On Oct. 2, 2014, I spoke to a group of library and information science graduate students at Syracuse University about attending conferences and encouraging them to do so. This is the handout that I used.

1. JHW 10022014
LIS Conference Advising Session
Benefits of attending a professional conference or meeting?
 Grow your professional network
 Make new friends and colleagues
 Expand your knowledge base
 Expand your resources
 Find potential employers
 Learn what skills employers are seeking
 Share what you know
The risks?
 Realizing that the profession is more diverse than you think
 Learning that your knowledge in certain areas is better than some practitioners
 Seeing jobs you want to apply for, but you don’t yet have the correct qualifications
How to select the conference or event?
 Who is offering it?
 What are the topics or sessions?
 Who is going? (Speakers? Attendees?)
 Where is it being held?
 What is the overall cost?
How to select sessions?
 Look for hot topics
 Expand your knowledge-base
 Check for influential/interesting speakers
 Go the keynote(s)
 Attend the business meeting
Your budget:
Budget Item
Cost
# of Days
Total
Conference/Meeting Registration
N/A
Travel (flight, train, bus, taxi, mileage)
Housing (hotel, motel, hostel)
Meals
Incidentals (laundry, phone)
Total
To Do’s:
 Talk to people who have attended that event and ask for tips.
 Before you arrive, look at the conf. program and note several sessions in the same time slot of interest.
 Look for generic blog postings containing tips for first-time conference attendees.
 Take time for yourself. It is okay to rest, since the conference-day is a long one.
 Dress professionally, yet also comfortably. Comfortable shoes.
 Behave professionally. Follow the conference’s codes of conduct and report those that don’t.
 Talk to participants that you don’t know. Don’t hang around with your existing clique.
 Look for someone to share a room with. It lowers your cost and might create a new long-term friend.
 Check for low cost eateries. (Yelp can be very helpful.) Look for a grocery store. Bring food.
 Check to see if carpooling or shared travel arrangements could lower your cost.
 In a strange city or at night, walk with others, and don’t look like a tourist. There is safety in numbers.
 Create and maintain a LinkedIn profile.
 Review your social media sites. Do they need any makeovers?
 Have business cards. Besides name and contact info, consider LinkedIn URL or Twitter name.
 Practice saying what you want people to know about you and your professional aspirations.