It's officially HR conference season, recruiters! A handful of exciting trade shows are fast approaching, and if you're 
going to make the best of your trip, you're going to need more than free pens and a stack of your business cards. Here's a handful of ways you can prep for your event and make the most out of your conference.
Make Your Net Work
You don't want to wait until your plane lands to start networking. You can get a head start by finding out who's going to the conference in advance and reaching out to them about connecting in person. Monitor the official conference hashtag as well as LinkedIn and Facebook groups to find some other professionals who are attending, and reach out about setting up a time to meet. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on a list of conference attendees, this is a gold mine of contact information, and make sure you don't relegate it to mere use in cold sales outreach.
Tweak the Booth
If your organization has purchased a booth at the event, take a look at what you're working with and find a way to make it interesting. Standard table skirt with your logo on it, topped by two monitors and some free stickers? Snore. Give away some sort of snack or piece of swag that contacts will actually use (phone charger, mints, etc) and will serve to anchor them to your organization. Consider pulling a few co-workers into a conference room to brainstorm ideas for giveaways or booth presence.
Pitcher's Duel
Make sure you try out your pitch on some co-workers, your roommate, or your cats before you hit the exhibition floor. Remember that you're competing for attention with hundreds of other organizations, and if you start with "Do you have a second to talk about X?" then you've already lost. Think of something interesting, new, and tease-y that will reel prospects in. For example, I had some success with telling passersby "I can tell you when someone is going to leave their job."
Grab those Cards
It's a bit cliched, but you need to grab as many cards as you can. There's no way you'll remember everyone you talked to, and you're going to want to follow up with people later. A good trick here is to jot down notes about the contact on their business card while you're talking to them. This shows them you're listening and actually care about following up and fostering some sort of partnership.
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