Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022 Edition
The Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022 is a unique event taking place on October 14th, where tech, diversity and being LGBTIQ+ in the workplace are celebrated. We want to give you some tips to encourage you to attend as your best and most confident self because your preparation is necessary. It is the perfect opportunity for companies to find new tech talents for their teams and to showcase their expertise in a diverse programme of workshops, panels and talks. We want you to stand out from the crowd, so gear up and prepare to flourish on the day of the event.
Know Yourself
Identifying and writing down your strengths and interests is always a great start, it will help you visualise how you can use them to get closer to achieving your professional career goals. It is okay if you do not know what those goals are, this is the perfect moment to research the many different career paths linked to your degree or experience, seek out career counselling and even consider internship opportunities. You won’t truly know unless you’ve tried. In addition, take some time to think about what you value when it comes to the workplace environment, work culture and expectations. It is important that your values coincide with the values of the organisation of interests to enhance employee satisfaction. This step can be easily overlooked when handling the pressure of how to best brand yourself to land the job opportunity, in doing so do not neglect to ask yourself if the organisation is a good fit for you. You may be a great fit for the role but what about the company?
Know your Audience
Unicorns in Tech Summit brings together many LGBTIQ+ friendly employers, exhibitors, speakers, tech talents and applicants. All involved in discussions, talks, workshops and more. Expect to enter an environment full of empowering networks that will help you flourish both personally and professionally, may even lead to your next job opportunity. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! All sorts of career fairs and potential recruiting events provide you with a list of the participating organisations, companies and important individuals. This list is one of your greatest assets. After you have identified your personal and career goals, you can assess which companies and activities are of best representation to your values and goals.
Given that the Unicorns in Tech Summit is a special event, to maximise your experience it is recommended to look into the participating organisations, companies, exhibitors, speakers, TECH figures and more in advance. Think of which ones resonate with your ideal workplace environments, interests, goals and so on?
Pro-tip: The confirmed exhibitors, workshops, speakers and their talks are already here!
While researching the participating organisations you may encounter something you don’t understand or are unclear about. Make sure to write these things down about each company or entity, to then turn them into questions that you can ask the recruiter(s) or corresponding individual(s). It can be anything from a company’s initiative on a subject that catches your attention or further explanation of the roles they have available to career advice or expressing interest on a speaker’s topic.
Be Pro-active
The most attractive companies and activities are usually highly visited, meaning that you will not always get a spontaneous chance to present yourself or attend the activity. After overviewing all of the participating parties, it is time to prioritise the ones you are most interested in. Remember that we want you to flourish, so we encourage you to be proactive by making appointments with the companies, signing up for activities, reaching out to company employees and speakers via Linkedin as early as you can before the summit takes place. Networking is a beautiful art, contacting someone through Linkedin can result in learning what it is actually like to work for that company of interest. Ways to connect and message someone on Linkedin:
Company employee - “Hello, I will be attending the Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022 in which your employer (or <company name>) will be actively recruiting (or participating in). I am interested in <X> role and I am wondering if you have 15 minutes of your time to spare for a virtual coffee chat (or to simply answer some questions) of what it is like to work for <company name>? Thank you so much in advance, looking forward to your response.”
Pro-tip: Try to find an employee that you have something in common with, i.e., studied in the same institution. Can be used as an introduction point and a way to connect in general.
Event Speaker - “Hello, I will be attending the Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022 and I see that you are one of the speakers. You will be speaking about <brief explanation of topic>, and I am interested in the topic. I am looking forward to your talk and hope to connect.” If you have a question on the topic or career development you can always ask if they have some time to chat, do remember they may have time for questions after their talk.
By now you should know your favourites, make sure to make note of the job opportunities that you are a great fit for to highlight your interest and prepare how you would communicate that with each recruiter. Also, prepare one to two questions to ask the recruiter(s), for example:
- Can you describe your application process and next steps to me in more detail?
- Is there anything else you can tell me about the advertised position?
- How would you rate your success with the advertised position?
- How would you describe the atmosphere in your company/team?
- What do your employees value most about working for your company?
Application Documents
There is no such thing as being over prepared. We recommend that you gear up with the full range of what an application folder would contain: CVs, motivation letters, business cards and any other creative way you may have to market yourself. Take the extra time to adjust your CVs based on each role you are interested in, refrain from the one size fits all mindset. Keep in mind that the digital world plays an important role too, always maintain a professional up-to-date Linkedin. In addition, Unicorns in Tech Summit is all about tech and more, exploit any other professional social media profiles and websites you may have.
Elevator Pitch
First impressions can be impactful, your self-presentation is even more important than your written documents. Have you ever practised an elevator pitch? A 30- to 60-second speech that should explain who you are, what your skills are, and what your career goals are. If not, we recommend that you start by doing some basic research on the topic, you can check here, still do consider YouTube or your university’s career centre. An elevator pitch has become the gold standard in our modern application culture. Geared up? Go!
Pro-tip: An elevator pitch can also be used to network!
Networking is your friend
Every third job is given through personal networks. That means that the more people in your personal network, the less often you’ll have to scour job ads. So many brilliant minds will be attending the Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022. Take advantage of practising your elevator pitch with the individuals you meet at the summit, allowing for you to become more comfortable and gain even more confidence. Do not miss out on this outstanding networking opportunity where you can inspire and get inspired by others. We would recommend you to bring extra business cards because the networking opportunities at this event are endless, exchange business cards, social media, ideas and more. The Unicorns in Tech Summit is the perfect place to expand your connections with other LGBTIQ+ individuals. We’re stronger together as a queer community, let’s help each other and our community flourish!
Ask Companies and Organisations About their Diversity Management
At a queer fair, don’t be afraid to ask companies and organizations about their diversity management: What services do they offer specifically for the LGBTIQ+ community? What measures do the companies use to strengthen social togetherness? And how does the company show its appreciation for employees? Because our trade fair was created precisely for such questions.
Take a Stand Against Queer Hostility
We do not tolerate queer hostility, racism, sexism and other -isms! If you notice a negative situation at our event or feel uncomfortable, let our team know at the entrance and we will resolve the incident immediately.
Send off
We hope you find this article useful not only for the Unicorns in Tech Summit 2022, but also for your future career endeavors. We are expecting to see all of you join us on the day of the summit, we have so much in store for you and are beyond excited, hoping you are too! 🚀