This document provides tips for convincing your supervisor to send you to a conference or training, and what to do when you get there. It recommends preparing by reviewing the agenda in advance, highlighting relevant sessions, and sharing it with your supervisor. At the event, get involved by presenting papers, volunteering, and networking during sessions, meals and other activities. Take notes and send daily summaries to your supervisor on what you learned and how it could benefit the company. Also look for discounts through coupon codes or early registration to help justify the costs.

1. How to Convince your
Supervisor to Send
You to a Conference
or Training and
What to Do When You
Get There
by Jason C. Rochon, M.S. Computer Science

2. tcpdump -nAi eth2 -s0 | grep -A5 "jcrochon"
 Husband and Father
 Intermittent Faster (one of the following)
 only eat between 12n–8pm
 24-72 hours without eating once a week
 Information Security and Privacy
 Adjunct lecturer in Computer Science, programming, and information
security
 A.S., B.S., M.S. in Computer Science
 Thesis: Networks Theory, Cloud/Grid Computing, Security
 Research in Computer Science
 Intrusion Detection, Network Anomalies, or Performance Tuning

3. Responsibilities
(Too extensive to list; these are my Five 9’s (99.999%) or
80:20’s)
Current Primary Responsibilities
Favorite Topics
Dean of Students
Office
Digital Certificates EzProxy Abuse
Library Access
Intrusion Detection
Snort
MalwareBytes Splunk
Intrusion Detection / Prevention Security Research

4. Get PREPARED
 Follow the Rule of “Seven P’s”
 Proper Prior Planning Prevents Potentially Poor Performance
 Take a look at the agenda ahead of time
 Usually on the Conference Website; if not, contact the organization
by phone
 Highlight any sessions that interest you and/or may be relevant to your
workplace
 Share the agenda with your supervisor; explain how the sessions
will enhance your contributions to the company
 If possible, review the attendance list and note contact information of
other attendees in your area of specialization
 Opportunities to collaborate with those attendees; which means
your notes can be improved substantially

5. Get INVOLVED
 If the conference is calling for individuals to present papers, submit a
paper
 I have submitted and presented papers on topics ranging from cloud
infrastructures to password security
 Volunteer; conferences may allow individuals to edit papers (Critique
the Geek), make speaker introductions or perform administrative duties
 Gives you the opportunity to show your supervisor that you are
committed
 Go behind the scenes (pre-/post-conference networking, breaks,
dinners)

6. Get NETWORKING
 It's important to build your contacts at conferences; not only for the
long-term growth of your career, but also for day-to-day technology and
information advice
 Here are some easy ways to meet new people:
 Almost everyone will have a name tag with their company's name;
use that as a conversation starting point
 Volunteering at conferences; you can informally and quickly meet
many people
 Introduction a speaker; gives you a quick public relations
opportunity: about 30 seconds with a microphone to talk about
yourself and your company
 Meal breaks, you'll overhear conversations on the latest news,
trends and technologies, or how someone is dealing with a
particular information security challenge; you might even be able to
chime in on the discussion

7. Get WRITING
 Take notes at all different times during the conference
 Speaker sessions, open sessions, lunch meetings, breakout
groups, even off-the-cuff discussions at networking sessions
 Spend some time at the end of each day reviewing your notes and
creating a concise summary to e-mail to your supervisor
 Inquire if the acquisition of more information is needed
 Summaries should focus on
 Who you've met, what you've learned, and how those people and
ideas can benefit the company
 Not only does this demonstrate that you are involved in the
conference, it may give your supervisor some good ideas for
upcoming initiatives

8. Get DISCOUNTS
 Find coupon codes
 I have found codes that:
 Newsletter Offer 5-10% off
 Free online access bundles (extend your learning window)
 Early registration
 Average $300-$500 savings

9. Get REAL
 Present fiscal reality means you may not be able to attend a particular
conference, no matter how much you prepare
 Before spending money on conferences, many companies want to
know the ratio/percentage ROI = (Gain – Cost) / Cost
 Overcome financial concerns, by starting small
 If the organization behind a large international conference has a
local chapter, attend one of their forums or meetings closer to home
 Gain specialized knowledge on topics through Webinars
 Make sure to stay current on information
 Eventually the conference budget will loosen; by having an
established knowledge base, you'll have stronger justification for
being sent to a conference on the topic
 If all you want to do is have fun; then it might be best to just take a
vacation