Vicky Sculfor is a Senior Consultant and an integral part of the Knowledge & Information Management team at Sue Hill. She thrives on the fast pace of recruiting temporary staff and on building relationships with clients and candidates across the public and not-for-profit sectors. She enjoys working with new graduates in libraries, information, records management and archives and is developing a real taste for presenting at conferences, offering top tips on how to progress your career.
Vicky will be speaking at the CLSIG, BIALL and SLA Europe Graduate Open Day on 6 April in London.
The year is quickly running away with us, it’s hard to believe that the CLSIG, SLA Europe & BIALL Graduate Open Day is less than a month away. The event always proves to be a fun and educational day. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the day is hearing the different career paths people have taken and the different paths open to new professionals within the industry and how to develop their skills to fit this.
What I think is best about the day is the chance to meet so many lovely people and have interesting conversations, all whilst hearing interesting tales from people in the library profession. I’m sure you’ve all been told time and time again how important networking is and why you absolutely must do it, but here is why I think it’s a fun, useful and enjoyable thing to do:
1) A great learning opportunity.
Often at networking events there will be one, or several guest speakers it’s a great way to continue your learning and find out new and interesting things within the industry. There is also informal learning from having conversations with people about the way they work and things they are doing.
2) Find a new mentor.
This is especially true for at events aimed at new professionals you will meet people who have been in the same position as you have and will be able to give you pointers both formally and informally as to where you can take your career next. I know of people at events like this that have walked away with a mentor or even became a mentor themselves.
3) Land a new job or opportunity.
Igen, you will be meeting people specifically within the industry who you can help you develop your career. Whether it’s getting the chance to impress the hiring manager for a role you want to apply for, or speaking with someone who works for an organisation you are looking to apply to and getting the inside information.
4) Keeping up to date with your industry news (or gossip).
When you are in a room with a number of people from your industry you are bound to get chatting about what’s going on in the profession, who is doing what and even who is going where. It’s a great way to informally find out what the trends are and what other people are doing in the market, it can even be an opportunity to share ideas and see if there is anything you could do better in your service.
5) Make friends!
One of the best things about networking events is that you get to meet interesting new people, often like-minded people who are enthusiastic about the industry. Always try to enjoy the networking events and meeting people, you might not find your job through an event but you might meet new friends.