By Jennifer Legaspi, Applications and Verification Engineering, ON Semiconductor

Take notes – A notebook, a tablet, or a phone will work. Make sure you won’t forget those important points. Pro tip: If you’re bring a phone or a tablet with a camera, you can make it really easy and take pictures of slides.

Make new friends – Network! Network! Network! Talk to people in between sessions, talk to speakers, bring your business card and hand it out. Don’t have business cards? Bring paper to write your contact information on or better yet, connect on LinkedIn. Pro tip: Write a short note on the back of a business card you receive so that you remember why you wanted to be in contact:

Example 1: Heavily involved in outreach

Example 2: Has my dream job

Tag Team – If you came in a group, split up and share notes later. You already know the people in your group, you may not get another chance to meet all the wonderful, amazing people at WIE ILC.

Attend the career fair – Whether or not you are seriously looking, it can help motivate and inspire you. Have a pitch ready to come off with a great first impression. Make connections and consider asking to have an informational interview to learn about jobs. Check out some examples below:

Looking for a job: “Hello, my name is Jennifer and I am an electrical engineer with two years of experience in the semiconductor industry. I am looking for a new challenge and I would love to hear about the positions available sustainable manufacturing.

Planning for the future: “Hello, my name is Jennifer and I am an electrical engineer. I am very happy with my job at the moment, but I always want to be ready for the future and I have always been excited about the work your company does with autonomous vehicles. Could you tell me more about the company?”

Plan – With multiple tracks, it can be hard to decide where to go. Make a plan and if you came with a team, go to different sessions.

Get advice – There are so many other knowledgeable and experienced leaders attending WIE ILC. If you are dealing with an issue, chances are someone there has handled it and can help you out.

Use it at work – Tell your coworkers, start initiatives, use what you learned to improve you work and your workplace. Even a 10 minute discussion at your team meeting can help create allies and make your place of work more enjoyable.