDon't wear a twin set to any day, because they are the only things that truly brand you in the stereotype we all know and love!
Jodi Johnstone
Team Member, Infoservices
INFORMATION SERVICES
Brisbane Campuses
Griffith University QLD
- Share the conference programme ahead of time with staff of your organisation.
- Give them a list of sessions, workshop and any demonstrations you plan to attend.
- Provide the conference web site to your organisation/library so they can see the depth and breadth of what the conference has on offer.
- Be prepared to explain the relevance of the information and solutions for your library or organisation as well as how much this training will cost.
- Pick up handouts whenever offered. Further, take notes at conference sessions, so that you can share your experiences with your colleagues when you return.
- It's also important to allow time for informal conversations with others at the conference, so that you may learn from their personal experiences as well.
- Write an article for your local council's web site, staff newsletter or even your local newspaper that describes some of the specific sessions or workshops and what you learned.
- Finally, provide a full report to your supervisor when you return and include any cost-saving ideas you may have picked up.
Nora Martin
ALIA Associate (professional) memberWhen meeting someone at a conference, often they will give you a business card. Afterwards (preferably the same day) write some notes on the back of the card. This should include the date and place of your meeting and a few words on what was discussed or if any follow up is needed. This will consolidate the details of your discussion and provide a genuine and relevant starting point for when you next meet.
David Wong-See
Westmead Hospital Library NSWBe mindful of what you eat at conferences. If you’re anything like me, you tend to take a bit of everything that’s offered – don’t! There is usually too much food, and it’s often richer than what we might usually eat. If you sample everything you’ll end up feeling pretty sick. Try to stick to your usual eating routines as much as possible to ensure that you have enough focus and energy to make the most of the conference.
At social functions, hold drinks in your left hand – condensation can lead to wet hands, which aren’t very nice to shake.
Don’t underestimate the importance of the social events surrounding a conference. It’s fine to skip a few sessions in the middle of the day if you need a break, but the social events are where you’re likely to be building the best relationships, with both delegates and sponsors.
You don’t have to attend every session! I made that mistake at the ALIA 2004 conference, and I was so worn out by the last day. Pick and chose what interests you – it’s about the quality of your experience, not the quantity.
Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to bigwigs. Any senior people attending NLS have already shown their commitment and support of the new graduate cause – they want to meet you. If they felt you weren’t important enough to be talking to, they wouldn’t be there. After all, they might be looking for new employees…
When attending sessions, focus on thinking about what the speaker is saying, rather than scrambling to take notes. Papers will be available on the website after the event, so you’re better off being more actively involved, asking questions and thinking about issues, than spending all your time writing notes.
Alyson Dalby
Librarian
History of Medicine Library NSW
Convenor, ALIA NLS2006
Convince Your Boss
Here are some ideas from fellow new grads on how to go about convincing your boss to fund attendance at NLS2006. If you’ve got any ideas of your own, please send them in, the more the merrier!Boss, just a note
NLS2006 deserves your vote
An investment, to be sure
Pathways and Possibilities galore!
Next-geners, Big Wigs and Sponsors too
Satellite events and networking to do
Keynote speakers, Bruce and Byrne
So much to say and learn
Specials for Earlybirds
Give me this chance to be heard!
Submitted by Kirsten Harte, QueenslandConference Registration - $420.
Plane Tickets - $400
Accommodation - $300
Taxis and expenses - $150
Injecting our library with hundreds of exciting fresh new ideas from exciting fresh new librarians - PRICELESS!!!"
Submitted by Jennifer Creese, QueenslandTell them you want to go so much that you will pay for it yourself and take annual leave if necessary! My boss saw my enthusiasm and paid for me to go!
Submitted by Zoe TalikkaAt the conference I will meet other librarians who will discuss and share ideas and help me to solve real problems. I will learn more effective ways from other librarians to overcome some of the *challenges* that we all face in our work. It will help us to enhance productivity.
Submitted by Suman SajwanLibrary budgets are like medieval crops – prone to attack by cost-cutting plagues. Librarians must squeeze higher yields or starve. Conference is smart ROI because cost-saving ideas are always harvested from companion plantings and mental rotation. Accountancy itself was only born because crop cataloguing led to higher yields.
Submitted by Janet Wardman, ACTWhy conferences?
Why develop a wheel? Fly into winter? Throw the baby out?
To be a librarian is to develop resources and help in their use and what better resource is there for new librarians than experienced librarians. So bring fresh ideas together with experienced minds at a Librarians' conference!
Submitted by Laszlo Gercsov, New South Wales
- Attending raises the profile of our library as a proactive / next-gen focused place.
- Paper X will help me to achieve project/task Y (ie add some specifics about what you hope to gain)
- Approach it as if you were applying for a grant if you need to: what specific outcomes do you hope to gain by attending (networking with particular people, what papers do you want to see) AND what do you hope to contribute to NLS - what skills/knowledge do you have that people can learn from.
- Outline how you will share what you learned with others once you return (eg since Portugal I've written a long report, a short article for our newsletter, and am giving the second of two all-staff presentations about it today).
Submitted by Fiona BradleyThe connections made at NLS2006 will help our unit keep up to date, networked and innovative...from discovering a technological trick to help us save money, to meeting a valuable contact who knows about our subject area and bringing back innovative ideas that sets our service apart from others in our field. From a modest investment, we will all benefit from my attendance at the symposium.
Submitted by Adrianne HarrisDon’t be afraid to negotiate. Agree to pay for part of your attendance, if they’ll fund the rest, and point out the comparable costs of more structured learning activities and highlight the flexibility of the symposium format. When I approached my boss about attending the second New Librarians’ Symposium, I offered to pay for flights and accommodation, all they had to put up for was the registration (then I used Frequent Flyer points to get my flight, and stayed in the youth hostel – cheap trip!).
Submitted by Alyson DalbyTips and Tricks to Enhance Your Conference Experience
Convince Your Boss
