1- FOXcast OT: 10 Ways To Make The Most Of Conferences

Jimmy: We’re here with FOXcast today and joined by Jenn Ruoff of FOX Rehabilitation. Jenn, welcome to the show.

Jenn: Thank you for having me.

Jimmy: Jen is an occupational therapist and you’re a director of occupational therapy here at FOX Rehabilitation. What does that mean? What’s your job like?

Jenn: As the director of occupational therapy my key focus is really professional development and making sure that I am ensuring the quality of care that we provide from the profession of occupational therapy. So at the practice, we have about 300 occupational therapists and we provide them with education, teaching, and training that they need to be able to provide clinically excellent care.

Jimmy: That’s not necessarily easy, especially because we’re spread out across multiple states.

Jenn: Yeah it’s not easy, but I’m always up for a challenge. Within our quality assurance department, we also have a regional branch of quality assurance in the field. So in every single region that we have across all of the multiple states that we service, there are regional quality assurance liaisons put into those regions that I support from an OT perspective along with the speech-language pathology director and the physical therapy director.

Jimmy: Yeah, sounds like a pretty big job and an important one. Well, today we’re talking about conferences and when we get together and we can listen to presentations and network at conferences. It’s often just a cool opportunity to visit a new part of the country, which is one perk for conferences. As we get into the beginning of conference season, we wanted to make sure people out there who maybe have been to a lot of conferences or maybe are going into their very first conference, know how to make the most of their trip. So how do you get the most out of your time there professionally? You’ve got your top 10 list of how to prepare for a conference. Where do we start?

Jenn: Planning is key — organizing yourself and planning and really knowing your agenda. What do you want to get out of the conference? So I really think that number one step in preparing for the conference is developing and creating personal business cards. I remember when I was first starting 10 years ago I went to Vistaprint because at that time they offered free business cards. I went on really quick to look up today’s rates and they’re now one hundred business cards for $1.99. Not too shabby. So the first thing I would definitely recommend is creating a business card. Second thing is updating your resume and making sure to print copies that are on paper that when you distribute them that someone can’t miss it. Either resume paper or cardstock. Something that makes it noticeable but not too flashy. You want it to be professional —you don’t want it to be on hot pink paper with a lot of graphics. But, you want it to be something where when they hand it to you they’re able to remember you.

Jimmy: Now is this if you’re explicitly looking for a new position or is this even if you have a position?

Jenn: I think just putting your name out there and getting to know people and building relationships and networking and you want to leave that lasting impression. That was something when I was looking for my first job and went to my first conference 10 years ago that I didn’t even think about doing because I was just so nervous to even get into the field that I wasn’t even sure what I really wanted to do. But it is good to get the experience. You have the ability at these conferences if you are looking for position to do almost like an informal interview to prepare yourself for what it’s really going to be like to sit down with a future employer and ask questions and think about what it is that you want. And going to a conference you have access in the exhibit hall to vendors and employers to be able to just go and test what working for them might be like. And you remember experiences like these. Rehab is a really small world, the more you get to meet people throughout these conferences the more they remember you and you remember them.

Jimmy: It’s a good way to leave your professional lasting image in the form of that resume some make sure you bring couple those copies. Where do we go next? What’s number 3?

Jenn: Number three is pack wisely. As I said, rehab is a small world. You want to leave people with an impression of what you want them to remember you by. So packing wisely I mean being prepared to wear business casual attire to the conference throughout the entire conference. Not saying you have to be dressed up in a black suit and show up like you’re going for an interview, but again professionalism is key and that’s something I look at even just being the OT director and I’m not going there necessarily to recruit people. I’m getting to know people and there have been many times that I’ve gone to conference in the last 10 years that I’ve met a student that is graduating in the next year or two that I saw at the next conference. And they just left a lasting impression on me that I sought them out and they’re OTs that I’m working with to this day. Which is pretty cool that you just engage in that initial relationship at conference and then it’s something that is built upon.

Jimmy: You don’t know when you’re getting sized up or even if you’re getting sized up.

Jenn: Right, so be prepared. I wasn’t talking about packing wisely as far as like packing your suitcase. It is packing wisely and making sure that you’re prepared and putting across the impression that you want people to have of you.

Jimmy: Number four on your list.

Jenn: Definitely plan ahead. Review the conference schedule, review the exhibitor list to know who you want to talk to and what you want to learn, what you want to engage in, etcetera. Being organized helps you stay level-headed so that you’re not stressed about the opportunity of going to conference. But then also too with that organization if you have downtime to stray in a direction that you wouldn’t have thought to go into. Planning ahead you’ll know what downtime you have whether it’s you want to go sightseeing or you want to participate in one of the yoga classes or maybe it’s that you just want to go talk and mingle at a networking event or something you didn’t plan on doing. So planning ahead is import.

Jimmy: I would add that after going to a couple conferences myself you’re going to want to do 20 or 30 things, but you’re probably going to get in five or 10 realistically — because of the size of a conference. And sometimes you want to do two things that are at the exact same time and you’ve got to make some choices. But then know that you can change, too. You can go into a session and if it’s not what you want for the first five or 10 minutes, it’s OK to go check something else out. So planning ahead can alleviate a lot of those situations.

Jenn: Absolutely.

Jimmy: Where do we go now? Number five.

Jenn: Engage in conversation. Don’t just walk up to tables and take the freebies. That is offputting when someone just comes to take your pen and doesn’t really want to engage in conversation. And again never knowing what opportunities are out there or maybe what you thought of a practice or a company or a vendor might be different and what they have to offer you. So if you are going to take the freebies just engaging conversation because you never know.

Jimmy: Yeah, one of the slogans for the New York state lottery is, “Hey, you never know?” You never know what that interaction is going to bring you. Maybe it’s just you meet someone who’s really nice and going to give some insight. Or maybe it’s a future employer. You never know. We’re halfway done. Number six?

Jenn: Network. Stay after sessions, go to special events, have the opportunity to take the time to network and get to know people and build your name whether it’s your first year in school or you’re graduating this year or maybe you’ve been a clinician for five years. Take the opportunity to network because you have access at these conferences to probably 500 plus professionals.

Jimmy: And these are the people who typically are going out of their way to spend their free time at a professional conference so those typically are the people who lead the profession.

Jenn: And this is something as the OT director that I have taken kind of a passion with when going to a conference. I don’t go to necessarily recruit or sell what the practice has to offer. I go to build relationships and figure out what is out there. What certifications are available? The board certification gerontology, which I had just participated in and received in December, I went to conferences over and over and talked to that specialty group at a AOTA for three conferences in a row. Finally I said, “Alright, I just have to do it. I just have to organize myself and do it.” So don’t think that everybody is out there to sell you on what they have to offer. They’re looking to possibly build relationships.

Jimmy: They’re leading with education or leading with information. You know one thing I wanted to add with that in terms of networking: Having a great resume is obviously important but don’t underestimate the importance or the value of someone saying, “Oh yeah, I know Jen she’s really great.” If you’ve met with someone the next thing you know someone asks, “Do you know that person?” Having someone able to say, “Oh, I’ve met her she’s really great or she carries herself well.” That’s huge. I can’t even put a value on how impactful that can be for your career. Again even if you’re not necessarily looking for a position it doesn’t hurt. Number seven.

Jenn: Stretch yourself.

Jimmy: I like this one.

Jenn: Conferences are an opportunity for you to do things you wouldn’t normally do or talk to people you don’t normally talk to. Say you go to a course and there’s an expert in a specific area that you’ve read their textbooks, you’ve read journal articles that they’ve published and you never thought about meeting that person. Go up and introduce yourself. Figure out why they got involved in the field. Ask them where they started and any advice they have for you. Just stretch yourself past your normal comfort zone and allow yourself to engage in the opportunities that are available at conference.

Jimmy: Just say, “Thanks for a great presentation.” If you had a good experience let them know. It’s just good feedback for that presenter. That’s really important. Last three…

Jenn: Number eight: Use the conference app. This is something that is so beneficial the way that we’re utilizing technology and to be able to organize yourself. What I do before conference is I go on the conference app and I bookmark or reserve every area and session and learning networking event that I want to attend. As well as you have the ability to make notes within the app, you can print documents, you can bookmark things. So I would definitely recommend utilizing the conference app and it’s a way to share on social media what you’re attending where you went. It’s just a neat opportunity and something that these conferences put a lot of time and effort into to where I think it would be towards your best benefit.

Jimmy: Yes, sometimes technology can overcomplicate things. This is an example where it really does a great job of making things a little bit easier for you. You know back in the day when I started going to conferences you had to walk around with a giant book.

Jenn: You know they’re still doing that.

Jimmy: But it also makes a little bit easier and like you said sometimes things change a room number or a presentation location. If you’re sitting in a room and the next thing you know this isn’t the presentation that you were there to see because it got moved. Then the app can tell you that information. That’s so easy; it’s free. It helps you make a playlist essentially for what you want to get out of it. Number nine.

Jenn: Follow up. I think follow up is key. Following up and having a plan for post conference and really closing the loop on either the relationships that you build or the information that you want to seek out or the opportunities that you learned about. Even if it’s something right now at that time you’re not interested in, like you said seeking out a new position or getting a certification. Emailing that person that gave you their business card and saying, “Hey, I met you at conference. Great opportunity. Thank you for taking the time. I will follow up with you or I will be in contact with you in the next couple of weeks.” That leaves a lasting impression on me because it’s just such a hurricane of events throughout conference.

Jimmy: That’s a good way to put it is a hurricane of events. One small thing. You might lose that business card that you got or someone might lose your card. But by taking that time to send the e-mail. Their email address or your e-mail address is now somewhere in your inbox. You can find them or they can find that again that’s an opportunity for avoiding a missed connection somewhere down the line. So we were at the end, number ten.

Jenn: So last one. Pay attention. Take notes for the future. Listen closely. You will be surprised at what you learn or who you have met when you’ve really take the time to pay attention and reflect. So you might go to a course where you think, “Oh, I know everything about this topic, why am I even sitting in this course?” Take the opportunity for that hour course, three-hour course. No matter what it is pay attention and listen. You might hear a gem that comes through that you never thought about. Or maybe the speaker says something that’s really engaging or something you’re interested in. Again, giving you the opportunity at the end of the session to be able to talk to them. So pay attention. And back to stretching yourself, make sure that you’re making a name for yourself, separate yourself from your friends. Don’t necessarily go to the courses they’re going to because you want to be a part of the group or you go up to an exhibitor because they want to know more about them and you’re just standing around. Make the most use of your time and pay attention and listen to what’s happening.

Jimmy: So create a personal business card, update that resume pack wisely, make sure you plan ahead and engage in those conversations in and out of the presentation rooms. Network. Stretch yourself outside of the comfort zone. Use tech — those conference apps are fantastic. Make sure to follow up and then reflect. We hear that a lot in school, but it’s actually valuable. Reflect and pay attention to what you can learn and what you are learning at your trip to a national conference. Jenn, Director of OT at FOX Rehabilitation. Thank you for this.

Jenn: It was my pleasure.

Jimmy: Thanks for listening to FOXcast, a clinically excellent podcast. It’s brought to you by FOX Rehabilitation. Listen to other episodes or read articles and position papers at foxrehab.org.