Hi Mrimon,
Your first question is a tricky one. Many posts that are shared here are intended as broadcasting, in the sense that someone is hiring or organizing a conference and wants everyone else to know about it. Hence, for some people this is more of a newsletter than a discussion board. However, it does not have to be this way, and we certainly have members who engage in discussions like yours (I am just surprised that Paul Rubin did not beat me to answer your question, for example). But I am saying this because a post like yours sometimes falls through the cracks because of that, and I hope that this does not discourage you.
On this broadcasting aspect, the good thing about INFORMS Connect is that you may come across networking opportunities outside the forum. For example, the Practice Section has a virtual networking happy hour on October 27: https://connect.informs.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=5f618b89-dc3c-4482-91a7-018b4803eb1e&Home=%2fevents%2fcalendar
Regarding your second question, I believe that sharing what you have been up to and likewise knowing what everyone else is up to is one of the most important aspects of networking. Let's say that we meet at an INFORMS meeting and I add you on LinkedIn: I typically do that when I am in a group and other people are currently talking: I start reading badges and adding folks while listening to the conversation. Will you remember me, or will I remember you in 6 months? If you are in your 20s, maybe. But I am almost reaching my 40s and this is getting harder. And this is where your social media activity matters: if you share regularly on your social networks what you are up to (new job, learning new tool, giving a talk, attending a conference, publishing a paper, found something very interesting to share, etc), then you are regularly making people aware of your existence and interests. That may lead to all sorts of opportunities later on, simply because you are on other people's radar.
I hope this helps. Good luck, and please accept my LinkedIn invite! :-)
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Thiago Serra
Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, Bucknell University
INFORMS Computing Society Vice Chair / Chair-Elect
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-22-2023 04:31
From: Mrimon "Nemo" Guha
Subject: Informs and networking | Tips and tricks
Hi there,
I am a student pursuing Master's of Science in Business Analytics at University of California, Davis. I am new to informs (This is my second informs post!) and I love that we can use it for discussions with so many like minded folks who aim to make a better world. I had two questions for you today:
1. What are some of your tips and tricks to get more responses on informs discussions?
2. What do you think is the most important aspect of networking with people?
Thank you,
Mrimon (Nemo) Guha
Student, UC Davis MSBA 2023-2024
mguha@ucdavis.edu | Linkedin
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