Day 18: Ask for an opportunity to speak at an external conference, meetup or industry event
Here's something most people don't realize: your company WANTS you to speak at external events.
You're not asking for a favor - you're offering free marketing and thought leadership!
𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁. Companies love having employees represent them publicly, even if you've never done it before.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: when you speak externally, you're showcasing their work, their culture, and their expertise to potential customers, partners, and future hires. It's a win-win that most people never think to propose.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵: "I'd like to explore speaking opportunities about [relevant topic]. I think sharing our experience with [technology/process/challenge] would be valuable to the community and also raise [company]'s profile. Would the company support me in finding and preparing for speaking opportunities?"
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
✔ Builds the company's brand and thought leadership
✔ Creates networking opportunities for potential partnerships
✔ Showcases company expertise to customers and talent
✔ Provides free marketing and industry visibility
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀:
▶️ Start small - propose a local meetup or industry panel.
▶️ Use any company support you can get for - proposal writing help, slide preparation, travel costs, even media training.
▶️ Focus on unique challenges or solutions your company has developed. That's the content that conference organizers and audiences actually want to hear.
Everyone wins when you speak externally. You grow your personal brand. The company gains visibility. And the community learns something useful.
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✅ Want to get even better at asking? I still have a limited number of seats left in the July 25 cohort of my course. Last cohort of this year! https://maven.com/chaitali-narla/outstanding-tech-career