Dan Harrison

Yesterday evening, I had the opportunity to go to a Women In Technology networking event called Building a Confident Personal Brand. Ok, so I know you’re going to ask… as a bloke, why was I going to an event for women?

Although the event was run by Women In Technology, a company designed to help women build successful and satisfying careers in the IT industry, the events are open to everyone. Clearly the events have a strong female focus, but there is still plenty of opportunity to learn something regardless of your sex.

I must admit, I was one of about 4 men at the event, with around 150 women! I now know how women feel in the male-dominated IT sectors! I certainly felt intimidated at first, but Maggie Berry, the Director of Women In Technology, went out of her way to let me know I was welcome. A number of ladies at the event congratulated me on being so brave, and it was appreciated!

So the event was basically 2 presentations, one on confidence, and then another on online personal branding. Then there was a Q&A session where a panel were asked a few questions from the audience. You can find out most of what was said on the event summary page.

To finish up, there was a networking session. I got talking to Katie Ledger, who’s an advocate of Portfolio Careers, as well as a friendly lady called Sophie who was considering venturing into starting her own Portfolio Career. Last night was the first time I had encountered anyone who was interested in a Portfolio Career just like me. Portfolio Careers, in a nutshell, are basically where you do lots of jobs part time that each appeal to your core values. Often, people who have a number of jobs like this actually earn more and are happier compared to those who just have a single job.

I’m also just starting to build my own Portfolio Career. I have my own websites that I design and develop to bring in an income, then I’ll have my web consulting business that I’m in the process of starting up, and finally I’ll be doing something else that I enjoy that has nothing to do with IT!

So anyway, for any women in IT, I thoroughly recommend Women In Technology events. They run both free and paid-for events, but the paid-for events are surprisingly inexpensive. If you’re a gent, and you have the opportunity to go to one of these events, be prepared to be outnumbered! But also be prepared to learn something and have a great time!