5 Ways to Work Your Next Networking Event

5 Ways to Work Your Next Networking Event5 Ways to Work Your Next Networking EventBuild a strategy to maximize the benefits of every networking opportunity.Throughout my time at Ladders, Ive written many articles and given presentations explaining the importance of networking to boost your career and job-search efforts. Whether you love it or hate it, networking has become an integral part of the job-search process.What Ive realized is that, while many people are jumping on the networking bandwagon, few actually approach networking or more specifically, networking events with a strategy that is sure to move the needle towards their goals. Merely showing up to an event wont guarantee results, and how you prepare for and follow up after an event is just as important as what you do when youre there.Below are five tips to help you make the most of each networking event you attend.Have a game planIf possible, review the event agenda ahead of time so you can research the speakers and det ermine which activities or presentations you want to attend. Prepare a few questions ahead of time so you remember to ask them. If there is a list of RSVPs, look to see if you know anyone and reach out ahead of time, or invite some of your friends or colleagues who would be interested.Give yourself a goal, such as meeting and exchanging contact information with at least three new people, learning one new tip that you can put into practice immediately, or getting a presenters opinion on a topic youve been struggling with. If youre more introverted, this is your chance to stretch out of your comfort zone.Prepare your materialsDepending on the event, it may be appropriate to bring copies of your resume in a portfolio or folder. Make any necessary tweaks to your resume so that it clearly communicates your job goals and qualifications.Practice your elevator pitch, keeping in mind the audience you expect to see at the event. For instance, evaluate when you can use industry-specific jargon to talk about your work, and when it makes sense to speak in broader strokes. Here are some creative ways to tell someone about yourself.Come armed with more business cards than you think youll need. If youre currently unemployed or searching on the sly, I highly recommend creating business cards that use your rolleal contact information. You can get a nice set from companies like GoPrint for less than fifty bucks.Clean up your erreichbar presence so your personal accounts are hidden from the public and your professional accounts are aligned with your resume and job goals. You dont want new contacts getting mixed signals when they go to connect with you online.Dress the partDifferent networking events call for different attire. Find out what the expectation is so you dont stick out like a sore thumb at the event. Take a look at this guide on dressing for every event so you make the right first impression. If youre unsure if the event is business formal or business casual, bring the tie or suit jacket with you you can always stow them away in your portfolio or purse if theyre unnecessary. If youre planning attend presentations, bring a pad and pen, or your iPad, to take notes on the fly.Work the roomEnter the event with energy and confidence, even if you have to fake it. Remember your game plan and goals for the event take a look at the agenda to see if any changes have been made and map out your activities. Strike up conversations with the person next to you while you wait in line or between presentations. You never know that persons best friends husband could be the key to your job search. Not sure where to start? Take this networking quiz to get prepared.Follow upThe business card in your pocket is worthless if you dont follow up and nurture the relationship with your new contact. Send a short but personal follow-up email or a LinkedIn connection request 1-2 business days after you meet. Reference where and how you honigwein, and include a personal detai l or two to jog the persons memory.Ideally, you want to leave the event with a call-to-action for each person youve met so you can reference this in your follow-up and continue the conversation. Also, look for ways to pay it forward. When building relationships, you often have to give before you get.Remember, events can be a great way to expand your network of contacts, improve your industry knowledge and skills sets, and uncover hidden job leads. If you properly prepare for each event and continue to build relationships with those you meet, youll be golden. Click on the following link for more information on networking.

New study shows how pedal desks can help people who sit all day

New study shows how pedal desks can help people who sit all dayNew study shows how pedal desks can help people who sit all dayWe know that sitting all day at work is bad for ur health, but new science on standing desks have found that standing at work is not the solution to a sedentary lifestyle either. In a long-termstudyof 38,000 people, those who stood or walked for more than six hours each day at workhad up to three times the risk of surgery for varicose veins, which is associated with higher heart failure risk.As Aaron Carroll explained in theNew York Times about why standing desks are overrated Standing is not an exercise the health benefit that could actually help sedentary workers.So standing desks may not be the cure-all to our unhealthy habits at work. But what if there was a way to get exercise at your desk?Enter the pedal desk.A new study shows the benefits of a pedal deskIn a new pilot study, University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers said employees may be able to get exercise benefits from a pedal desk without experiencing any drawbacks on their productivity.Since there are no commercial pedal desks, the researchers created a prototype pedal desk and got 12 sedentary employees to use them. They found thatemployees using the pedal desk needed less insulin to maintain blood sugar levels, suggesting that the pedal desk boosted participants metabolism.The alternatives to sitting at a desk such as a standing desk or treadmill desk come with the risk of standing too long, the researchers said. The advantage of a standing desk is its adaptability to a workers needs.A pedal desk can be used in a seated position at the users own pace for as little or as much time as the worker chooses, the researchers said in the statement.With a pedal desk, employees can integrate light exercise into their workday when it is convenient for them. Ultimately though, the best exercise is one that you will actually do. You can get up and walk around, or if you are par t of a pilot study, you can pedal your feet at your desk. The benefit of a pedal desk is that it gives sedentary employees more options on how they can move.

New study explains how an open office plan can be sexist

New study explains how an open office plan can be sexistNew study explains how an open office plan can be sexistOpen office plans are designed to break down the physical and metaphoric walls between us, but a new study found that they were guilty of putting up new kinds of barriers between employees, reinforcing the same gendered hierarchies that they aimed to deconstruct.In the study published in Gender, Work and Organization, researchers at Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Bedfordshire followed1,000 U.K. government employees as they transitioned from a traditional office design to a mora open plan one in their new building. Now, the office space had transparent glass everywhere, identical desks, and undefined large spaces for collaboration. Everyone could see everyone, and that was just how the architect of the building, who was kept anonymous in the study, liked it.As he bluntly put it, I think its like going to a nudist beach, you know, first, youre a little bit wor ried that everyones looking at you but then you think, hang on, everybody else is naked, no-ones looking at each other. I think thats whatll happen, theyll get on with it.But not everyone did get over it.The unintended side effects of unterstellung new design features, the researchers learned in interviews with employees, was the increased sense of surveillance for everyone, but particularly women, at work. Women felt more exposed. As one female manager put it, If youre upset about something, theres nowhere to go. Where can you go? All you can do is go to the Ladies bathroom, so theres nowhere that you can go and speak to somebody on a one-to-one basis where you cant be observed.And the eyeballs observing coworkers were predominantly male. Although visibility placed curbs on this kind of behavior - watching had to be done surreptitiously - the building provided a space where it was much easier for men to exercise this kind of male gaze, researchers found in their observations.Ope n office plans make women more image-consciousAware of the new surveillance, women started dressing differently at work to manage their image. Traditional offices signal rank through fancy desks and door labels - now women signaled their status through clothes. One female senior manager made the switch from wearing cardigans to jackets because she said, A cardi says admin. Theres a whole subtle ranking and I think for women its particularly significant.The more senior your role, the fancier your clothes got.Successful accomplishment as a high-status networker required dressing up (wearing a jacket rather than a cardi which might cause one to be misidentified as admin), whereas taking up a lower status role was accomplished by dressing down and staying put in ones own office, the researchers wrote. Senior staffers became more likely to move around more the office, while lowly employees became less likely to venture out from their area of the office.To be fair, not all women felt opp ressed by the new space. They spoke of new freedoms to be more fully themselves they walked across and confronted people they looked actively at others they requested adaptations to the loos and they accepted and enjoyed being visible, the study noted.But for others, the open office space became a constant warden who was watching their every move. As the researchers concluded, There appeared to be such an implicit ranking system in these aspects, so that senior women presented themselves and acted in a way that expressed look at me and their junior counterparts sought to achieve the opposite move and blend into the background.