Dr Shellie posted some really good advice about networking at conferences a few weeks ago. I've only just found it through one of the new blogs I've started reading, On being a scientist and a woman. I gave myself a bit of a pat on the back for already doing a lot of these things. I'm not even really guilty of sitting on the "kids' table" at the SVP banquet, although I do tend to sit on the "Brits' table". Last time I did that I disgraced myself and ended up pennying (a great Cambridge drinking tradition) a Respected Pillar of the Scientific Community.
I just read Dr Shellie's post out to Paul. He said the one thing he would add would be to end the chat by offering the faculty member in question a business card. I'm going to make sure I carry a stash around in the back of my name badge at SVP (a tip I picked up from some grain merchants at the agricultural show last week). And I would be tempted, if I'd had a really good long talk with someone, to follow it up after the conference with an "It was really nice to meet you" sort of e-mail.
Once upon a time, for one year only, I was someone a LOT of people wanted to talk to. I had to lug my laptop around with me even the day after I'd given my talk as so many people wanted to look at the software I'd used. I never suffered the snide "Whose arm-candy is she?" remarks that a friend of mine overheard directed at another student (who to be fair, presented as though she was trying to understand her boyfriend's research rather than her own), and I've always been taken pretty seriously. This is a good thing.
I am now watching the fares from London to Dallas. Paul and I are going to have our annual holiday in Texas and New Mexico this year, before SVP. Even though we have two big eight-hour drives to get to and from NM, we're doing about 1000 miles less than we did when we did the Grand Circle in 2005, and nearly 1500 miles less than on honeymoon. Out on I20, back on I10. I'm so excited!
I just read Dr Shellie's post out to Paul. He said the one thing he would add would be to end the chat by offering the faculty member in question a business card. I'm going to make sure I carry a stash around in the back of my name badge at SVP (a tip I picked up from some grain merchants at the agricultural show last week). And I would be tempted, if I'd had a really good long talk with someone, to follow it up after the conference with an "It was really nice to meet you" sort of e-mail.
Once upon a time, for one year only, I was someone a LOT of people wanted to talk to. I had to lug my laptop around with me even the day after I'd given my talk as so many people wanted to look at the software I'd used. I never suffered the snide "Whose arm-candy is she?" remarks that a friend of mine overheard directed at another student (who to be fair, presented as though she was trying to understand her boyfriend's research rather than her own), and I've always been taken pretty seriously. This is a good thing.
I am now watching the fares from London to Dallas. Paul and I are going to have our annual holiday in Texas and New Mexico this year, before SVP. Even though we have two big eight-hour drives to get to and from NM, we're doing about 1000 miles less than we did when we did the Grand Circle in 2005, and nearly 1500 miles less than on honeymoon. Out on I20, back on I10. I'm so excited!
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