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>I need <SNIP>
>a list of reasons why I should go...<SNIP>
Well, it's a sales job, that's for sure. But rather than lament that you
have to justify it, you're on the right track if you see this as
a great opportunity to sell your talents to your manager.
If they intend to keep you around, they need to push your
envelope and make it fun. They need your enthusiasm for what you're doing.
Your company also needs to invest in your future by training you,
by exposing you to what's hot in the industry, and by encouraging you
to make national and international contacts in your profession.
After a trip to a national conference like this, you'll probably
get excited about participating more in your local chapter. Maybe you can
see yourself up there presenting ideas to others. Or see yourself becoming
an
expert in something, growing as the profession grows. If you can picture
yourself as a mentor some day, as someone with advice for those starting
out,
you're halfway home.
It all boils down to what kind of professional you want to become vs. what
kind of employee they want you to be. This is a chance to show that you are
proactive with your own life, and getting your head out of the foxhole once
in awhile to look across the battlefield. Maybe they want employees who
keep
their head down all the time. This is a good chance for you to verify what
the company's commitment to you is, judging from the responses you get.
You'll be sharpening your own political skills as well. How you package the
intangibles is up to you; you can stress just the training and skip the
networking, or you can present a list of all the buzzwords you'll be
exposed
to. But they go hand in hand, and it's a good chance for a heart-to-heart
with your manager.
I've worked hard to make sure an annual trip to the STC conference is a
"given" in my compensation package. It took three companies before I found
the right one.
Garret -dot- Romaine -at- RadiSys -dot- Com
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