Every September, thousands of people descend on New York for the biggest global development event in the calendar: the United Nations General Assembly. Many of those same people will have been at the World Economic Forum and the World Health Assembly in May and will have the likes of the World Health Summit and the conference of the parties, or COP, scheduled for later in the year.
These events bring the cream of the development sector to one place, making them prime moments to meet people who could offer next-step career opportunities. But not designed with recruitment in mind, experts say professionals need to be mindful of how to get the most out of these conferences and network efficiently.
“These are extremely crowded spaces and you are one of many so how to be able to stick out and how to make the most of a hectic week [is important],” said Kallie Aultman, humanitarian affairs adviser at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or IFRC, who has attended six general assemblies and multiple other high-level conferences.