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The New Year: What to Expect. Biobeers Networking: How and Why? Download pdf or...
2008/2009 WHAT TO EXPECT Welcome new AIS members! After a slowsummer networking season, AIS and CBSA events are back in full swing! The first AIS meeting of the 2008/2009 academic year had over thirty attendees. Several issues were addressed including an announcement of our new AIS president, Van Willis, a review of AIS events from 2007/2008, and what to expect in the upcoming year. AIS is proud to have survived and accomplished so much in its first year! At the members meeting AIS Vice President, Eric Neeley, articulated the main concept around which AIS has been developed. He stressed that this organization is designed to connect students/postdocs with the opportunities that will help advance their careers. Members need to take action by networking at advertised events, vocalizing which companies and speakers they want to meet, and e-mailing or filling out surveys describing the alternative careers they want researched! Free events available to AIS members are listed on our website, as well as the Colorado BioScience Association’s website: www.cobioscience.com. Recurring events from last year include member meetings, company meet and greets, speakers, and many CBSA events: biobreakfasts, biobeers, and various symposiums. New opportunities available this year include: the BioWest career fair, “field trips” to companies, the alumni mentorship program, a new website, and a “buddy system” or online sign-up sheet for attending networking events. A special workshop that is only available this year entitled “Engineering Your Career” is being held at the Front Range Neuroscience Group (FRNG) annual meeting. (http://frng.colostate.edu/). Whether you are just starting graduate school or ending years of a post-doc position, AIS offers ample opportunity for career exploration and networking, but it is up to you to get involved and utilize your AIS membership! BIOBEERS NETWORKING: HOW AND WHY? The most recent Biobeers was held at the Cruise Room inside LoDo’s historic Oxford Hotel. This venue was much smaller than previous bars that have hosted Biobeers. The small space gave the illusion that all of Denver’s life science community had turned out for the event. In reality, the attendance was half the normal size, maybe 30 people. Faye Doherty and I mingled with scientists from Gevo, university tech transfer office folks, a local man who is redesigning the face of artificial feet, and many other Biobeers regulars. One of the regulars I spoke with, Ted Hibbs, has recently found a job at Bonfils running a blood labs. When I was president of the AIS club, I attended these networking events with a mission. I was looking for speakers, funding or ideas. Now, I attend these events looking for the contacts I will need when I start looking for a job next year. I try to talk to everyone at least once and if there isn’t a good reason to extend the conversation beyond 5 minutes (good reasons being: they can teach you something, hire you, or share your love of bird watching) then I excuse myself and hold out my hand to the next person in the room. Though these networking events are not parties, they can be fun (you are drinking beer in a bar). However, people do not attend simply for social reasons. People turn out with the hopes of meeting individuals who may benefit them professionally. This concept is the norm for networking events. If there is no mutual professional need for one another, the goal is to move on and meet someone else. Don’t get me wrong it is okay to leave the event with a new mountain biking buddy’s phone number, as well. Networking is a fuzzy thing. You meet people who may or may not be of immediate benefit to your career. However, you have to interview everyone to determine where they might fit into your rolodex. This is a skill that can be refined through practice. One can never predict the direction a new contact can lead. I fully expect to find my next job through a person I have met at local networking events. For more information: http://biobeers.blogspot |
