The Nonlinear Library EA - Numerical Breakdown of 47 1-on-1s as an EAG First-Timer (Going All Out Strategy) by Harry Luk
Nov 7, 2023
21:40
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Numerical Breakdown of 47 1-on-1s as an EAG First-Timer (Going All Out Strategy), published by Harry Luk on November 7, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.
tl;dr
Just attended my first ever EA Global conference (EAG Boston last week) and I have nothing but positive things to say.
In total, I had about 47 one-on-one conversations depending on how you count the informal 1:1s (43 scheduled via SwapCard, while the other noteworthy conversations happened at meetups, the organization fair, office hours and unofficial satellite events).
I came into the conference with an open mind, wanting to talk to others who are smarter than me, more experienced than me, and experts in their own domain. I invited redteaming of our nonprofit StakeOut.AI's mission/TOC, and gathered both positive and negative feedback throughout EAG. I came out of the conference with new connections, a refined strategy for our nonprofit startup going forward and lots of resources.
I am so grateful for everyone that met with me (as I'm a small potato who at many times felt out of his depth during EAG, and likely one of the most junior EAs attending). I thank all the organizers, volunteers, helpers, speakers and attendees who made the event a huge success.
The post below goes over The Preparation, the Statistics and Breakdown, why consider going all out at an EAG, 12 Practical Tips for Doing 30+ 1:1s and potential future improvements.
The Preparation
To be honest, as a first-time attendee, I really didn't know what to expect nor how to prepare for the conference.
I had heard good things and was recommended to go by fellow EAs, but I had my reservations.
Luckily, an email titled "Join us for an EAG first-timers online workshop!" by the EA Global Team came to the rescue.
Long story short, I highly recommend anyone new to EAG to attend the online workshop prior to the conference if you want to make your first EAG a success.
Few highlights I will note here:
Watch
this presentation from 2022's San Francisco EAG that outlines how you can get the most out of the event
Take your time and fill out this
EA Conference: Planning Worksheet for a step-by-step guide on conference planning, including setting your EAG goals and expectations
Also fill out the career planning worksheet (if relevant): EA Conference: Career Plan
Requesting 1:1s Pre-conference
I was quite hesitant at first about introducing myself on SwapCard and trying to schedule 1:1s. This all changed after watching
the presentation and attending the "Join us for an EAG first-timers online workshop!" virtual event.
Something that was repeated over and over again from
this presentation, the online workshop, and talking to others is the value of the 1:1s.
People told me most sessions will be recorded and hence can be watched later, but having the 1:1s is where the true value is at EAG. After hearing it from so many people, I made 1:1s a core part of my conference planning and did not regret it.
As I'm writing this after the conference, I can see why 1:1s are said to be the true value of EAG. I estimate that 80% (maybe even closer to 90%, I would know better after I sort through the notes) of the 1:1 conversations I had were beneficial and had a positive impact on either me or the direction of our nonprofit, StakeOut.AI.
How Many 1:1s?
In terms of how many 1:1s, here is the range I gathered from different sources:
Attendees will typically have four to ten 1:1s
Getting to 20 1:1s is a great number
Having 30 1:1s is amazing but very tiring
Someone reached 35 1:1s once, and that was insane
Since I wanted to maximize my EAG experience, I set the goal of 30 and started reaching out via SwapCard one week before the conference.
Reach Out Early
The main reason for starting early is because everyone is busy at the conferences, and everyone is trying to optimize their sch...
tl;dr
Just attended my first ever EA Global conference (EAG Boston last week) and I have nothing but positive things to say.
In total, I had about 47 one-on-one conversations depending on how you count the informal 1:1s (43 scheduled via SwapCard, while the other noteworthy conversations happened at meetups, the organization fair, office hours and unofficial satellite events).
I came into the conference with an open mind, wanting to talk to others who are smarter than me, more experienced than me, and experts in their own domain. I invited redteaming of our nonprofit StakeOut.AI's mission/TOC, and gathered both positive and negative feedback throughout EAG. I came out of the conference with new connections, a refined strategy for our nonprofit startup going forward and lots of resources.
I am so grateful for everyone that met with me (as I'm a small potato who at many times felt out of his depth during EAG, and likely one of the most junior EAs attending). I thank all the organizers, volunteers, helpers, speakers and attendees who made the event a huge success.
The post below goes over The Preparation, the Statistics and Breakdown, why consider going all out at an EAG, 12 Practical Tips for Doing 30+ 1:1s and potential future improvements.
The Preparation
To be honest, as a first-time attendee, I really didn't know what to expect nor how to prepare for the conference.
I had heard good things and was recommended to go by fellow EAs, but I had my reservations.
Luckily, an email titled "Join us for an EAG first-timers online workshop!" by the EA Global Team came to the rescue.
Long story short, I highly recommend anyone new to EAG to attend the online workshop prior to the conference if you want to make your first EAG a success.
Few highlights I will note here:
Watch
this presentation from 2022's San Francisco EAG that outlines how you can get the most out of the event
Take your time and fill out this
EA Conference: Planning Worksheet for a step-by-step guide on conference planning, including setting your EAG goals and expectations
Also fill out the career planning worksheet (if relevant): EA Conference: Career Plan
Requesting 1:1s Pre-conference
I was quite hesitant at first about introducing myself on SwapCard and trying to schedule 1:1s. This all changed after watching
the presentation and attending the "Join us for an EAG first-timers online workshop!" virtual event.
Something that was repeated over and over again from
this presentation, the online workshop, and talking to others is the value of the 1:1s.
People told me most sessions will be recorded and hence can be watched later, but having the 1:1s is where the true value is at EAG. After hearing it from so many people, I made 1:1s a core part of my conference planning and did not regret it.
As I'm writing this after the conference, I can see why 1:1s are said to be the true value of EAG. I estimate that 80% (maybe even closer to 90%, I would know better after I sort through the notes) of the 1:1 conversations I had were beneficial and had a positive impact on either me or the direction of our nonprofit, StakeOut.AI.
How Many 1:1s?
In terms of how many 1:1s, here is the range I gathered from different sources:
Attendees will typically have four to ten 1:1s
Getting to 20 1:1s is a great number
Having 30 1:1s is amazing but very tiring
Someone reached 35 1:1s once, and that was insane
Since I wanted to maximize my EAG experience, I set the goal of 30 and started reaching out via SwapCard one week before the conference.
Reach Out Early
The main reason for starting early is because everyone is busy at the conferences, and everyone is trying to optimize their sch...