Getting through a first conference
A first professional conference involves learning the programme, preparing for workshops, meeting an unfamiliar community and deciding how to use the experience afterwards.
Preparation and scheduling
Early registration matters when workshops and social events fill quickly. At EMWA's 2014 Florence conference, one newcomer found online registration and hotel booking easy but needed time to understand the parallel, separately booked and paid workshops; several preferred workshops and most social events were already full. The free opening reception still had places, and on-site registration was quick, friendly and included lunch. The attendee had overlooked pre-workshop assignments and completed them in the hotel, although even brief preparation helped him follow the sessions.
In Budapest in 2014, another new freelance realised that years of employer-funded conference attendance had left her unfamiliar with the costs of paying personally; advice from an established member encouraged her to attend and book three workshops. A busy run-up caused her to miss an assignment deadline, spending two hours preparing the night before despite knowing she would receive no credit. Urgent client work also cost her the symposium morning, reinforcing her advice to complete assignments for credit and tell clients firmly that conference time was unavailable.
Two first-time Prague attendees in 2023 recommended minimising work during conference days because learning and socialising left little time or energy for other demands, although urgent edits and client calls still arose. Their advice on clothing was business casual rather than packing for every possible dress code. An attendee in 2019 similarly described early writing sessions, a hurried breakfast and workshops leaving little energy for the evening, although she enjoyed the social event she joined.
A first-time AMWA attendee's four recommendations were:
- Register, book accommodation and select workshops as early as possible.
- Sign up for meal events for networking.
- Sit with different people and talk to them when possible.
- Request a conference coach.
Her own coach did not appear, but other coaches answered questions and advised her to add the meal events she had initially omitted to save money; she found them valuable for meeting writers and learning about varied career backgrounds. She left her 2006 conference encouraged and inspired but tired, regretting a departure before the final sessions.
Welcome and confidence
Organised welcomes can provide information and recognisable contacts: AMWA's 2009 programme offered an officer-led new-member orientation and optional pairing with a conference coach. In 2014 its redesigned Wednesday-afternoon orientation brought together staff, chapter leaders and conference mentors to guide new members and first-time attendees.
EMWA accounts from 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2023 describe different badge or lanyard colours identifying first-time attendees, with green specifically reported in several accounts. The marking helped newcomers recognise one another and encouraged experienced members to approach, introduce themselves and involve them.
One attendee returning after a career gap feared being out of her depth and described imposter syndrome, but felt at ease from the welcome desk and found the community supportive. As an introvert, she still needed to make the first move, finding it easier than expected in the welcoming atmosphere. She later attributed small, continuing and growing contracts to the conference, a LinkedIn encounter and ongoing support from colleagues together.
A postdoctoral researcher who arrived sceptical and scared found people approaching her green badge throughout the reception, workshop breaks, breakfasts and social events to explain their work and career routes. The welcome made her comfortable, and well-organised workshops with precise assignments persuaded her to attend future conferences. Topics from regulatory writing to proofreading and internet writing allowed newcomers to benefit without previous knowledge. Two Prague first-timers in 2023 likewise found that the opening session dispelled anxiety; their days began at 7:45 a.m., with introductory sessions important to both and coffee and lunch breaks full of conversation.
Learning and expectations
At the 2014 Florence reception, one new freelance learned about colleagues' experiences but met no potential clients and perceived most delegates as fellow job or contact seekers, while acknowledging that the participant list did not fully support that impression. He nevertheless rated workshops on clinical study protocols, good clinical practice and manuscript guidelines very good to excellent. He also valued open forum discussions where experienced freelances gave feedback on participants' chosen topics.
A laboratory scientist exploring medical writing at the 2013 Barcelona conference gained numerous contacts through breaks, workshop leaders and classmates. He left a statistics workshop ready to apply the concepts and gained a foundation in investigator's brochures and clinical study protocols before having written those documents himself. The Budapest newcomer in 2014 found that workshops held her attention, answered questions and provided materials for later use.
Two first-timers at the 2018 Barcelona conference found interpersonal contact especially rewarding. One new freelance from research selected workshops to complement recent training and moderated a work–life-balance forum table, but found conversation, group work and social activities more valuable than anticipated after discovering the solitude of freelancing. A scientist with twenty-five years in research and two years of freelancing, who had rarely met other medical writers, struggled to choose among parallel sessions, learned at a pricing discussion that other writers used formal contracts for each project, and returned with friends for advice and companionship.
In Vienna in 2019, one newcomer after eight years in academia discovered freelancing as a previously unconsidered working model through friendly conversations. Another career-changing postdoctoral researcher valued regulatory-documentation workshops and open networking, and reported more positive recruiter responses after putting conference attendance on her CV. She subsequently started a regulatory-affairs position. A new freelance at the same spring conference found that meeting others taking similar first steps helped overcome imposter syndrome and reaffirmed her career choice. A first-time Prague attendee in 2023 similarly left with abundant information and confirmation of her career move.
An online first conference
A biomedicine doctorate holder planning to attend with her husband and young child had to abandon the 2020 in-person EMWA conferences when they were cancelled, then attended the first online version. Having no in-person EMWA experience for comparison, she felt it gave her the learning and contacts she had hoped for while making attendance easier, more comfortable and affordable.
The introductory session clarified medical-writing types, challenges and rewards and helped her recognise previous pharmaceutical-startup work as medical writing rather than simply consulting. Workshops identified strengths and gaps and prompted further study through recommended online courses. In the conference chat she located other native Spanish speakers writing in English in Germany within a minute, gained advice on a German-market CV, connected on LinkedIn and arranged in-person meetings with nearby colleagues. She considered finding those people at a physical conference more dependent on chance.
Follow-through
Two first-time attendees in Prague in 2023 kept logs of delegates' names, information and advice despite late nights, and found those notes useful after returning to work. Afterwards they worked on workshop assignments, joined special interest groups, continued LinkedIn contact and kept writing with a future Geoff Hall Scholarship application in mind. Their first-conference preparation advice also included joining EMWA, applying for a scholarship and keeping an open mind. They also recommended volunteering.