Resume Writers' Digest: Conference Attendance

Showing posts with label Conference Attendance. Show all posts

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Career Industry Conference Update: 2023

As the calendar rolls over to September, it’s time to talk about career industry conferences. This is an update to a post from November 2019 (“Have You Ever Been to a Resume Writing Conference?”), which built on a post from August 2011 (“When Is the Omaha Conference?”)

Last year, I found myself in Boston for the 2022 INBOUND conference instead of in New Orleans for the NRWA 2022 Conference. We had first attended INBOUND in 2019 (check out Jon’s series of blog posts about our travels in 2019 and 2022 – warning: there are really good food pictures!) with our friends Jason and Jolene. We actually haven’t been to an in-person resume conference since 2017, when we drove to Chicago for the NRWA conference.

Here’s the breakdown of where the national resume writing organizations have had their conferences in recent years. (I’ve bolded the ones I attended.)

The National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA):
2023 – Colorado Springs, CO (scheduled for Sept. 21-23, 2023 at The Antlers Hotel with an online component as well)

2022 - New Orleans, LA

2021 – NRWA Virtual Conference

Career Directors International:
2016 - Present: No conference
2015 - Entrepreneurial Success Secrets Live for Career Professionals: Orlando, Florida
2014 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: SOAR — Orlando, Florida
2013 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Your Big Breakthrough — Orlando, Florida
2012 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Blaze Your Trail — San Diego, California
2011 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Jump On Board the Success Express — Savannah, Georgia
2010 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: You Selected & We Delivered: The Most Outrageously Power-Packed Career Conference Yet — San Diego, California
2009 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Take Your Career to New Heights — Orlando, Florida
2008 - Annual Conference: Get Super with CDI — Seattle, Washington
2007 - Annual Conference: The Future is You! — San Antonio, Texas
2006 - Annual Conference: Live the Dream — Orlando, Florida (PRWRA)
2005 - Annual Conference: Play to Win — Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWRA)
2004 - Indianapolis, Indiana (PRWRA)
2003 - New Orleans (PRWRA)
2002 - Atlanta, Georgia (when the organization was still PRWRA)

(Thank you to Laura DeCarlo for help assembling the conference titles and locations!) I was never able to make a CDI conference (they were often in October and conflicted with my UNO Hockey obsession).

Career Management Alliance (no longer in business as of August 2011):
2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2010 - New Orleans, Louisiana
2009 - San Antonio, Texas
2008 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
2007 - Louisville, Kentucky
2006 - ??
2005 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (when it was still Career Masters Institute)
2004 - Atlanta, Georgia (CMI)
2003 - Kansas City, Missouri (CMI)
2002 - San Diego, California (CMI)

Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
2024 – Orlando (Thrive Orlando 2024)

2023 – Orlando (Thrive Orlando 2023)

2022 – Clearwater, Florida (Thrive 2022)

2021 – Virtual Conference

2020 – No conference due to COVID

2019 - St. Pete Beach, Florida
2005-2018: No conference
2004 - St. Pete Beach, Florida
2003 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2002 - Dallas, Texas
2001 - Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
2000 - Toronto, Canada
1999 - Colorado Springs, Colorado

PARW/CC held conferences from 1999-2004 but then discontinued conferences in 2004. The conferences returned in 2019 and are held annually in Florida.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Have You Ever Been to a Resume Writing Conference?

As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking about 2020 careers industry conferences!

I keep referencing this post from August 2011, “When Is the Omaha Conference?”, because it’s where I started tracking my conference attendance.

But since it’s 2019, it’s time to update the conference locations and my attendance!

Here’s the breakdown of where the national resume writing organizations have had their conferences in recent years. (I’ve bolded the ones I attended.)

The National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA):
2022 - New Orleans, LA (scheduled for Sept. 18-20, 2022 at the Royal Sonesta, 300 Bourbon St.)

2021 – NRWA Virtual Conference

2020 – NRWA Virtual Conference
2019 - NRWA Conference at Sea (Cruise to the Bahamas)
2018 - Seattle, Washington
2017 - Chicago, Illinois
2016 - Annapolis, Maryland
2015 - Charlotte, North Carolina
2014 - Denver, Colorado
2013 - Chicago, Illinois
2012 - Charleston, South Carolina
2011 - Portland, Maine
2010 - Fort Worth, Texas
2009 - Annapolis, Maryland
2008 - San Diego, California
2007 - Savannah, Georgia
2006 - Phoenix, Arizona
2005 - Stamford, Connecticut
2004 - Nashville, Tennessee
2003 - Seattle, Washington
2002 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2001 - San Antonio, Texas
2000 - Las Vegas, Nevada
1999 - New Orleans, Louisiana
1998 - Chicago

The NRWA is planning its 2020 conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, which I’m excited about, since the NRWA conference in New Orleans was my first industry conference 20 years ago! It’s scheduled for Sept. 13-15, 2020. Details here.

Career Directors International:
2016 - Present: N/A
2015 - Entrepreneurial Success Secrets Live for Career Professionals: Orlando, Florida
2014 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: SOAR — Orlando, Florida
2013 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Your Big Breakthrough — Orlando, Florida
2012 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Blaze Your Trail — San Diego, California
2011 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Jump On Board the Success Express — Savannah, Georgia
2010 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: You Selected & We Delivered: The Most Outrageously Power-Packed Career Conference Yet — San Diego, California
2009 - Global Career Empowerment Summit: Take Your Career to New Heights — Orlando, Florida
2008 - Annual Conference: Get Super with CDI — Seattle, Washington
2007 - Annual Conference: The Future is You! — San Antonio, Texas
2006 - Annual Conference: Live the Dream — Orlando, Florida (PRWRA)
2005 - Annual Conference: Play to Win — Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWRA)
2004 - Indianapolis, Indiana (PRWRA)
2003 - New Orleans (PRWRA)
2002 - Atlanta, Georgia (when the organization was still PRWRA)

(Thank you to Laura DeCarlo for help assembling the conference titles and locations!) I was never able to make a CDI conference (they were often in October and conflicted with my UNO Hockey obsession).

Career Management Alliance (no longer in business as of August 2011):
2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2010 - New Orleans, Louisiana
2009 - San Antonio, Texas
2008 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
2007 - Louisville, Kentucky
2006 - ??
2005 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (when it was still Career Masters Institute)
2004 - Atlanta, Georgia (CMI)
2003 - Kansas City, Missouri (CMI)
2002 - San Diego, California (CMI)

Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
2019 - St. Pete Beach, Florida
2005-2018: N/A
2004 - St. Pete Beach, Florida
2003 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2002 - Dallas, Texas
2001 - Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
2000 - Toronto, Canada
1999 - Colorado Springs, Colorado

PARW/CC held conferences from 1999-2004 but then discontinued conferences in 2004. The organization held a conference from April 28-May 1, 2019 in St. Pete Beach but it’s unclear as to whether there will be a 2020 conference.

Want to read articles from previous career industry conferences? Join BeAResumeWriter.com.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Choosing a Professional Conference to Attend

A resume writer asked me yesterday about attending a professional conference. I believe that professional resume writers should be committed to their continuing education, and conference attendance is a part of that. I've attended a half-dozen conferences over the years, although it's been several years since my last one. I'm hoping to attend at least one in 2012.

With the cost to attend a professional conference now averaging $1300 ($400 registration fee; $350 hotel; $325 transportation, $125 food/beverage, $100 miscellaneous) -- not to mention income lost from being out of the office, you want to choose your conference wisely.

When evaluating conference attendance, consider these things:

Program: Is there a topic or program in particular that interests you? Review the conference program outline and decide which sessions you'd like to attend. Is there a particular area of your business or services that you want to learn more about? (i.e., LinkedIn profile development? Writing federal resumes?) See if there is a conference offering training on that subject area.

Organizer: Which organizations are you already a member of? As a member, you'll get a discount on their offerings. However, consider if you're going to get new ideas or information from this organization? If you’ve been participating in their other programs/offerings, you may find that the conference offers “more of the same” instead of new ideas and information.

Location: How easy/hard is it to get there from here? This can also be a factor in the cost. Can you drive? Flying? Airline travel can be unpredictable nowadays, so allow plenty of time to get to your destination in the event your flight is delayed or rescheduled.

Networking Opportunities. One of the strongest outcomes of conference attendance is the people you will be able to meet and connect with. Evaluate the speaker roster — are these folks within the industry who are sharing their expertise? How new is the information they are sharing (have you seen them presenting on this topic before at other conferences)? Then, consider the attendee roster. How many people typically attend the conference? What is the makeup of conference attendees? Are these the folks you want to connect with? For example, you might find that for one conference, attendees are 25% self-employed professionals, 20% military transition specialists, 40% career office staff (either government or educational institutions) and 15% “other.” Another might be 55% self-employed professionals, 30% career office staff, 10% military transition specialists, and 5% “other.” Consider who you want to connect with!

Consider attending a conference in 2012. Here are some of the upcoming offerings:

March 12-14, 2012 – Career Thought Leaders, Baltimore, MD

September 19-22, 2012 – National Resume Writers' Association, Charlotte, SC

October 11-13, 2012 – Career Directors International, San Diego, CA

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Article on Justifying Conference Attendance

I came across this article today on "How to Justify Conference Attendance" and it caught my attention because of the survey I'm conducting on professional conference attendance among resume writers. (Remember, if you want the link to take the survey, e-mail me at RWDigest@aol.com -- and be sure to sign up for the Resume Writers' Digest mailing list using the form in the upper-right hand corner of the blog.)

Of particular use is the worksheet to estimate costs to attend -- and then some suggestions for improving ROI.

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