Promoting Professional Geekery #23: Start A Pro Section At A Con

The roundup of Promoting Professional Geekery is here.

OK you're speaking at a con about careers.  You might be managing an entire track of career events.  So what more can you do to encourage people attending your convention or conventions to try the route of the professional geek?

Why, by inviting other professionals – but not just to speak.  Give them tables, give them their own area.  Start a Pro Section at your con.

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Promoting Professional Geekery #21: Start A Geeky Group At Work

Your work place may be the geekiest thing ever or it may be so straight-laced people fear there's going to be an office comedy made of it.  No matter what, it's a great place to form a geeky group – and a great way to support professional geekery.

Think of all the things you can do at work that bands people together for geeky interests, or just band geeks together.  A gaming group, a group for programming arduinos, an anime viewing group, what have you.  Why not found one – you and all your fellow employees may enjoy it.

It's also a great way to support professional geekery.  Yes it may be fun and relaxing, but it's also a huge professional advantage:

  • It lets you meet your fellow geeks at work – which lets you band together to work on your careers as well.
  • It makes people at work aware of the geeky contingent there – and shows them in a good light (well, hopefully).
  • It gives people away to meet the professional geeks at work and get to know them.  You might find a few unrealized professional geeks there.
  • It raises your profile at work by being so involved in bringing people together.
  • It shows off your skills and interests, which might open opportunities for you to apply them.
  • It helps promote other geeky interests at work – who knows what will emerge next from the fertile mind of your fellow progeeks?

There's really no downside as long as you do it right. 

Steven Savage

Promoting Professional Geekery #17: Evangelize To A Professional Association

If you've read this blog for any length of time, or any of my books, you know I'm big on people joining professional associations.  They're great for networking, for keeping your skills up, and more.  They're de rigeur for any professional.

So I'm going to assume that you're joining one, have joined one, or are so seized with guilt after the above paragraph you're going to join one.

Now, when you are/if you are part of a professional association, you want to make sure they know about things from the geeky side of things.  They might not always know about the people who have a passion for the same subjects they do – but are coming at it from the fan/geek/otaku side.

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