I just wanted to write a quick summary of our networking event last Thursday.
We ran it in our new format and with an intentially smaller group which was split 50/50 between recruiters and suppliers.
We used a new venue (The Square Pig at Holborn) which I thought suited our needs very well. It had a totally separate room for us, in which we could control the volume of the music and the brightness of the lights. It was a shame not to have natural light but you can't have everything!
We were pretty much fully subscribed and had nearly 60 people on the night, Stephen O'Donnell and Fiona Lander both gave brief presentations and Oli Barrett came along to do a 20 minute speed networking session. We were also able to provide the first drink for free, courtesy of Allthetopbananas. We had a good mix of attendees from the regulars (including Wendy Cowell, Alan Whitford, David Morgan and Matt Alder) to some brand new faces which I hope to see again.
I had a really great night and as well as the feedback we got on the night we had some very tweets on Twitter (we use the #recnet hashtag) including "had a fantastic time", "Had brilliant night at #recnet last night & met fascinating new people as well as many good friends" and "an excellent event last night in London >> speed networking was a surprise bonus!"
I shall start thinking about dates for the next event – but am happy to take suggestions on speakers and sponsors in the meantime! If you are a director of a recruitment firm you might want to check out our Recruitment Directors Event on 24th June where we'll have James Caan speaking.
I was also at The FIRM breakfast meeting in the morning with Gary Franklin and if you want to read his review of the event (and ours) he's written a comprehensive blog post.
