showing up with no plan

(common gotcha)

what happened

you arrive at a conference or networking event, wander around, talk to whoever happens to be near you, and leave without making any meaningful connections.

why it's a gotcha

events have dozens or hundreds of people, and your time is limited. without a plan, you'll default to talking to people who are easy to approach (other nervous newcomers) instead of the people who could actually help your work or career.

the fix

before the event, look at the speaker list, attendee list, or sponsor list. identify 3-5 people you specifically want to meet. research their work so you can start a real conversation, not just "so what do you do?" set a micro-goal: 3 quality conversations beats 20 business card swaps. once you meet your targets, lock in the contact on the spot. plan your intro too. having a plan doesn't mean having an agenda — it's the opposite of networking-as-extraction. same "know what you want" energy, applied to events.