How to be a Superstar@Grace Hopper
Written in collaboration with Amy Chang.
This year at Grace Hopper 2016, both Amy and I proudly represented our User Experience team at Juniper. All three days of the conference were packed full with back-to-back career development seminars and technical sessions and plenty of chances to meet women young and old in the tech industry.
At a huge conference like Grace Hopper, there are millions of opportunities to connect with other like-minded individuals.
As professionals in the tech and design industry we might follow people on social media who inspire us. And next thing you know, you might be standing next to someone you’ve followed for YEARS!! Yet, you might miss out on face-time with them, because it’s so easy to fall back on habits like checking your phone while waiting in line or sticking with your group the whole time.
Grace Hopper is a singular, high-energy experience to get inspired and be reinvigorated as a woman in technology. However, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the almost 15,000 Grace Hopper attendees, especially if you are in introvert.
Being introverts ourselves, Amy and I were definitely pushed out of our comfort zones, and we want to share our experience and provide tips on how to navigate Grace Hopper and BE A SUPERSTAR!
Make weak ties — branch outside of your tribe and connect people
While we were chatting with an executive at a human resources software company, the topic of weak ties arose and she shared her experience. Just that morning at Grace Hopper as she was waiting to cross the street she met a woman who turned out to be in a similar field as someone else she knew and she was happy to pass on her contact information to connect them.
When it comes to social networks, there are strong ties and weak ties. Strong ties are people you put on your emergency contacts list. Weak ties are people you meet in passing. You might be tempted to hang out exclusively with your strong ties, but strong ties tend to reflect the same ideas and worldview as you. A key part of developing your personal and career is expanding your worldview and perspective — which is where weak ties come in. As you start growing your network of weak ties, oftentimes unexpected opportunities and ideas come up.
Express yourself — It’s a safe environment.
One of the best things about Grace Hopper is that if you are a woman in technology, you’re also surrounded by other women with similar interests and experiences. It’s a ‘safe’ place to talk about what you love and what makes you tick with other like-minded individuals. They might have experienced the same trials and tribulations in their career as you have. You might have experienced discrimination in the workplace or you might be curious about how to pivot from an engineering role to a management career. Don’t be afraid to share your experiences or seek advice. A great place to start is attending speed mentoring sessions where you are sure to find others in the same field and area of expertise.
Find out what is unique about you and be loud about it
Do what it takes to make yourself stand out. Standing out makes you memorable, and it also makes others gravitate toward you. Think about how can you explain what you’re passionate about in a 1-minute elevator pitch? Don’t just talk about what you do and where you went to school or where you work. People tend to remember unique aspects about you; craft a narrative about your experiences and adventures and talk about it. At Grace Hopper, we met a former fine arts illustrator who shared her experience pivoting from visual arts to a human-computer interaction career. She talked about how fine arts illustration is an underpaid career, and she wanted to be in a place where her skills are valued more. She decided to focus on a career in tech and ventured into the user experience and visual design aspects of HCI. The story struck with us.
Women from more conservative cultures often have a hard time developing a distinct voice of their own. Unique touches come in many forms. They may be as outlandish as sporting pink hair and purple lipstick or it may be as subtle as wearing a pin that says “Ask me about financial apps for your smartwatch.” Your personality is what makes you unique and gets you noticed. Develop your unique voice and let the world hear it.
Your impact largely depends on how you communicate
Meeting charismatic women in technology and listening to their stories only solidified the fact that there is great power and impact that comes with how you communicate. You remember them long after the conference. Whether you’re a company representative or a college student looking for a job, at Grace Hopper you often only have seconds to make an impression on someone.
Whether or not English is your first language, take conscious efforts to improve it. Start by recording yourself and listening to how you speak and enunciate. Study people who are public speakers and start emulating their style. Learn how to clearly articulate your message. It’s a big conference with so many people to meet. You need to be able to articulate your message clearly and effectively.
At Grace Hopper, you’ll meet women from all areas of the tech industry. One of the women we talked to was an animal researcher who programmed her own apps to study primate thought processes. She lamented being the only woman at the conference in this field, but she continued to share her passion and — you guessed it — by the end of the conference she finally met another animal researcher.
Be genuine and sincere
Some may find networking distasteful and doing so often implies that if someone does you a favor, they expect something in return, and as a result social exchanges at conferences can be stilted and mechanical. People appreciate being shown genuine interest. It doesn’t take much to get people to talk about their work. People like to talk about themselves and respond well to good listeners.
As a representative for the Juniper UX team at the Grace Hopper career fair, I had the opportunity to interview a variety of candidates. Some were fantastic to talk to, and a few fell into an endless loop of “Absolutely,” “Oh yes,” and “Wow” as a response to almost everything I said and had little else to add — as you would have guessed, it was an immediate no-no for me.
Grace Hopper is a great avenue to have a candid talk with women in all types of roles from graduate students to executives. Don’t laugh extra hard at someone’s joke just because they are an industry leader or a potential employer. Being genuine promotes your credibility. Compliment if you genuinely think something is good. It might be tempting to be agreeable and complimentary, but many people are at Grace Hopper to have an open discussion about their industry and share their experiences.
See you next year at the conference.
