Networking Tips

Tips for making the most of your remote networking at the WIDS conference

Join the conference with a positive outlook: Networking is an opportunity for you to engage with cool people and share ideas. Do not think of it as a transactional one-off conversation. Rather think of networking as an ongoing relationship-building activity. At its core, you are just asking for information and trying to get to know one another. Remember that everyone can network, including introverts and extroverts, and of course, you are worth the investment!

Do an audio/visual check before the conference.  Nothing disrupts your ability to connect like connectivity issues.  Test your audio, take a look at what your camera sees.  Spend a few minutes adjusting your camera and video feed so that when you’re talking to someone, they can tell you’re looking at them.  Consider using headphones or a headset, as those can also prevent disruptive feedback or echo.  If wearing headphones all day is uncomfortable for you, prioritize using headsets when your mic is on and use speakers when you can be muted. Curate your background instead of using a virtual backdrop - you never know what might catch someone’s eye and lead to an interesting conversation!

Take advantage of Social Media. Make sure your LinkedIn is up-to-date, as all attendees will be providing their LinkedIn profile information. Follow the hashtag for the conference on Twitter. Tag your social media posts with the conference hashtag. Adding contacts you meet from the conference to social media accounts will help you stay connected after the conference is over.

Be prepared: Feel free to search for relevant or interesting conference attendees, e.g. a host of a podcast you listen to, an employee at a company that you are interested in, or even someone with a common interest. Accelevents has a search feature under the people tab. You can look up people by name or even shared interests, such as deep learning or reading. 

As part of this preparation, it helps to have an elevator pitch. Something short and sweet that gives colleagues an idea of your background, experience (if any), specialties,  industry, and career goals. Below are some examples:

  “Hello, my name is Mallika.I am from Portland, Oregon. I graduated with a bachelor’s in biology and have been working for 1 year at Genentech as a lab technician. Lately, I have been interested in making a career change, moving out of the lab and into the field of data science. I am looking for advice on how to make this career change and learn what others have done.”

“Hi, my name is Anita and I am from Spokane, WA. I worked as a data analyst for a few years at Redfin, and then took a hiatus from my career to raise my 2 children. Now that they are older, I would like to return to work and build a career as a data scientist.”

“Hey, my name is Yang, and I am from Bellevue, WA. I have been working as a consultant at Accenture for 2 years in cyber security. I love my job as a consultant, and I want to learn more about the field of data science.”


Have a realistic networking goal:  “I want to meet people in my technical focus area.”  “I want to meet people in a similar career stage.”  “I want to connect to hiring managers to get a better sense of what they look for in candidates.”  “I have a project in mind that I’d like to find collaborators for.”  A concrete goal helps focus conversations and who you seek out.

Follow up after the conference.  Choose a few of the people you connected to and reach out. Make sure your outreach is specific, such as a request for an informational interview or a follow-up question related to your conversation. If you’re attending with a cohort, your cohort-ers are great candidates for this. Don’t be afraid to reach out! A majority of the time people are more than happy to chat about their careers.

Have fun. Networking is stressful even in ‘normal’ times and remote networking can feel like you have two left feet. Just remember, you showing up was the biggest hurdle. You all have at least one thing in common (an interest in data science/ attending this conference). We’re glad you’re here. Have fun, meet new people, and enjoy the conference!

Resources: In case you want some more general networking advice. Feel free to check out the following links to articles and videos on the topic.

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