Attending a Professional Conference

And what's a "boondoggle"?

You have always heard of the importance in attending in-person industry conferences, even when you were in college, so you were a bit taken aback when you overheard one of your company's executives make a sarcastic remark about them. You'd never even heard the term 'boondoggle' before, but once you Googled it, you realized you might have to prove to your boss that it would benefit the company for you to attend.

Not every company executive sees the value in attending industry events and sometimes that's because they themselves had a negative experience, or more likely, their past employees (perhaps even your predecessors) weren't proactive in how they approached attending a conference. By taking some time to understand what may be behind their concern and addressing these concerns ahead of time as part of your request, you can help your boss see your attendance as a benefit to the company.

Consider using the following email template as a guide:

I am requesting approval to attend the upcoming INSERT NAME OF CONFERENCE on DATE in CITY. While the program will help me develop both personally and professionally, it also provides an opportunity to connect with fellow industry professionals about the challenges we are facing in today’s workplace, specifically INSERT CURRENT CHALLENGE AT COMPANY.

The conference has a great lineup of speakers and professional development sessions directly focused on these issues. I’ve read several reviews from past attendees and feel the content is exactly what would be helpful for developing solutions to these challenges. You can view the agenda here: INSERT LINK TO CONFERENCE AGENDA

The cost to attend is INSERT REGISTRATION FEE, plus my travel expenses. While this is certainly an investment in me and my professional growth, it is also an investment in our company. I have set up a meeting upon my return to share the ideas and information I learn with you and our colleagues to help us all make an even stronger impact at INSERT COMPANY NAME.

I appreciate your consideration of this request and will do my level best to ensure a positive return on this investment.

Thank you for your consideration

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