There's a rite of passage for many young professionals that seems to drive home somehow that you're finally all grown up. It's called a conference.
I recently attended one in Calgary for the International Association of Business Communicators' Canada West Region. It was a gathering of chapter leaders from all across Western Canada and for someone just getting their feet wet with a corporate career it was an exciting but terrifying experience.
When you're just starting out with a career in your industry, networking is key. Conferences like the Dare to Lead one I attended are a great opportunity to rub shoulders with all the right people, make invaluable interpersonal connections and build a business network. In many industries in parts of Canada, it is often not what you know, but whom.
In some parts of the world nepotism is rare. Candidates are assessed based on qualifications and what the prospective employer thinks they can contribute to the team dynamic. Little consideration is given (at least outwardly) to previous relationships between the recruiter and prospective employee. This is simply not the corporate environment in the Canadian west.
As such, networking opportunities like conferences are essential to anyone wishing to establish themselves in a new industry.
When I arrived I wasn't sure what to expect. Starting out as a new professional, you're never entirely sure what questions are allowed, when you should ask those questions, what you should be wearing, what to bring along, whether you should opt for a laptop or tablet, or if you should stick to good ol' fashioned pen and paper.
Many conferences contain breakout sessions, and this one was no exception. Sometimes with so many options you end up in a conundrum: which one to attend. Often the breakout sessions will be relatable to many different people in the industry so there could be several sessions you wish to attend and feel you could benefit from but unfortunately you are only able to be in one place at a time.
Another observation I made was the wonderful sense of camaraderie between the other attendees. Many of them had known one another for years and used the conference as an annual opportunity to reconnect with old friends.
It reminds me a little of a theatre production of Same Time, Next Year, based on the 1975 play by Bernard Slade that I once attended in Red Deer. The central characters have a sordid affair, which they agree to continue annually. In every subsequent meeting they catch up and work through many of life's challenges together as friends and confidants.
The professionals at the conference took the opportunity to catch up with their friends from across the region and share the successes and challenges of their professional lives. Now that I have gone through this rite of passage, I look forward to getting to know these other industry professionals and re-establishing these connections in the upcoming years.
So to my fellow conference attendees and anyone joining the clan between now and then: same time, next year.
Darlana Robertson is a twentysomething writer from Calgary and a former Central Alberta resident.
