BY ALICIA FEYERHERM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associate Professor of History, Amber Nickell, shared advice on networking with historians during last month\u2019s History Club meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese days, everything is social, and a lot of historians have moved their networking to social networking,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, on Twitter, #Twitterstorian is a commonly used hashtag where historians share information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you follow this hashtag pretty closely, you\u2019ll find that you learn a lot about the upcoming books, upcoming talks by Twitterstorians or ongoing debates,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other scholars, especially those in older age demographics, tend to use LinkedIn. Nickell said she has made some connections with scholars that did not have any other social media presence besides LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe other thing you want to do is use LinkedIn to kind of put yourself out there in the world,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cSet up your profile and update it once a semester.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those going into history education, some professors and teachers put their syllabi on their LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re teaching as a high school teacher, or whatever your goal is in the future, and you\u2019re trying to put together a course, you\u2019ll find a lot of syllabi on LinkedIn so it\u2019s a great resource for that,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Academia.edu is the \u201cnerdy historian social network\u201d according to Nickell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the site, users can upload their own work for discussion, comment on other articles and make connections with historians studying similar topics. If students come across something particularly fascinating, they can message the creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook and Instagram can also be used as networking tools as long as students make sure to create separate accounts for personal and professional use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell also discussed ways to network in-person through conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe number one organization for all professional historians, at every level, is the American Historical Association,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, their 136th Annual Meeting will be in Philadelphia January 5-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students can also find conferences and online groups specific to their field of study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust kind of poke around and see what conferences fit with what you like,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell understands that major conferences can be intimidating, but the experience and networking opportunities are unmatched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of these organizations have regional conferences through the US every year which are easiest to get to and much less stressful, especially in the early career stage,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cBut for networking, go to the big ones and meet all those people that you love their work. It\u2019ll totally be worth your time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way Nickell makes the most of her conference time is by cold emailing historians ahead of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell finds a paper of an author she is impressed with, sends them an email complimenting something specific about their work and asks if they would be interested in getting coffee at the conference. Sometimes, the author does not plan on attending, in which case Nickell offers to meet with them via zoom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI spend most of my conference time not listening to panels, but having coffee and drinks with scholars,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cCoffee time is always going to be worth more for your professional development than going to panels will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, Nickell gave tips for crafting an \u201celevator pitch\u201d for those you meet at conferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the business world, they teach you this elevator pitch where you get on the elevator and you pretty much attack the person before the elevator door opens,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cThis does not work with historians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell said most historians are introverted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to be very calm in your approach,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cYou have to work your way up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell said starting off asking where they are from is a good icebreaker. The elevator pitch can start after the initial connection has been made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou want to make sure that it\u2019s something that can be said in about two minutes or less, that it gets across who you are, what you\u2019re interred in, but does not inundate them with too much detail,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if the conversation lulls, Nickell warns against speaking negatively about anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe world of history is quite small, especially the further and further you move through it and so you will encounter the same people every year at conferences,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the day, the goal is both professional and human connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEverything I\u2019ve gotten in my life has been because of my networks,\u201d Nickell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some conference connections have turned into years-long friendships and Nickell showed pictures of her and other conference attendees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll notice all of these things are not occurring inside of the conference room where I gave my conference paper,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cIf I just gave my conference paper and I left, I would have none of these connections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upcoming events for History Club include Allison Reardon speaking about her graduate student work at the National Council on Public History at 6:00 p.m. on October 18 and a Q and A with the University of Kansas press about publishing at 6:00 p.m. on November 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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