Networking advice?

[shiningorb]

Hi all,

My department brought in a scholar who does fascinating research to our weekly seminar yesterday. Their work is somewhat related to the project I am currently on, but it is also research that I am really passionate about and would love to potentially collaborate with them on in the future. I did get to speak with them briefly about my work but I want to make a lasting impression. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do this, because I am only in my first year of graduate school and do not have a lot of prior experience with research/networking/etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to go about developing this relationship? 

Also, would it be weird if I email them requesting a copy of the slides from their talk? I would love to have them (the slides) on hand just for my own personal reference. 

My apologies if this isn't the appropriate forum for this thread. 

Edited April 4, 2018 by shiningorb

[Hope.for.the.best]

3 hours ago, shiningorb said:

Hi all,

My department brought in a scholar who does fascinating research to our weekly seminar yesterday. Their work is somewhat related to the project I am currently on, but it is also research that I am really passionate about and would love to potentially collaborate with them on in the future. I did get to speak with them briefly about my work but I want to make a lasting impression. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do this, because I am only in my first year of graduate school and do not have a lot of prior experience with research/networking/etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to go about developing this relationship? 

Also, would it be weird if I email them requesting a copy of the slides from their talk? I would love to have them (the slides) on hand just for my own personal reference. 

My apologies if this isn't the appropriate forum for this thread. 

You have done a great job by introducing yourself to them after the seminar. This is the very first step to network with them. I agree that the next step is to email them to catch up. Let them know that you are shiningorb who briefly talked to them after the seminar, and that you are very interested in their work. Then make a request to meet with them and discuss further. This is the key to make that lasting impression. However, I would be wary asking them about the slides over the email, because they may have unpublished data that they do not prefer to share with others. In my opinion, it is more polite to ask them in person. 

I would also suggest that you talk to your advisor about that, as he/she can help look into possible avenues for collaboration. If possible, get your advisor to the meeting with them. It would be easier to set up a collaboration as a team. 

Good luck! 

[fuzzylogician]

11 hours ago, shiningorb said:

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to go about developing this relationship? 

Also, would it be weird if I email them requesting a copy of the slides from their talk? I would love to have them (the slides) on hand just for my own personal reference. 

I suppose this may vary by field. In mine, it'd be entirely appropriate to ask for the slides over email. 

Talk to your advisor, but the way to create and maintain a relationship is precisely what you've been doing: introduce yourself, find ways to talk about their work with them, and once you have something to share, tell them about it. If you are going to be in the same conference as them, email to schedule a time to grab a coffee. These small things are the way to keep these kinds of connections going. The potential to collaborate again varies a lot by field. This would be something to discuss with your advisor. In some cases, it may be possible to have a shared project, or alternatively to be a visiting student in this scholar's department for a semester (with them as host!). As a first year, you may need to be slower about building this relationship than you might like, but with time, these kinds of opportunities will come up more often and will be easier to grab. 

[shiningorb]

@Hope.for.the.best @Fuzzylogicianspenis Thank you both so much for your input! I am in psychology, so not sure if it would be bad etiquette to ask for the slides via email. I will ask around in my program and see what some senior grad students have to say. Also, unfortunately, this scholar teaches at a university out of state, so unfortunately I am not able to set up a time to meet with them... :/ As such, would it also be appropriate to set up a Skype or phone call or is meeting in person preferable?  I am hoping that we will be at the same conference next Spring (2019)0 and I can set up a time to meet then.

 

7 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

and once you have something to share, tell them about it. 

What kinds of things would be worth sharing? 

[fuzzylogician]

1 hour ago, shiningorb said:

What kinds of things would be worth sharing? 

Research that this person might have some thoughts about. That's also when it makes sense to schedule a meeting with them. A skype meeting is fine, if you can't have an in-person meeting any time soon. 

[TakeruK]

This is great! The advice you received is also great.

In my field, there's nothing wrong with asking for slides. It's quite common for a visiting speaker to be asked for slides either by someone in the audience or by the seminar organizers because sometimes talks are archived. And many places also live stream their talks for people who can't make it in person.

However, be sure to phrase it like a request and know that you are asking for a favour, rather than a demand. I'm sure you already know this though. Also as others point out, yes it is very likely that the speaker has some slides they aren't ready to share in digital format yet. But they have a chance to remove them before sending them over to you. Some people may even already have a "cleaned" slide deck ready for sharing, in addition to their presentation ready slides. 

Finally, if your department allows it, try to get on the meeting schedule for every visiting person that you might be interested in. It seems like it varies a lot from department to department whether students are allowed to have one-on-one meetings with visitors. One of the most useful networking part of my PhD was meeting for 30-45 minutes with a visiting scholar and/or joining the faculty for lunch or dinner with the speaker. I always try to sign up right away if it's relevant to my field and when it's only tangentially relevant, I wait until near the end and if there's an empty spot, I don't feel bad about taking it. And if a speaker has a ton of empty slots for some reason, I might sign up to meet with them anyways if I have time that week. It's always interesting to speak to someone in your field! 

I had a stack of figures from my current work that was my go-to visual aid for these meetings. Sometimes I have stuff on the computer but I like paper because I can just grab it and go if the meeting can't happen at my desk (sometimes there are too many officemates in and I don't want to disturb them, or they may be having meetings of their own). Also, I often offer to take a walk with the speaker if they want some air and/or to go grab coffee at the nearby coffee shop.