With a Little Help From My Network

Transcript

1. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY NETWORK
   Lacey Williams Henschel
   @laceynwilliams
   1 — @laceynwilliams
   

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2. Networking is scary!
   2 — @laceynwilliams
   

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3. WHAT IS
   NETWORKING?
   3 — @laceynwilliams
   

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4. CONFERENCE
   HOTEL BARS?
   4 — @laceynwilliams
   

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5. ▸ crowded
   ▸ booze
   ▸ don't know anyone
   5 — @laceynwilliams
   

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6. CONFERENCE
   HOTEL BARS
   6 — @laceynwilliams
   

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7. LINKEDIN?
   7 — @laceynwilliams
   

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8. ▸ "professional" Facebook
   ▸ like a business card binder
   8 — @laceynwilliams
   

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9. LINKEDIN
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10. SO WHAT DOES NETWORKING
    LOOK LIKE?
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11. Friendship
    11 — @laceynwilliams
    

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12. the exchange of information or services among individuals
    specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for
    employment or business
    --Merriam-Webster
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13. story time
    2011
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14. my network helped me become a developer
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15. I moved to Portland and was lonely.
    15 — @laceynwilliams
    

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16. 16 — @laceynwilliams
    

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17. A Practical Guide to Making Friends as
    an Adult
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18. I met Hannah!
    18 — @laceynwilliams
    

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19. 1. Figure out where your potential friends connections hang out
    2. Make your intentions goals clear
    3. Don't be shy
    4. Come up with good friend date ideas opportunities
    5. Don't expect sparks to fly a deep, mentor-like connection right away
    6. Know when to quit
    19 — @laceynwilliams
    

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20. 1: Figure out where your potential
    connections hang out
    20 — @laceynwilliams
    

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21. (you already know to go to meetups and stuff)
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22. (it's okay to not like going to meetups)
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23. Where are these magical people?
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24. 24 — @laceynwilliams
    

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25. HALLWAY TRACK
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26. ATTEND EVENTS
    26 — @laceynwilliams
    

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27. (but if they aren't your thing, that's fine)
    27 — @laceynwilliams
    

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28. (but maybe give it a shot?)
    28 — @laceynwilliams
    

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29. VOLUNTEER FOR
    THE CONFERENCE
    29 — @laceynwilliams
    

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30. ▸ swag bag stuffing
    ▸ session chairing
    ▸ session running
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31. Volunteering is a great way to meet speakers, organizers, and sponsors
    31 — @laceynwilliams
    

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32. ORGANIZE THE
    CONFERENCE
    32 — @laceynwilliams
    

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33. ▸ email them
    ▸ think about what you want to work on
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34. great for "joiners"
    great for introverts
    great for everyone!
    34 — @laceynwilliams
    

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35. GET ONLINE
    35 — @laceynwilliams
    

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36. Ask around for Slack channels
    36 — @laceynwilliams
    

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37. SLACKS FOR:
    women in tech
    LGBT in tech
    PoC in tech
    crafters who tech
    language-specific
    job-specific
    coding beginners
    conferences
    37 — @laceynwilliams
    

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38. Twitter
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39. ▸ get on the #actwpdx hashtag
    ▸ people love gifs
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40. story time
    2012
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41. 2: Make your goals clear
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42. mostly, make your goals clear to yourself
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43. ▸ new job?
    ▸ contract opportunities?
    ▸ community?
    ▸ mentorship?
    43 — @laceynwilliams
    

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44. Having a goal helps you be more productive with your networking time.
    44 — @laceynwilliams
    

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45. the cultivation of productive
    relationships
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46. networking is making useful friends
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47. (I know this sounds a little mercenary)
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48. put yourself out there
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49. I’ve found the easiest way to make friends is to let people know I’m
    looking. Why is this such a taboo thing to say?
    -- Rachel Miller
    49 — @laceynwilliams
    

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50. When I let someone know I wanted a new opportunity, I had one that
    same week.
    50 — @laceynwilliams
    

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51. 3: Don't be shy
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52. I'm an introvert.
    52 — @laceynwilliams
    

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53. lurking is okay!
    53 — @laceynwilliams
    

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54. When you have a goal,
    you will need to stop lurking.
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55. Lady Speaker Small Talk
    — Heidi Waterhouse
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56. ▸ make friends with someone in line
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57. For the rest of the conference, you’ll
    probably be able to spot that one person
    you met early on and give them a friendly
    nod.
    — Heidi Waterhouse
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58. set small interaction goals for yourself
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59. make it easy for others to come up to you
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60. It takes a special kind of courage to
    approach a ring of backs.
    — Heidi Waterhouse
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61. 4: Come up with good opportunities
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62. goes hand in hand with having a goal
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63. MISSED
    CONNECTIONS
    63 — @laceynwilliams
    

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64. Remember Hannah?
    Hannah is great at this.
    64 — @laceynwilliams
    

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65. I tend to assume that people don't want to hang out with me.
    65 — @laceynwilliams
    

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66. I've tried to be more explicit when I want to get to know someone
    better.
    66 — @laceynwilliams
    

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67. Everyone enjoys things!
    67 — @laceynwilliams
    

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68. sushi
    ice cream
    work events
    meetup buddies
    68 — @laceynwilliams
    

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69. Everyone likes not talking about work sometimes.
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70. story time
    2016
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71. ... I made a new friend and committed to an open-source project!
    71 — @laceynwilliams
    

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72. Spending time with my new friend made me more
    comfortable asking for her help
    72 — @laceynwilliams
    

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73. Do the touristy thing at a conference with someone
    73 — @laceynwilliams
    

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74. come up with ideas
    can also mean
    think about what I can do for others
    74 — @laceynwilliams
    

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75. If my idea of "networking" is
    "meeting people more successful than I am"
    then I am intimidated.
    75 — @laceynwilliams
    

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76. then I remember that I also have
    value, ideas, and something to offer
    76 — @laceynwilliams
    

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77. What ideas do you have that could help someone else?
    77 — @laceynwilliams
    

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78. 5: Don't expect a deep, mentor-like
    connection right away
    78 — @laceynwilliams
    

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79. It takes time to get to know people.
    79 — @laceynwilliams
    

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80. At your last job,
    how long did it take you to make a work friend?
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81. You won't like everyone
    and not everyone will like you
    and that's okay
    — my mom
    81 — @laceynwilliams
    

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82. FRIENDS HAVE
    DIFFERENT
    82 — @laceynwilliams
    

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83. ▸ detail-oriented but blunt
    ▸ great ideas but little follow-through
    ▸ amazing listener but really busy
    83 — @laceynwilliams
    

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84. You will work with the people in your network
    84 — @laceynwilliams
    

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85. proofreading
    organizing
    coaching
    fundraising
    pep-talking
    job hunting
    interview prepping
    85 — @laceynwilliams
    

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86. you will learn what strengths others have
    86 — @laceynwilliams
    

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87. you will learn what strength you have
    87 — @laceynwilliams
    

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88. 6: Know when to quit
    88 — @laceynwilliams
    

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89. When do you need to stop networking?
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90. The best networking for me has been open-source volunteering
    90 — @laceynwilliams
    

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91. paid opportunities
    speaking gigs
    new job
    book
    91 — @laceynwilliams
    

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92. great people I can depend on
    92 — @laceynwilliams
    

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93. but it's also a lot of hard work
    93 — @laceynwilliams
    

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94. content warning: depression
    94 — @laceynwilliams
    

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95. burnout: losing joy
    95 — @laceynwilliams
    

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96. STAGES OF BURNOUT
    1. Compulsion to prove oneself 7. Withdrawal
    2. Working harder 8. Obvious behavioral changes
    3. Neglecting needs 9. Depersonalization
    4. Displacement of conflicts 10. Inner emptiness
    5. Revision of values 11. Depression
    6. Denial of emerging problems 12. Burnout syndrome
    Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North via Jacob Kaplan Moss
    96 — @laceynwilliams
    

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97. Taking care of yourself comes first
    97 — @laceynwilliams
    

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98. MAINTAIN
    RELATIONSHIPS
    98 — @laceynwilliams
    

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99. GRACEFUL EXIT
    1. give notice
    2. document
    3. train a new person
    4. come back later?
    99 — @laceynwilliams
    

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100. 7: Harmful networking
     100 — @laceynwilliams
     

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101. old boys club
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102. 15,000 JOB
     APPLICATIONS
     102 — @laceynwilliams
     

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103. Reliance on networks for professional connections
     can be harm to diversity.
     103 — @laceynwilliams
     

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104. We can learn a lot from conference
     recruiting
     104 — @laceynwilliams
     

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105. How I Got 50% Women Speakers at My Tech Conference
     -- Courtney Stanton
     105 — @laceynwilliams
     

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106. "I promised mentoring, I promised practice sessions, I promised one-on-
     one slide deck reviews with people who have spent hundreds of hours
     speaking at conferences. I emailed my Women in Games Boston group, I
     attended events and encouraged groups of women in person, I sought
     women out online, I met with women over coffee. I encouraged/begged
     them to consider translating the hours and hours I’d spent with them in
     the past talking about their careers, their specialties, their ideas, into a
     45-minute presentation. I told them how much I respected their
     reputations and their ideas and that I’d be thrilled if they had the time
     or interest in submitting a talk."
     106 — @laceynwilliams
     

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107. use your leadership positions
     to make your organizations more inclusive
     107 — @laceynwilliams
     

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108. Point people you know to awesome opportunities
     108 — @laceynwilliams
     

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109. story time
     2017
     109 — @laceynwilliams
     

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110. ▸ 2015: 160 proposals
     ▸ 2016: 200 proposals
     ▸ 2017: 250 proposals
     110 — @laceynwilliams
     

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111. our whole team is invested in making the conference
     welcoming to every attendee
     111 — @laceynwilliams
     

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112. use your connection to different groups to create opportunities
     for expansion and inclusion
     112 — @laceynwilliams
     

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113. ...but back to my credentials..
     113 — @laceynwilliams
     

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114. Thank you!
     laceyhenschel.com
     114 — @laceynwilliams
     

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115. PHOTO CREDITS
     Tim Gouw Matty Adame LinkedIn
     Bartek Pawlik Marian Carrasquero Zack Spear
     Prima Luce Studio Slack Freestocks.org
     WoCinTech Chat Christian Widell Ian Dooley
     Epiccurence Evan Kirby Brenan Green
     Bence Boros Russell Keith-Magee UT Austin
     Vladimir Kudinov
     115 — @laceynwilliams
     

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