Good post. Parts of this remind me of the book “Never Eat Alone”, on networking tactics. I got one of my first jobs as a direct result of implementing one of its suggestions (at a conference, organize a side event and invite the people who you most want to impress). It’s sometimes hyperbolic like most works in the genre—in fact I’m eating alone right now—but it’s got a lot of useful stuff. I’d recommend it for early-career people who want to understand what this sort of thing can look like concretely.
Thanks a lot Sarah! Thanks for mentioning the book and your story! Linking a summary for folks’ convenience. I recently read the summary of the book and really wished I read it in my early twenties. It’s so useful and full of tips which are applicable to EA.
On the side events you mentioned, such a great example! They are surprisingly simple to organise. Most conferences will either be happy for you to host their existing meetup, or welcome meetup submissions before the conference to host at the venue, or a satellite event, and you get often get free venue. I do think that facilitation requires a bit of skill, know-how and up-front organisation, but it’s definitely doable, especially if you seek advice from experienced organisers beforehand.
Good post. Parts of this remind me of the book “Never Eat Alone”, on networking tactics. I got one of my first jobs as a direct result of implementing one of its suggestions (at a conference, organize a side event and invite the people who you most want to impress). It’s sometimes hyperbolic like most works in the genre—in fact I’m eating alone right now—but it’s got a lot of useful stuff. I’d recommend it for early-career people who want to understand what this sort of thing can look like concretely.
Thanks a lot Sarah! Thanks for mentioning the book and your story! Linking a summary for folks’ convenience. I recently read the summary of the book and really wished I read it in my early twenties. It’s so useful and full of tips which are applicable to EA.
On the side events you mentioned, such a great example! They are surprisingly simple to organise. Most conferences will either be happy for you to host their existing meetup, or welcome meetup submissions before the conference to host at the venue, or a satellite event, and you get often get free venue. I do think that facilitation requires a bit of skill, know-how and up-front organisation, but it’s definitely doable, especially if you seek advice from experienced organisers beforehand.