Attending a professional conference can expand your network, knowledge, and resources while exposing potential job opportunities. When selecting a conference, consider factors such as the offering organization, session topics, and overall costs. Preparing for the event involves budgeting, professional conduct, and engaging with new attendees to enhance the experience.

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.