Building Visibility at Professional Developement Meetings

Joining a professional organization is a great way to grow your network and develop connections with decision makers in your field.

Professional organizations allow you to keep your skills sharp and by being a member you project a heightened level of commitment and credibility to your search campaign.

Following are some suggestions for getting the most out of the events sponsored by professional development groups.

1 -- Show up at events early so you can meet the speaker. It’s easier to build rapport before the presentation, when there are less people vying for the speaker’s attention.Follow-up with an email or card thanking the speaker for spending time with you prior to the presentation.

2 -- Ask a question during the Q&A portion of the presentation.State your name and a brief one-liner about yourself before asking your question.This allows you to introduce yourself to everyone in the room and increase the likelihood that people will seek you out for a conversation later.

3 -- Thank the organizers before you leave.This is a nice gesture and a good way to build rapport with people who are close to the organization’s membership.Perhaps you’ll uncover an opportunity for you to assist with a future event and gain greater access to membership contacts.

Beyond these tips, make a point of developing a 30-second and 2-minute commercial so that if someone asks about “YOU”, you will be prepared to present yourself.

Need to find associations for your profession? A good starting place is:

http://www.asaecenter.org/Directories/AssociationSearch.cfm

You can also visit your reference librarian and view the

Gale Encyclopedia of Professional Associations.