Thomas Fise, JD, executive director of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, encourages all physicians, but residents in particular, to approach conferences with an eye to “programming” their onsite time - ideally well in advance of showing up. Physicians can network and explore potential jobs by simply showing up and making the effort to reach out while onsite, but there are far more effective ways to make use of the time attendees plan to allocate for such activities. Those conferences also serve other valuable purposes by providing a satisfying way to network with far-flung colleagues and possibly identifying future practice opportunities. Residents who attend their medical specialty conferences make the trip primarily to enhance their skills and expose themselves to the experts who present new research findings or report on what’s new and exciting. Physicians who plan ahead and use their onsite time wisely can make valuable connections to boost their job-search activities. Be sure to upload the latest version of your CV to your personal device so you can send it along at a moments notice. Planning ahead with a brief email is essential to confirm meeting times with faculty, recruiters, or colleagues. The same holds true for taking advantage of networking opportunities at a medical specialty conference. You wouldn’t think twice about emailing your department chair, training director, or service chief to set up an appointment. Career resources content posted on NEJM CareerCenter is produced by freelance health care writers as an advertising service of NEJM Group, a division of the Massachusetts Medical Society and should not be construed as coming from, or representing the views of, the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Group, or the Massachusetts Medical Society

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