You’ve heard about it for some time now, and you finally got the gumption to ask your boss if the company would send you to PASS Summit 2015. A few days or weeks elapse and you get word that you were the chosen one from the company to attend – FANTASTIC, you say….but wait – – what in the world am I supposed to do? What should I expect? Will someone throw a fish at me in Seattle?
First off, relax. I want to share some advice with you that may help ease your mind and make your trip a ton of fun. Pull up a chair and stay a few minutes; this is a blog post and not a dissertation so I won’t take to long.
What Can I Expect?
Simple question with profound meaning. I can only tell you of my experiences and what I’ve been through as alumni to the conference.
My first PASS Summit was back in 2011 (documented here) and it was one that changed the outlook on my career forever. I was green to the community thing and come to find out I was not the only one.
A ton of sessions, a ton of speakers, a ton of people – with all that said the experience was hands down the best professional work conference I’ve attended.
Fruits of Attending?
What can I gain from attending? Beside the knowledge of sessions you have a plethora of opportunities to network with speakers, vendors, and other data professionals on a daily basis?
Do you have a question for Microsoft? If so, head on over to their triage center to get some direct help or visit the community zone.
Even better; this last trip resulted in me meeting an individual at a table. Out of 5 k data professionals I strike up a conversation with this person and we talk over breakfast. This person is from the exact same city I am from – who knew? As I get back into town I had a position become available; guess what I ended up hiring the individual after an interview process and it has worked out very well for both of us. You never know what may come out of attending this conference.
What Do I Bring?
Everyone is different; normally what you will find with me at the conference are (but not limited to):
- Business cards
- Laptop or Surface
- Battery Stick
- Mifi (although they have WiFi there)
- Chargers
- Cell phone
- Batteries
- Mouse
- Thumb Drive (cause you know, why not)
- Pens
- 3×5 cards (some form of paper in case I need to jog something down real fast)
- Hand Sanitizer
I tend to keep a second bag in my back pack of other essentials. Be creative, this is just a list to help you get started.
The Sessions
You won’t be able to see all the sessions you want to. I suggest you create your schedule online at the PASS site. This gets you a head start, but keep in mind that part of the fruits of being there is to meet people and talk.
You can purchase all the sessions for the conference; just ask one of the many volunteers where you need to go. It’s fairly inexpensive and most companies I know will reimburse you for it as you bring them home to the team or the ones who could not go. Plus it helps you see the other sessions you didn’t get to attend.
Have Some Fun
Lastly, as I bring this to a close, have some fun. It’s easy to get overwhelmed I get that. Just enjoy yourself and embrace the journey you are about to embark on. You won’t regret being involved with something so great within the PASS Community.
I look forward to seeing you there; if you run into me say hi. I don’t mind stopping and talking to new and old faces a like.
