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!
๐๐๐ธ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฝ, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐. Companies love having employees represent them publicly, even if you've never done it before.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ: 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.
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต: "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?"
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐:
โ Builds the company's brand and thought leadership
โ Creates networking opportunities for potential partnerships
โ Showcases company expertise to customers and talent
โ Provides free marketing and industry visibility
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐:
โถ๏ธ Start small - propose a local meetup or industry panel.
โถ๏ธ Use any company support you can get for - proposal writing help, slide preparation, travel costs, even media training.
โถ๏ธ 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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โ 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