Importance of Attending Industry Conferences and Seminars

Whether you are currently working or are looking to enter the workforce, attending an industry conference or seminar is one of the best things you can do for your future; yet many students and industry professionals tend to ignore these valuable resources. Conferences and seminars are designed to give you information on relevant industry subjects and keep you informed with the changes that are occurring in the industry. In fact, members of the Goldbeck family like Vivian Fung, recently gave a talk at the BC Human Resources Management Association (HRMA) Burnaby Roundhouse on November 17th. You can read more about it here.

The following are four benefits of attending conferences and seminars:
1. You will be able to learn new information from presenters and to improve your own skills and knowledge about your field.
2. You will get the chance to network with industry professionals and build valuable relationships within your field.
3. You will be able to encounter new vendors and suppliers for your business.
4. You will be able to evaluate the latest technologies, buy new products or services and get answers to all your business questions that can help potentially grow your business.

My name is Samira Atthari, I am a student at Simon Fraser University (SFU) doing an internship at Goldbeck Recruiting. This past weekend I volunteered/attended the HR NOW conference hosted by SFU’s Human Resources Students Association (HRSA) at the SFU, Surrey Campus.

The HR NOW conference is HRSA’s annual fall pillar event, it is a half day conference featuring workshops and an industry panel session led by industry professionals to engage students interested in the field of HR to learn more. HR NOW has a different theme each year, and this year’s theme focused on the evolution of the HR industry.

There were four workshops led by industry professionals that discussed the changes occurring in the HR industry and the overlapping of HR with other business concentrations. The topics of the four workshops are as follows: first was the “Discover Benefits” workshop, led by TRG Group Benefits and Pensions, which discussed employee benefits and upcoming trends in the industry. The second workshop was called “Let’s Talk Culture”, led by Paysavvy, and presented the importance of culture in the workplace today. Third, “Evolving Recruitment” was led by Hootsuite Media, which talked about recruitment and the evolving trends of recruitment. Lastly, “HRIS: Where People and Technology Meet” was led by Lululemon Athletica, discussing the combination of the HR concentration with MIS to develop a new field called HRIS. The industry panel session, also led by industry professionals, was designed to allow students to gain an insight in various HR career areas. Some of the industry professionals present during the industry panel session included: Electronic Arts (EA), Appnovation Technologies, The City of Vancouver, Relic Entertainment and more.

The conference turned out to be a huge success and the entire organization committee, executive staff and volunteers did a wonderful job preparing for the event. From this conference I benefited from a once in a year opportunity to network and build connections with industry professionals and to learn more valuable information on the industry I am interested in going into.

For more on interns working at Goldbeck Recruiting and what they learned through participating in conferences and seminars, refer to Melanie’s experience attending the “Career and Job Search” and “Career Explorer” seminars hosted by the Vancouver Public Library.

Have you recently attended a conference or seminar and realized that you want a change in career? Refer to Goldbeck Recruiting’s website today for exciting new career opportunities or contact us for all your other staffing needs.

Citations
http://www.globaldms.com/blog/bid/152899/The-Importance-of-Attending-Industry-Conferences-Seminars

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