Networking - An Accountant's Nightmare

Networking is one of those scary things accountants must learn to do in order to move up in the business world. Does the thought of walking up to a complete stranger send chills down your spine? Does the thought of asking someone else a question you do not know the answer to put a lump in your throat? Do you want to overcome the obstacles with meeting someone in a similar situation? The stereotypical accountant (grey flannel suit, horn-rimmed glasses, quiet, works alone) would never dream about going up to a complete stranger and introducing himself/herself. This nightmare can be overcome.

Conferences are a great place to network with colleagues. Conferences provide an opportunity to meet many new people who are in your field. This year, the Controllers Workshop hopes to take networking to a new level for accountants by providing a structured setting to meet, greet, and share with others that have common situations.

Las Vegas will be the first place we test this new session and later this year, Orlando will be the second. A presenter will be coordinating and guiding this session. What better places can you meet with your peers or potential mentors? We are hopeful this session will provide the right atmosphere for building new relationships.

I, personally, have found the Controllers Workshop a great place to meet others in similar situations. I have kept in touch with a few people I have met at past conferences. I have been able to contact those individuals to ask questions or bounce ideas. It has been beneficial to my career.

From the conference sessions to lunch, this workshop has numerous networking opportunities. There are several things to keep in mind when networking:

1. Shake hands and introduce yourself.
2. Build a rapport with the individual.
3. Have business cards with you at all times.
4. Have a pen/pencil and paper with you to take notes.
5. Before attending the conference consider what you would like to accomplish with networking. Do you want to find a mentor? Do you want to find someone in your industry? Do you want to find someone who uses the same accounting system?
6. Find out the industry in which the individual works.
7. Find out what accounting system the individual uses or has used in the past.
8. Find out what activities the individual likes to pursue outside of work. You may have more in common than you initially thought.
9. Find out what plans they have while in Las Vegas or Orlando. Maybe you can do something together to further develop the new relationship.

As chairman of the steering committee for this conference, I challenge you to come to Las Vegas or Orlando and meet at least 15 new people at the conference. Don't forget to follow-up with them once you return to the office. It is one thing to meet new people at the conference — it is another to continue to build that relationship. You never know when that person could help your career.

Comments

[Jeremy Sparling]

Proud to be your first response.

Being in a group of 200+ folks with similar educations, interests, and backgrounds is a fantastic opportunity to network. This will be my 3rd year attending the conference and look forward to building more relationships.

Thanks for posting this, Scott. Good work.