It’s here…or nearly so. SHRM22 is days away and I can’t be more excited.
As I travel each year to the annual conference, I look around me and listen for those also attending. See as a regular SHRM Blogger or “Influencer”, it’s part of my job to connect and engage with my fellow attendees. However, with me I’m looking for a specific group when I do… students!
See for me, I fill my bucket by connecting with the future of our profession and connecting them at the networking mecca that is SHRM Annual. See this four plus day event is where people can meet literally anyone from anywhere. This is incredibly important for up and coming HR pros as they can open their world to new mentors, internships & employers that can set their careers on fire.
How does a seasoned HR pro find these young new members when we’re traveling or at the event? How do we connect with them?
Sometimes they can be easy to spot by their themed t-shirts, University of Tennessee is a big one with typical orange apparel or maybe Indiana Tech sporting Hawaiian shirts and more.
When you see these groups don’t walk the other way! Walk up and introduce yourself, share LinkedIn profiles, offer to have conversations back home and do I say…offer an internship!
Perfect examples, last year I met people like Ethan Meirovitz and Stephanie Mathers. I met Ethan on our Delta flight coming into Las Vegas. We shared a ride to our hotel and in that ride I found he wasn’t big on social media yet. So I took the opportunity to introduce him to my network and expand his following from 19 to over 50 in a day or so. People were looking for Ethan across the event and introducing themselves to him. Stephanie and I met in a session and she welcomed the opportunity to expand her network by me doing the same to her. From there her dad even connected with me due to the effort.
These interactions were simple and opened an entire world of opportunity to these and more like them. So if and when you get the opportunity to do the same over your days in New Orleans, do your version of this. Meet them, their amazing advisors and genuinely connect. Better yet, share a plate of beignets!
Here, I’ll start. Any students that find me in my classic State of MN Hockey hat (see photo above), introduce yourself I will share with you my vast Twitter network. Game starts now.
See you all in New Orleans or on the socials at #SHRM22 & #SHRM22Influencers!
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