I had the pleasure of going to the Exploring Biology Conference 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!
Exploring Biology is a huge conference made up of multiple large professional societies coming together. The society I came with was the American Association of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
This conference is a huge 5 day non-stop networking and learning extravaganza! Both fun and absolutely exhausting. There is so much happening, I physically couldn’t make it to multiple lectures because they were happening at the same time.
Here are some of the things I learned attending my first in-person conference!
Dress Professionally
At the end of the day, bringing thousands of researchers together you run the gambit of people dressing in full suits to flip flops and cargo shorts (I am not kidding!). But, what I would recommend and what I felt comfortable in at the conference was dressing on the more professional end of the spectrum. You never know who you might meet! I recommend dress shoes, dress pants, and comfortable shoes like flats or dress sneakers (there is a LOT of walking involved at conferences).
Bring Water and a Notebook
A notebook is a great idea to write down names of people you meet, cool ideas during a talk, or company information at the career fairs! And a water bottle is just a must for the 10+ hour days. The one day I forgot my waterbottle, I ended up having to leave the conference early because I was so tired from dehydration!
Print Posters
From my experience, printed poster looks much cleaner than cloth posters. I was initially attracted to the idea of cloth posters because it means you don’t have to travel with a poster tube in the airplanes; just fold it up in your luggage! But, as you might imagine, folding cloth posters leaves huge wrinkles even when you try to iron them later. And they also have a tendency to sag throughout the day, distorting everything you worked so hard to make on the poster. All-in-all, I recommend in general printing posters on paper instead of cloth.
It’s Just a Conversation
If you’re presenting a poster, I always think it’s a good rule of thumb to prepare what you are going to say. But when I had the best interactions, I treated the presentations more like a conversation and engaged with who was listening.
Network
Ask for LinkedIns, poster numbers, and what people do when you talk to them! This is the BEST time to make connections and learn about diverse career opportunities.
Business Cards & QR Codes
Printing business cards and including a linked in QR code at my poster was a huge way to feel like I could network with minimal effort!
Be Okay Taking Breaks
You won’t be able to make every talk you want to. That’s okay 🙂 Enjoying yourself is just as important.
Plan to Sight-See
Don’t forget to include to explore a little, check out the local history or their restaurant scene. Check out what I visited while I was in Philadelphia!
