At the Annual Meeting
Opportunities to engage with the diverse membership of the ACR and ARHP abound at the Annual Meeting. Kick off your conference experience during the opening reception on Nov. 4, which will include music and food, as well as conversation. New attendees are also encouraged to attend the First-Timers Orientation on Nov. 5, which offers advice on how to get the most out of your conference experience.
For those interested in the latest research and new perspectives, sign up for a Poster Tour, which allows a group of attendees to meet abstract authors and discuss research. Study groups will also be held during the meeting and are designed to bring together attendees with common interests in a single disease or a specialized field of study. Also consider attending the ARHP Topic Round Tables: Networking Forum on Nov. 6, which includes lunch and an open discussion of research, practice and clinical topics.
On Nov. 6, the ACR will be hosting its annual Career Fair. This event is the chance for employers to recruit qualified rheumatology candidates and job seekers to find new opportunities.
Follow Up
Networking must be more than a few minutes at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, a local mixer or a medical school reunion. It’s the follow-up that makes all the difference. Mr. Misner calls that process 24/7/30.
Within 24 hours, send the person a note—or email, maybe. Or even engage in the seemingly lost art of sending a hand-written card. (If your handwriting is sloppy, Mr. Misner recommends services that will send out legible notes on your behalf).
Within a week, connect on social media. Connect on whatever platform that person has on their business card or email signature. Connect where that person likes to connect to show the person you’re willing to make the effort.
Within a month, reach out to the person and set a time to talk, either face to face or via a telecommunication service, such as Skype.
“It’s these touch points that you make with people that build the relationship,” Mr. Misner says. “Without building a real relationship, there is almost no value in networking efforts, because you basically are just waiting to stumble on opportunities as opposed to building relationships and opportunities. It has to be more than just bumping into somebody at a meeting … otherwise you’re really wasting your time.”
Mr. Misner also notes that the point of networking at some point is collaboration. That could be working on a research paper or a pilot project together. Or it could be returning a phone call to talk about something important to you.
