Super Meetup 2019: It was a hot one, but we grabbed some cool networking tips

Super Meetup, one of Technical.ly’s biggest networking events of the year, returned to Philadelphia last night at Cherry Street Pier.

We were joined by more than 20 meetup groups and more than 30 sponsors, with hundreds of tech, entrepreneurial, and innovative folks looking for connections. Overall, nearly 700 people came out to hang with us Thursday through the summer heat.

Throughout the night, attendees had the opportunity to say hello to meetups such as Makers Meetup, THE ITEM, Philadelphia Women & Cyber Security, Cloud Security Alliance, Philly Hubspot Users Group, Security Shell, Philadelphia Women in Data and PhillyXP.

🗣 On the scene at Super Meetup Philly 2019 👀 #SMU19 pic.twitter.com/UV1MPNDVK3

— Technical.ly (@Technical_ly) August 22, 2019

When navigating the local tech community, networking can be especially important to making connections that lead to a job or sense of belonging. We heard from attendees throughout the night that getting face time with the companies they admire or getting the chance to chat with others in the industry can make or break a career.

Here are three networking tips that stuck out to us:

Suzanne Cotter, the director of marketing and communications at Think Company, told us to think of networking as a long game.

“It’s really about getting to know people, meeting the folks that you want to see again, want to work with,” she said. “It can be about perseverance if there’s a company you really want to work for. It’s meeting them and learning what you can do to be a great fit.”

Rob Wright, founder of Boing Bounce Rentals, which runs the software behind the party rentals business, said that he simply started joining meetup groups for things he was interested in.

“You start seeing the same people and realizing these overlaps in interests,” he said. “The tech industry isn’t that big in Philly, and [meetups] can take some of the intimidation out of it.”

A lot of folks can think of networking as an intimidating experience, especially if you’re headed to an event alone.

It used to be so for Rajvi Mehta, a data scientist at Vanguard and founder of the Philadelphia chapter of Women in Data. She said she learned the fundamentals of networking in business school, and after enough practice, it becomes simple.

“Just walk up, introduce yourself, and then ask what they do,” she said. “Everyone enjoys talking about themselves, and it gives you the opportunity to listen, ask questions, and ease into being able to talk about yourself.”

Check out a few pictures from the night (all by Technical.ly staffers):