I really do. But networking is also essential to many aspects of our careers nowadays, whether we want it or not [TODO: INSERT CITATION].

One of the things I regularly find myself in is the problem of setting

# Have your social media handles / contact info ready

One of the most important things will be to actually "connect" to your peers. Depending on the work context, this might mean a whole variety of things; I myself do have physical business cards (that I rarely give out), but more often I will actually give my social media handle (Twitter is extremely popular in academic circles, I found). Of course, "traditional" networking platforms, such as Linkedin, also work for this purpose. My suggestion is to give whatever is a) easier to find you on (unique user names make it hard to spell out, but if you have a generic name, searching you on Linkedin also won't help). Try to "look yourself up" ahead of time to find what works best.

Pro tip: I take pictures of people, or at least their name tags. This way, I might get a chance to follow up later, even if I don't have the time to add them right at the moment.

# Keep your profile up to date and have an English version

One of the easiest things to do ahead of time is to make sure that your profile is up-to-date, and you have at least an English version available. This is less relevant if you know that the vast majority of attendees will be "local" and you can assume that the business language is not English.

# Prioritize direct interactions over talks

More often, the meaningful interactions do not happen as Q&A rounds of talks, but rather in poster sessions or other "interactive" settings. If you can, prioritize those direct interactions over attending talks. IMO, even skipping less relevant sessions is generally worth it, if it means that you either get to interact with others directly (extra coffee break), or rest so that you can be recharged for later interaction (take a nap during the day to be ready for after-parties).

# Look at the program ahead of time

Probably one of the less relevant things for "effective" networking, but if you attend a conference or event, check out the program or schedule ahead of time. Especially when there are multiple tracks to choose from at the same time, make sure that you go to the one which benefits you the most (thematically, or even just by the speakers). If you don't know how to choose, see the previous point, but this might be more subjective. I am personally not a big fan of talks, since it is really hard to craft a good talk and many people simply do not want to spend the necessary time on it to deliver both insightful and interesting talks. Directly conversing with someone, e.g., at a poster, makes it much easier to probe for the things that are interesting and relevant for you.

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