I’m in Nashville this week for a conference, and it’s been great catching up with many talent acquisition friends while meeting plenty of new faces. My biggest takeaway hasn’t been the “learning” at this conference but the power of networking. Building and nurturing your network is essential, and spending quality time with people is key. Here are some of my top networking tips for conferences:
- Don’t wait until you’re out of a job to start networking.
- Focus less on the people you already know and more on meeting new ones.
- Keep conversations brief so you can move around and meet more people.
- Always connect with new contacts on LinkedIn, and don’t forget to send a personalized message.
- If someone’s between jobs, make sure to schedule a follow-up call after the event.
- Have a concise elevator pitch about who you are and what you do.
- Make the conversation about them, not you.
- Vendor account managers are great at making introductions—take advantage of that!
Every conference has its own vibe—some lean more towards learning, while others mix education and social events. But no matter the type, these tips are solid for making the most of any conference networking opportunity.
Work Culture
You’re going to look older as you age. You can do nothing to stop it, but you can adapt to those changes. As the workforce ages, companies must adapt to harness the value older workers bring. Experience, loyalty, and mentorship are just a few of their strengths, but creating an age-inclusive culture is key. Employers can benefit from embracing flexibility, addressing unconscious biases, and offering tech training to this vital demographic. Here is a great article that recognizes the importance of older workers and discusses how to create environments where all generations thrive.
Diversity & Inclusion
A recent dataset from Tenth Revolution Group shows that 69% of disabled tech workers report a positive impact from their employers’ ED&I efforts, indicating that these programs are making a real difference despite ongoing industry debates.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the findings:
- 67% of tech employers have invested in ED&I initiatives
- 69% of disabled tech professionals report a positive ED&I impact
- 71% of tech professionals overall believe their employer promotes equality
- 68% of tech professionals of color report positive ED&I impact
- 62% of women tech professionals report positive ED&I impact
These figures come as SHRM has controversially decided to drop “equity” from its ED&I strategy, citing “societal backlash and increasing polarisation.” While this decision has faced criticism and sparked debate, Tenth Revolution Group’s data reveals that, in tech, ED&I programs are still seen as valuable by the majority of employees.
Recruiting Tech
Finally a win-win for both job seekers and recruiters!! Joveo, a programmatic job advertising platform, has unveiled its latest innovation (drumroll please!) JoveoAI, a conversational AI recruiting assistant that helps job seekers apply for roles. I know. I know. I know what you’re thinking. More AI helping jobseekers isn’t always a good thing when it comes to applicants.
But get this, with JoveoAI, candidates can complete the entire application process through a chat interface. No more traditional forms means more bailing out in the process; instead, they engage in natural conversation when they apply. #Winning!
For recruiters, JoveoAI provides data-driven insights to optimize the recruitment process while allowing human recruiters to focus on higher-level tasks.
By simplifying the hiring process, JoveoAI improves the candidate experience and increases application completion rates. This is a win-win for everyone involved in the recruitment process.
Pretty soon, we will be able to predict everything candidates are going to do, which might seem scary but Crosschq, the leader in talent intelligence, has gone all in on predictive analytics. They just launched Quin, an AI-powered co-pilot designed to transform talent acquisition teams’ operations. Quin brings real-time insights and personalized recommendations to the table, making it easier for recruiters to improve their hiring quality. That means having r-e-a-l analytics for that ever-elusive “quality of hire” metric.
Key features of Quin include a natural language interface, predictive analytics, and customized recommendations, allowing talent acquisition teams to access and analyze data more efficiently.