Networking for Engineers: A Guide to Surviving Tech Conferences

Tech conferences are filled with opportunities—new connections, great conversations, and fresh ideas. But let’s be honest: networking isn’t easy, especially if you’re an introvert, new to the industry, or just not sure where to start. As a Community Director, I’ve seen how awkward (and sometimes painful) these interactions can be, even for experienced engineers. I'm heading to Kubecon + Cloudnative Europe 2025 in London in a few weeks with my team at Multiplayer.app and I wanted to share practical, low-stress tips to meet people, have meaningful conversations, and leave the conference with more than just a pile of swag. Networking 101: The Basics Before we dive into conversation starters, here are a few golden rules for making better connections at conferences: Engage and Listen First Let people tell their story before jumping in, even when you have something in common (“Oh, I play the guitar too, let me tell you about this new song I've been working on...”). It's important to be present, not just waiting to speak – It’s obvious when you’re distracted or just thinking about your next line. Not to mention you might miss a very important point they are trying to make and which would lead to a more meaningful conversation (i.e. which your original "next line" might not even have addressed). Don’t Sell—Just Connect Most people attending a tech conference do it for work - whether that's finding new clients, expanding their professional network or learning new skills. However, the most meaningful conversations happen when you're genuinely looking to connect on a personal level, rather than just thinking "how can I use this person to my personal advantage”. Not to mention that, if they’re interested in what you do, they’ll ask. Keep it simple, for example: “I work at Multiplayer — we build tools for devs working on distributed systems. Right now, we’re focused on auto-documentation and platform debugging using OpenTelemetry, which is why I'm enjoying the talks at Kubecon so much!” Don’t Center the Conversation Around You (or Them) Avoid making it all about you, proving your knowledge, or flexing credentials. That doesn't leave many openings for the other person to genuinely progress the conversation. At the same time, be aware that - contrary to what we often hear - not everyone likes to talk about themselves. So be prepared with follow up questions about mutual interests (the conference, the talks, the tech, etc.). Skip the Handshakes and Business Cards Unless someone offers first, skip the handshakes. Also no need to prepare business cards: most connections are digital now anyway (and I have a useful tip later in the article

Mar 17, 2025 - 11:50

Networking for Engineers: A Guide to Surviving Tech Conferences

Tech conferences are filled with opportunities—new connections, great conversations, and fresh ideas. But let’s be honest: networking isn’t easy, especially if you’re an introvert, new to the industry, or just not sure where to start.

As a Community Director, I’ve seen how awkward (and sometimes painful) these interactions can be, even for experienced engineers.

I'm heading to Kubecon + Cloudnative Europe 2025 in London in a few weeks with my team at Multiplayer.app and I wanted to share practical, low-stress tips to meet people, have meaningful conversations, and leave the conference with more than just a pile of swag.

Networking 101: The Basics

Before we dive into conversation starters, here are a few golden rules for making better connections at conferences:

Engage and Listen First

Let people tell their story before jumping in, even when you have something in common (“Oh, I play the guitar too, let me tell you about this new song I've been working on...”).

It's important to be present, not just waiting to speak – It’s obvious when you’re distracted or just thinking about your next line. Not to mention you might miss a very important point they are trying to make and which would lead to a more meaningful conversation (i.e. which your original "next line" might not even have addressed).

Don’t Sell—Just Connect

Most people attending a tech conference do it for work - whether that's finding new clients, expanding their professional network or learning new skills. However, the most meaningful conversations happen when you're genuinely looking to connect on a personal level, rather than just thinking "how can I use this person to my personal advantage”.

Not to mention that, if they’re interested in what you do, they’ll ask. Keep it simple, for example:

“I work at Multiplayer — we build tools for devs working on distributed systems. Right now, we’re focused on auto-documentation and platform debugging using OpenTelemetry, which is why I'm enjoying the talks at Kubecon so much!”

Don’t Center the Conversation Around You (or Them)

Avoid making it all about you, proving your knowledge, or flexing credentials. That doesn't leave many openings for the other person to genuinely progress the conversation.

At the same time, be aware that - contrary to what we often hear - not everyone likes to talk about themselves. So be prepared with follow up questions about mutual interests (the conference, the talks, the tech, etc.).

Skip the Handshakes and Business Cards

Unless someone offers first, skip the handshakes. Also no need to prepare business cards: most connections are digital now anyway (and I have a useful tip later in the article