How do you ask your superiors for a day off to attend an event relating to your field?

Hi there!

The angle I would use is showing the value of the event for you/the company: is there one session that will allow you to have a bigger impact in your current job? Will you be able to meet people that will allow the business to grow? Try to be concrete and not too generic.

Also make sure your request is properly formatted: add the dates, a quick description of the event, maybe the speakers you're the most interested in and if you need money the budget required to travel and then add the little paragraph with the potential value.

Also, some cool readings that will give you even more info than my little paragraph:
1. How to Convince Your Boss to Send You to a Conference
2. How to Get Your Boss to Send You to a Cool Conference

Good luck and keep us posted!

Attending conferences in your field is a great way to grow your skills as well as network with others in similar roles as you. In my experience, my managers have been very supportive and encourage me in this area.

A good way to approach the conversation with your manager would be to provide some details about how the information you would learn at the conference would be a benefit to your career as well as the company.

Additionally, being prepared to share what you learn with your colleagues after returning is a huge win. It shows that you are invested in sharing the benefits with the company and team.

I would just add that you might think of specific ways to share the knowledge you receive at the even so that it becomes available to the rest of the staff. Adding this to a request may make it more compelling.

Good Luck
Don

Hi there

My suggestion will be , try to elaborate what You are looking to achieve attending this event and what could be the takeaways that could help You in your job , and to help You to increase skills , knowledge that could
bring value added to your depratement , company

Doing so will make it easier to ask for a day off and to get a positive answer ...

Also propose to make a debrief to the whole team you are working on to share information , best practices and so on

To conclude , be prepared before asking and show a plan that will follow your participation

Did it in the past and it works !

Cheers

Chris

I would start by looking at the specific agenda for the event. Pick out some key topics that stick out to you, and maybe build a few small talking points around a few of these. On top of these tangible answers, let your manager know that you would like to network and meet others in your field. When you get back from your awesome event, ask you manager for a quick 5 minute meeting to recap some of the things that you brought back from the event. Let them know about a person or two that you met at the event as well. This follow up may make it easier to attend one of these events in the future! Good luck, and enjoy your event.

Many tech conferences provide draft emails to your boss:

http://www.emcworld.com/boss.htm

Also, every time you go, make sure you write up a trip report that covers what you learned, who you met, and why it was good you were there.

I always have the reasons why I want to do something available. So be sure to tell your boss why you want to attend the conference or event and what you are hoping to learn from it, why it will be useful in your role, etc. You could even commit to providing a recap after the event to highlight what you learned and your key takeaways