As last we mentioned, you need to make sure that you have your boss’s buy in for your spending time attending industry events. Here are a few more things you can do to help ensure you have her full support:
Month: April 2019
Balancing Work and Industry Events: Asking for Support
You need to make sure that you have your boss’s buy in on your spending time attending industry events, otherwise her lack of support can be a significant hurdle. There are several things you can do to help make sure that her mindset is only a hurdle, rather than a total roadblock.
Balancing Work and Industry Events: Being Open with Your Boss
Balancing work and industry events
Balancing work and industry events in your busy organization is not easy. Engaging with industry associations can become harder if your boss doesn’t support the concept. Your boss may feel that industry association meetings are just social or networking events “dressed-up” to look like a work-related event. Your boss may believe that engaging with your industry is not a productive use of time, or she may think that any industry-related activities should be done “off-the-clock.”
Participating in Industry Events: Beware!
What If My Boss Thinks I’m Looking for a Job?
When you work to raise your visibility in your industry, many of you may feel you’re at risk of creating an impression with your boss that you’re looking for a new job opportunity. Many industry events are advertised as networking events where you meet colleagues from within your industry. Your boss may feel that you’ll meet a new colleague who will lure you away to a new opportunity with promises of wealth and fame.
Industry Associations: Meet Experts and Demonstrate Openness
As we previously discussed, there are many reasons to attend industry association events. Meeting experts and demonstrating openness are just two.
Industry Associations: Hear and Introduce Best Practices
As we previously discussed, there are many reasons to attend industry association events. One of those is to have the opportunity to hear and introduce best practices.
Industry Associations: Identifying Talent
There are a number of reasons to attend industry association events
And identifying talent is just one of them, as Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Human Resources Association, Tracy Burns, knows firsthand.
“It is very clear to me that the key differentiator for professional success today is building relationships with colleagues you meet through industry associations,” says Tracy. “I have seen dozens of highly-qualified human resources professionals who don’t know what is going on in the industry, don’t stay current on best practices, and, quite frankly, don’t know their colleagues.
Cultivating Your Visibility in BOTH Your Organization and Industry
Your professional success rests with the degree to which you raise your visibility in your organization AND your industry.
You could spend all of your time being visible within your organization at the expense of industry visibility. However, when you’re only visible in your organization, you miss opportunities for professional development and opportunities to build richer relationships with industry colleagues.