4 Reasons to Attend Your Industry Conference.
4 Reasons to Attend Your Industry Conference.
Ever wondered why people still attend industry conferences? Everything that is discussed by the speakers at those conferences will be posted on some blogs by the industry “experts” anyway? So, what’s the point of attending the conferences at all? Well, it is true that the internet era has made it possible to find any type of information online, but industry conferences have their own advantages over YouTube videos. Here are some of them.
Learn Something New.
During industry conferences, they discuss the latest developments in the industry. Often, the speakers reveal useful insights into these developments that aren’t available in the public domain. More importantly, because they are discussing those things at the conference, you know that these are the most important aspects in your industry right now.
Networking Is More Important Than You Know.
Your peers and competitors are more useful to you than you realize. They can give you insight, referrals and share best practices. More importantly, you all can discuss different ways of overcoming various industry challenges. In any industry, collaboration is the way to go. Sure, there will be people who will try to take advantage of you, but most of them will be forthcoming in terms of ideas.
They might even direct you to the right people who helped them with an industry challenge, so that you get timely help too. It is a fact that many businesses and professionals have excelled simply because they got the timely help that they so desperately needed at a conference. Overall, you stand to gain more than you lose.
Identify and Engage Mentors.
Conferences are full of people who have seen it all in your industry. You name a problem and there will be a guy at the conferences who will have solved that problem. You can learn a lot from them – how they tackled their challenges, how they differentiate themselves as professionals, how they have progressed through the ladder and so on. More often than not, they help you with your problems, either by answering your question, or in the rare cases, doing some future collaborative work with you. Your employer might not want you to hear this but many professionals have secured their next job move at an industry conference.
Take Advantage of Your New Knowledge.
You can go one step further, rather than just participating in the conference- You can write a blog article, write or co-write a research paper for the next conference, or join on other interesting projects other professionals you met might be involved in. Professional bodies always have several committes looking at various issues within the profession, join in and participate following on the conference. Pursuing new areas of interest in your industry can give visibility and contribute to a positive push in your career path.