In the last newsletter, I wrote about my adventures on Academic Reddit and it resonated with a lot of people. Most of the replies I got back to that email included these lines:
“How do I market my skills?”
“How do I build a professional brand?”
“Where do I even start?”
I’ve talked about how to build a professional brand on LinkedIn in this video. For me, it has been a powerful way to market my skills at scale.
But one part of professional brand-building that is often skipped – especially in our generation of everything being online and automated – is strategic in-person meetups.
I get it. I am a homebody just like the next ambivert/introvert. Talking to people gets me out of my shell and sometimes I want to stay in that comfy shell.
If you’re like me, I see you.
But here’s the thing: sometimes, by the time a role is posted on LinkedIn or Indeed the job is already half-way filled. How? By people who know other people telling the decision-makers, “Hey, you should hire Sheila. I know her personally and think she’d be great for this.”
Next thing you know, who has the job? Sheila. And where did Ms. Referrer meet Sheila? At the relaxed meetup after the long boring (ahem educative) sessions at a recent conference.
Now, if you’re thinking, “But I don’t have money to go to conferences,” don’t worry!
Here’s a hack I’ve used for a few years now. I’ve gained nice opportunities out of some of them.
If there is a major conference near where you live, go and see if there are informal meetups around that event. There are often several of them. Sometimes, specific companies or even individuals will host these.
A lot of these meetups are free or low cost. I’ve often found out about them through company postings on LinkedIn. If you are on places like Eventbrite or even Facebook Events, you may uncover a few.
Pick one. Make sure it is in a public place (we don’t want to make the news.) Put it on the calendar. Show up.
When you go, smile, introduce yourself, listen, and most of all contribute.
By the way, often, nobody will care that you are not a part of the main conference.
Do this a few times – twice or three times – and people start to notice.
Some bold people I know go as far as hosting their own events for free. And is then recognized as the person who connected everyone. This builds some wild social capital.
I’ll probably never do that, but for the people who can pull it off, it often pays off. So there’s another idea for you if you’re so inclined.
In an age where everything has moved online or is being automated, reconnecting with other humans in real-life can be your “upper-hand” play.
Was this helpful? Comment on this post and let me know.
Have a great weekend.
Gertrude Nonterah, Ph.D.
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