It is hard to believe it has been nearly six months since the last SourceCon. And the community continues to thrive. I remember my first SourceCon in 2015, and what I have since learned is that the community is as helpful, kind and family oriented as ever. Every time I come to another conference I feel like I am coming home! Family reunions are seldom boring, and this family is as great as it gets.
I am excited to be part of the community and often my first stop in the morning is the ERE pages to read the next article or take in new insights from another new author. It is often the place I find new insights or focus points I would have never considered.
I think most of us remember when LinkedIn started, and we have been watching the interesting ideas of our community concentrate on going “back to basics,” when LinkedIn’s terms of service changed, limiting some Chrome extension tools. One of my favorite interactions was posting a quick question to the SourceCon Facebook group which asked essentially: “What are your Favorite Sourcing Tools?” Well, the best response was “My brain” from Cyndy Davis. She is so right!
As you get ready for September in Austin, I think it is important to “go back to basics.” A great mentor to me from a past company said to me as follows and I will always remember her advice: “Tools come and go, we had to use a phone and a phone book in the early days, there was no internet, so we always had to reinvent our approach.” Interesting right? So let’s look at the question if LinkedIn were to “gasp” close its doors, what would you do? There are so many other options! So come to SourceCon as an attendee asking, what can I do differently? What new insights can I gain? How can I find that candidate in a different way than what I did before? These are the questions you should ask, and that the presenters will challenge you to find.
As an attendee, I always like to find a new skill or uncover a new tool, but the best response remains, what is your number one sourcing tool, you guessed it, your brain. So these Chrome extensions will continue to expand and contract, and further new tools will emerge to challenge industry behemoths. The question is will you be at the cutting edge? Trying out new things? Reinventing your sourcing self? You can have the balance of the technical wizardry, and the persuasiveness of being able to sell ice to eskimos, but SourceCon Austin will challenge you to think in a new way, you never have before thought of.
You will be armed with incredible knowledge when you return, but here is what to keep an eye out for if you are a new attendee:
- Vendors – There will be vendors in the conference hall to speak with.
- The Innovation Lab – This will help you experiment with new tools and get quick overviews from different vendors.
- Roundtables – Think speed dating with a twist, you get to meet with industry experts on a particular topic, and then discuss with fellow attendees, and then switch to new topics. A highlight not to be missed.
- Tracks – There will be different tracks to look at for the newbie and the experienced alike: The Purple Squirrel Track, The George Boole Track and I hear rumors the Anonymous Track for advanced techniques is coming back again! SourceCon is also implementing two new tracks, a track from programmers and leadership, the Sheryl Sandberg Track.
- Networking – There will be networking, friendships to build, outstanding, and sold out, pre-conference sessions, the SourceCon Hackathon, happy hour, network receptions, etc.
- Ten Years – This is supposed to be the most legendary SourceCon ever, and will be full of opportunity to take your craft to the next level.
I am looking forward to seeing another great conference unfold and watching for new tips and tricks to emerge from incredible speakers. This may just be the best SourceCon yet. Like many in the community I am looking forward to another great event. And if you haven’t registered yet, don’t forget to use the SC10YEAR discount code to save an additional 20% off registration (advanced rate ends, August 25th).