Business, Accounting, Finance Networking Events?

[jeanne_17]

If you were going to one of these events, ie: business, accounting, or a finance networking event but you don't have a profound knowledge of accounting and finance because you're still learning... but you know you're interested this is a field where you want to excel in. what do you do?

there are representatives from various companies in the industry that are going to be at the event, what questions can one ask so it's not just a YES or NO answer and can get the rep to talk most of the time?

obviously, i don't know much and the questions i should ask. but key point being, i don't want to sound dumb and with a lack of knowledge when my mouth speaks, what can i do?

what questions can i ask? i'm quite nervous as well.

thanks

[tiger_handheld]

Not shitting, but if you were really interested in that subject area, you'd know whats going on in the world , so you can strike up a convo with a person who shares (or should ) share the same interests. With that being said, and give you are a student in a post secondary level, I'd ask about the program ,and their experiences( Accounting CGA,CA,CMA, CPA). How they went through , what they learned and most importantly, how they apply their school knowledge at their job today. Secondly, you can ask about their company( from XYZ HR - ask about how the current conditions are affecting them) and what they look for in a candidate when hiring. Most importantly, talk to everyone, and try not to stick to a "crew". The point of networking is to "get to know" everyone and chances are if you make an impression, they will remember you at the next networking event!

On a different note, which networking event are you attending, given you are in business/finance/accounting field - I might just be there .

[PNF]

I cant say that I am successful in all those networking events myself, but I guess there are some tips that I would give. Now, they are by no means "easy" tips, because you do have to do some homework.

Here are steps that I would do if I were you BEFORE the event.

- Find out the list of the companies who are presenting. (Which you should get by simply search the network event)

- Identify top 15-20 companies that you really want to speak to about.

- Do a 1/2 - 1 page summary about that company background and make sure you know it half decent well and write down your questions about the company. I.e. If this is a Deloitte Consulting division, you would ask what types of business do they do. B2B, B2C, and etc. OR what is their "brand management" about if you are interested in that particular topic.

- Lets face it, you will NOT have time to go to all 20, so, within that 20 list, identify the top 5-10 firms that YOU MUST speak to about. (There will be likely lineups for popular companies) and for these 5-10 firms, make sure you know them WELL! Most of these popular companies should have a "career" link. Search in those links and you will find WHAT they need, or at least, what they think they need!

- Prepare a general list of questions that could be applicable to all firms.

1) What tiger said up there
2) ASK if they are HR or actual field person doing the work. There is a difference between them and you have to make sure that you are asking the right questions. If they are HR, you could probably ask something like - What are your recommendations for a student who is trying to excel in xyz and what programs/experience to go through to be well positioned for ABC job. If it is a field person (actual financial analyst, for example), you can then ask how did he come to be in the line of work he is in. etc. There are tons of questions you could ask and you can even google "network questions". List just come right out and select the ones applicable.

- download and PRINT the network booth map! This is important, to maximize your time at each booth. You dont want to go running around and not catching your breath when you needed the most.

- Prepare a list of questions that PEOPLE MIGHT ASK YOU.
i.e. What do you want to become 3 , 5, 7 years from today? What are you good at? If you want to be in finance, dont just say, "I want to be a financial analyst". That does not tell me anything! Instead, you should say. "I am interested in corporate accounting or corporate finance, and judging at the current economic environment, I believe that efficiency and lean operations are key to a company's survival and success. With my past experience and current programs, I am on path to become a proficient cost analyst".. <-- something like that.. Be specific. I cannot stress enough how important "being specific" is. If you just talk in general about "we're in recession, bad economy, bank is going down, etc". It only tells me that you dont know what you're talking about. State Why, When, Where and How.
- Good questions that I would ask you are. What can you do to contribute to our ABC/XYZ issues or projects. - What are your strengths. (dont tell me that you work well with people, you communicate well, why? because if you dont work well with people and dont communicate well, I can tell right away by speaking to you at this moment. So, say something that I cannot assume based on my conversation with you. Such as, you have XYZ degree and ABC experience that match my needs, etc).


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Now, AT the network event.

- Arrive as early as you can, walk around the area before it starts if you can. Get to know what booth is where. The chances are you're gonna meet someone and you can just start talking and maybe even offering help? (I dont know, I did that before).

- Relax!!

- All the usual - clean dress/tie/attire

- Reveiw the sheet of the company you are about to talk.

- Review the questions that people MIGHT ask you, and formulate your answers accordingly.

- Be patient, Speak SLOWLY, and LISTEN, LISTEN and LISTEN

- Be confident and SMILE!

- Ask for their contact/name cards

- Talk about something interesting, other than just work/job. such as.. say.. "the canucks, if the HR is a guy". I dont know, but something other than work/job if you could (briefly)

- Immediately after you leave the booth, write down his contact, some notes so that you can reflect back and follow up.

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Basically, this is all you can do, if you're matched a job, so be it, if you dont, you just dont. Nothing much you can do, other than just keeping at it and improving your candidacy.


Good luck

[jeanne_17]

Thanks for the helpful advices guys.
I'll try to improve on those before the network events.

But... PNF, I have a question. when you stated-->

Originally Posted by PNF

If you want to be in finance, dont just say, "I want to be a financial analyst". That does not tell me anything! Instead, you should say. "I am interested in corporate accounting or corporate finance, and judging at the current economic environment, I believe that efficiency and lean operations are key to a company's survival and success. With my past experience and current programs, I am on path to become a proficient cost analyst".. <-- something like that..

I would definitely want to say something like that but thing is I haven't had a chance to take those courses yet, ie: Corporate Finance or corporate Accounting so I'm not sure whether I'll be interested in what you said or something like Derivatives or Investments.. How would I be able to build on that?

Only thing i know is that Finance is the route in which I want to be... not too sure about my career options yet, that's the problem.

[Carl Johnson]

so you haven't took any courses in finance & accounting and you are applying to work for a job in the field?

[tiger_handheld]

Originally Posted by jeanne_17

Thanks for the helpful advices guys.
I'll try to improve on those before the network events.

But... PNF, I have a question. when you stated-->



I would definitely want to say something like that but thing is I haven't had a chance to take those courses yet, ie: Corporate Finance or corporate Accounting so I'm not sure whether I'll be interested in what you said or something like Derivatives or Investments.. How would I be able to build on that?

Only thing i know is that Finance is the route in which I want to be... not too sure about my career options yet, that's the problem.

But you dont need to go to school, to understand that Co.'s must operate on a lean budget to survive todays economy. You can just read the Financial Post and other sites, and carry on a decent conversation from what you read in the news and other media outlets. Back to my point on reading and learning what ur interested in. IF your into derevitives(sp?) and/or investments read up on those , good example Mr.Bernie any person in the business field should know about Mr.Bernie, you just need something in common to talk about - and that common link for business students is business and current events/economic news!

[PNF]

not trying to be pain in the ass, but do you even know what derivative in finance is?

I'll be the first one to admit I know very little about it and quite frankly, most of "finance" people know little about it.

Yes, I took 2 or 3 courses on it in my degree, but to apply it and fully integrate it, heck, I have no idea. That is more of "Financial Engineering", than "Finance", for those who are interested in that topic. It is more of Mathematics/statistics more than anything.

Now, back to your question.

1) be honest and just say you have no experience and very little education in finance at this point, but the point is, you are working toward the goal. So, dont you think you want to read/learn and set a clear goal first before you worry about how you present yourself in these networking events?

Without a goal, you're going to be pretty much transparent and most HR or I would just see right through. Be sincere and just to be honest about you dont have much experience, but you're working hard and reading a lot of what you want to do.


What do you like? I am going to assume you like cars, since after all, this is a car enthusiast site.

Finance is like car drivers, there are different classes, right? class 1, class 2, class 3, motor bike, truck drivers, etc. right? Now, are they all the same? No, they are not all the same.. but are they all different? No, they are not all that different, since after all, you're still driving on a 4 wheel (or well, ride on 2 wheels).

Finance is the same, is investment banking really different from personal finance/portfolio manager? not really.. but are they the same.. ? no, they are not exactly the same. So, what is it that links them? Well, they all use basic accounting principles to at least perform some type of financial analysis. OK, I am over-simplying it a bit, but you get the concept.

Know what I mean? So, read more about finance in general (not just the financial news on wall street, but news and information about different types of financial careers). Then, you can determine what you want to "try" first.. not what you want to "be".


I know I tried many different types before I got where I am today.

If you are what you said you are (quite interested and enthusiastic about finance-related careers), then I am pretty sure, by now, you should have at least 5-10 informative websites bookmarked for you to read upon DAILY.

Show me.. or better, show yourself that you are serious and just do some work. Then, trust me, you will have better questions to ask and you will have better answers thats more suited to your situation.

No one is going to tell you that you should do ABC, and then probably suggest you go do XYZ, so that you can be in a DEF job.. but look into them, study them, and then TRY them before anything else..