You only get out of it what you put into it
One of the biggest events of the year is fast approaching - our first Return to Work Conference of 2023 from May 9 - 11. This will be our 33rd time hosting our flagship event and there’s so much in store for you!
Registration for the May 2023 Return to Work Conference will open soon, and we want to explain why it’s in your best interest to register early for the Conference vs. waiting until the last minute.
Reason #1:
The price of admission increases as we get closer to the date of the Conference, so the sooner you register for the Return to Work Conference the less you’ll pay!
Reason #2:
We’ve got an incredible lineup of sponsors that we'll be announcing when we open registration and they can’t wait to meet you.
It’s prudent to register early and to fully complete all three registration steps right away. This is because our Conference sponsors are on the receiving end of your registration details and your resume. This is important to know (and to do sooner rather than later!) because sponsor representatives have the capability to review your profile, including your resume and your LinkedIn profile prior to the start of the event.
So what? Sponsor representatives and recruiters will review this information ahead of time to set up scheduled chats with prospective candidates and selected attendees during the networking day. (And if you receive one of these scheduled chats - be sure to respond and then log in and show up when the time comes!)
Reason #3
The age-old advice that is also the title of this blog holds true for the Return to Work Conference…”You only get out of it what you put into it.”
We recognize that our relaunchers often struggle with a lack of confidence. Which is why, when you register, we provide you with a lot of information on how to prepare for the Conference and how to get yourself ready.
After running this event for nearly 15 years and over 30 times, we’ve learned a thing or two. It’s these tips and tricks and best practices that we pass along to you - including advice and tips from prior Conference attendees.
However, reading through these materials, digesting them and putting them to use takes time…which is another reason why it’s so important to register early, so you can not only feel prepared, but confident in your preparation.
PRO TIP- If you’re not sure how to even approach updating your LinkedIn profile or resume, we’ve got great news for you. The Return to Work Conference comes with access to our Return to Work Roadmap as soon as you register. The Roadmap is packed full of resources and information on how to work on your LinkedIn profile, resume and so much more. The sooner you register, the earlier you can start working through the Roadmap (although it’s not required, many attendees say they wish they had started it sooner to help them prepare!)
Don’t forget to #CallOutYourBreak on your LinkedIn profile!
"Having advance access, particularly to the Roadmap, was hugely helpful." - October 2021 Conference Attendee
Here are a few ways to make the most of your Conference experience (with more detailed suggestions and advice forthcoming when you register):
- We host a pre-Conference webinar the day before the Conference content days begin. This is an excellent session that you won’t want to miss out on - so you’ll want to register early to save this time on your calendar too!
“The Pre-Conference Zoom call was extremely helpful on how to navigate the Brazen platform and prepare for the Conference” - October 2021 Conference Attendee
Your LinkedIn profile, resume, and registration information will be visible to your recruiter, so you may want to take time to adjust your LinkedIn profile and resume if you plan on using the networking day of the Conference to chat with sponsor representatives.
As you make your way through the Roadmap, or work on updating your LinkedIn profile or resume, it’s only natural to come up with questions. Maybe they’re suitable for Carol Fishman Cohen during the Pre-Conference webinar, or for a coach during one of our coaches panel, or even a question you want to ask a prospective employer during a chat with a sponsored representative. Regardless of who the question is for, you’ll have the clarity of mind to organize your questions and your thoughts ahead of time to make the most out of your day-of Conference experience.
One of the best tips we received from prior attendees is to write out your elevator pitch and some of the top questions you have about a particular employer, their program or role ahead of time. This advance-planning and thoughtfulness will save you time so you can copy and paste into the chat and edit if necessary. That way you don't have to spend precious time writing out certain parts of the conversation that are likely to be asked or worry about typos (although Brazen does have a built-in spell checker). You may even consider having some answers for some common interview-style questions typed out that you can tweak or reference on the fly during your chats with sponsors. You can expect more specific guidance on crafting your elevator pitch when you register.
Reason #4
Another huge part of preparation not to be overlooked is doing research on the organizations and employers you are interested in.
We’ll provide a lot of great source material to begin this company research, but this is not something iRelaunch can do for every relauncher. It’s up to you to put the work in, to research your target employers and to give thought to those questions you want to ask of them about the organization, their return-to-work program or the role(s) you are interested in (hint: don’t ask about something that you can easily find on their website or in other materials online).
Reason #5
We’ve heard from prior Conference attendees that while the virtual platform we use to facilitate the Conference and chats with sponsor representatives is intuitive to use, it does take some time to get acquainted with once you get your account set up.
“Setting up an account on Brazen took me a while - I wouldn’t recommend waiting until the last minute or even the day before to get set up. But once up, it was extremely easy to navigate through the Conference events each day.” - October 2021 Conference Attendee
By the end of the Conference, attendees report that “they were pros” at navigating the platform, but they had wished they had spent some time prior to the event learning the user interface so they didn’t have to worry about it and were naturals when the conference day came.
Heed the advice of your fellow relaunchers and Conference goers…register early so you can take some time to get the hang of the platforms (Brazen and your iRelaunch account) so during your sponsor chats you can focus on making an impression when it really counts.
RECAP - if you wait to register, the more likely it will be that you’ll experience longer queues to chat with sponsor representatives on the networking day (May 11th) and you’ll also end up paying more.
October 2021 Conference AttendeeThe materials, instruction, information beforehand and during the conference were first rate!!! If you didn’t know something it meant you hadn’t read the material. It was laid out so well and in such a user friendly manner. Thank you!
Don't relaunch alone!
Join our growing relauncher communities on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more great guidance on your relaunch and updates on when return to work programs are accepting applications, events for relaunchers and more, be sure to sign up for our Return to Work Report and follow us on social media to stay informed!
