Speaker 1: Conferences are all about professional development. While there are many reasons to attend professional conferences can also be overwhelming. A lot of information and activities are scheduled into a few short days, maybe even just one day. These activities can include poster presentations, workshops, career fairs, exhibit halls, networking and other events. Today we will explore strategies you can employ to ensure you get the most benefit out of your conference experience. We will discuss the following four topics. Benefits of attending conferences, succeeding at the conference, networking with purpose, and elevator pitches and steps to perfect yours. First, let's consider some of the reasons why attending a conference may be beneficial. You get to listen to lectures that relate to your academic major and to your career interests. You will have the opportunity to interact with experienced professionals who can give you advice. These same professionals may even be possible future internship sites or employers. Depending on the conference, you may also meet students from other universities and learn about their programs and plans for after graduation. Now, let's look at succeeding at the conference. The first step on your road to success begins before you even arrive at the conference. It is important to choose the right conference. Be sure to take time to think about what you want to achieve by attending the conference. Do you want to present your work? Learn about industry trends and innovations. Find a possible internship job. Select a conference that aligns with your goals for attending. While attending the conference, there are several success strategies you should follow. First, act professionally. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. The other attendees of the conference could be future co-workers or supervisors, so be on your best behavior both during and outside of the conference, especially if you are staying overnight. Secondly, dress professionally. Wear clothes that you would wear to your job. Take a suit if you will be interviewing for internships or jobs at an on-site career fair. Business casual means skirt, dress, or casual slacks, casual shoes, and a polo or dress shirt. Business casual does not mean sweats, t-shirts, jeans, or sneakers. Tip three, review the schedule. Find out which talks you're going to attend and be aware of the times and room locations. Make time to attend the exhibitor showcase area and decide which social or networking events you will attend. Tip four, be sure to silence your cell phone. This is professional courtesy during workshops that avoids disturbing the presenter. Get three ideas. For each workshop presentation, identify three big ideas that you will take away from the workshop. Many times, workshop PowerPoint slides and handouts will be posted on the conference website after the event for your reference. Six, take notes. Highlight parts that you had questions on so you can ask clarifying questions during a Q&A or when talking to the speaker after the end of the workshop. And finally, divide and conquer. If you are going with a group, split up and attend different talks. Be sure to share the information with each other later on. Our third topic today is networking, networking with purpose. Conferences present many opportunities to meet people who may share the same professional interests as you. Be sure to take business or networking cards and copies of your resume. This will help individuals you meet to follow up and keep in touch with you. Collect business or networking cards, make notations regarding where you met the person and what you talked about. This will help you to send a follow up email once you have arrived home from the conference. Let's talk about the handshake. Be sure to deliver a firm handshake using the entire web of your hand. Make eye contact with the individual when speaking with him or her. And remember to smile. Let's talk about your elevator pitch. What would you say if you found yourself going down in an elevator and the only other person in the elevator was the hiring manager from the company for whom you dream of working? This could happen at a conference. You would have 30 to 60 seconds to confidently deliver a concise overview of who you are professionally that is focused enough to make a strong first impression. You can use this to introduce yourself in a professional setting or adapt your introduction to use at career fairs or to answer the customary first question in an interview. Tell me about yourself. To develop an effective elevator pitch, it is important to include your top selling points and organize them in three parts. In each part, you are conveying information about your professional brand. Part one answers the question, who are you? Part two answers questions such as, why are you qualified? How have you made an impact? And what sets you apart? Part three answers questions, why are you here? What are you seeking? And why are you a good fit for the position? There are three steps you can take to perfecting your elevator pitch. The first is to highlight your strongest education, experience and successes. The second is to customize the elevator pitch. Select two to four bullet points for each situation. Take into consideration the person with whom you are speaking, the organization and your goal. Third, practice. Practice delivering your elevator speech. It should sound natural and not rehearsed. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly. Practice once or twice with note cards and then gradually remove your reliance on those notes until you can deliver your elevator pitch without them. You may consider practicing in front of the mirror so that you see what the other person is seeing. Are you smiling? Are you making direct eye contact with the other person or are you glancing to the side? Do you have good body posture and language? Now, let's take a look at an elevator pitch example and how we may adapt our pitch to different situations. First, in a networking situation, your elevator pitch may sound something like this. Hello, my name is Roberta Katt and I am a junior at UC Merced majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Applied Mathematics. This summer I completed an internship where I gained experience in soil sensors and satellite imaging. Additionally, I have worked on several research teams and have developed research interests in the area of agricultural technology. I have served for the last year as treasurer of the UC Merced chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and will serve as president in this coming year. I have researched the innovative projects your company is working on and I am interested in learning more about those related to sustainability. When attending a career fair, you may wish to add a statement such as, I am interested in applying my education, experience and research in the industry. When attending an employer information session or career meetup event, the addition may be something like the following. Hello, my name is Robert Katt. I am glad to meet you and have the opportunity to learn about the semiconductor industry. Could you please elaborate on future trends you see developing in this area? In conclusion, as part of your career development and professional advancement, it is important to look for opportunities to attend conferences, attend conferences that will help you reach your goals, make a strong first impression by demonstrating professionalism, network with purpose and finally perfect your elevator speech.