SourceCon Amsterdam

I attended SourceCon, again. This was my third time, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. However, this time was a bit extra special to me for various reasons.

Firstly, it was my first time attedning SourceCon as a speaker. I had the honor of speaking about automation and how we can get ride of those boring mondane tasks that just has to be done.

Secondly, I wasn’t the only Swede there. I’m so happy that more and more people from Sweden are opening their eyes to the world of sourcing, and the sourcing community that is out there. So, instead of me going on about the greatness of going to conferences I thought I’d let the first time goers make their voice heard. I asked the three of them “what are your top 3 take aways from SourceCon?”.

Tina Ornstein Nielsen

This was my first SourceCon and I was blown away by the warm atmosphere during the conference, the willingness to share knowledge as well as openness regarding challenges in our roles. There were many great sessions, but if I have to pick three take aways is would be:

• the importance of creating an emotion whether it is in an email or during meeting,
• the use of micro stories,
• the many suggestions of tools that makes us work smarter and more personal towards the people we contact.

Emelie Nilsson

For me, the biggest takeaway from SourceCon Amsterdam was: When sourcing, you are never alone.
I was amazed by this big international community of really passionate and hard-working people – eager to connect and share what they know. Besides this, I will remember the importance of owning your name as well as the power of storytelling – Because people might forget what you said, but not how you made them feel.

Cais-Mari Bengtsson

My expectations were high of course, since I follow the blog which I think is of high quality. I was not disappointed. But what did I bring with me from two busy days?

• The atmosphere! It quickly became clear to me that this is not a regular conference. The atmosphere was high, even before the first speaker got onto the stage. A familiar and relaxed atmosphere that lasted for two days.
• Inspiration! These amazing speakers share skills, tools, concrete tips, and tricks. They share successes and setbacks in an enthusiastic, humble and often entertaining way. I especially take away the importance of Storytelling and how to tackle “Our worst enemy in recruitment”. What it is? Habits, I just say habits …
• The people and the conversations! There are lots of opportunities for networking with hundreds of like-minded people, and imagine, for example, that you over a coffee gain insight into how to recruit teachers in Casablanca.

And of course, Hackaton! A hackaton is a really fun way to test your knowledge and learn new tricks. I have never sourced to loud music during time pressure before, but will definitely do it again!

It’s all about the community

I really enjoyed hearing that the three of time, just like me, value the community. All the conferences I been to, be it SourceCon, Sourcing Summit or any other, has been all about the people there. I made some great friends, both other speakers as well as volunteers and participant. We all have something we can learn from one another.

So I will keep going to conferences making new friends from all over the world.