Elizabeth Mannshardt, ASA Membership Council Vice Chair
The ASA’s Committee on Career Development hosted its annual networking session, titled “Networking Like a Pro: A Guided Networking Session,” this year at JSM, supporting ASA President Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar’s initiative on mentoring. Held the first afternoon of JSM, the event provided students and early-career statisticians an opportunity to practice networking in a friendly environment before heading out to meet and greet throughout the conference.
ASA President-Elect Ji-Hyun Lee, professor and associate director for cancer quantitative sciences at the University of Florida, and ASA Vice President Jenny Thompson, senior mathematical statistician in the Census Bureau Economic Directorate, were featured speakers who offered insights from their professional and leadership journeys.
Key themes emerged on the importance of networking, including practicing. Just like technical skills, power skills like networking require time and thought for development, stressed Lee and Thompson. As you go into a professional event, it helps to have a couple main thoughts on hand and to remember the aim is to make human connections.
Attendees had the opportunity to practice networking skills with the speakers and volunteer mentors from throughout the ASA community. Lee said, “I thought the session effectively highlighted the essence of being purposeful (intentional), authentic (across the three sectors), and proactive in networking interactions.”
I thought the session effectively highlighted the essence of being purposeful (intentional), authentic (across the three sectors), and proactive in networking interactions.
Thompson added, “The lecture/mingling format was very effective in breaking the ice.” She also appreciated attendee participation during the breakout session, noting, “The volume crescendoed!”
After the first breakout, volunteers shared further insights on making connections. A student asked how to network when you are an introvert. One idea was to practice networking by having a poster at a conference, including talking to others about their poster or research.
Mark Otto, a featured speaker from the committee’s JSM 2023 networking event, said, “Joining and becoming involved with a section or interest group also connects you with statisticians in your field. Here are colleagues who will become the core of your network, those you will collaborate with, source of possible jobs, and potential contacts. Sections are where you will follow where your field of statistics is and is going. You can add the ASA Community (https://community.amstat.org/resources) to your social media to connect with every topic.”
Lee noted it helps to share personal interests. Get to know the person as a person and genuinely care for people beyond work-related topics.
Thompson explained that networks offer opportunities you may not have originally considered. Careers build and evolve over time—and careers may not always go according to plan. Your network can help you evolve and adapt. She also noted your network builds over time and can become a big support system. It can also provide a way to look for and get involved with new projects and to find your next career step.
Another student asked how to network when you may not have anything to offer. Participants agreed you always have something to offer and hoped people would have the courage to reach out to others. Participants also agreed it is okay to have failures because that is how we learn and become ready for the next experience.
Stamatia (Tia) Vafeas, an MS biostatistician interested in a career focusing on health care and biotech research, said, “My main takeaway from it was the value of networking in understanding the experience of a job or company prior to working there. You can gain so much more information about a company or a career path from a five-minute conversation than you can from pouring hours into reading a website or LinkedIn posts. And, at least for me, it’s much more gratifying because you get an opportunity to connect with peers.”
Claire Bowen, 2019 committee chair and founder of the networking event, said, “It was wonderful to attend the event years after starting it in Denver in 2019. I loved seeing the students and early-career professionals interacting with each other and with their colleagues, who may become future mentors to help advance their careers.”
Thompson said, “The session was a lot of fun! I hope the attendees made connections amongst themselves. To me, that’s the most important outcome of these mingling events. We may not remember the guest speakers, but we often remember the people [who] shared the experience and gave their own perspective.”
As the meeting wrapped up, Lee advised everyone to aim to meet at least five new people. She also said she enjoyed the event immensely.
To learn about imposter syndrome and how to overcome it, check out the committee’s podcast on the subject.
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