As a rookie in the IT recruitment industry desperately wanting to fight against all the preconceptions about rookies in the IT recruitment industry it seemed like a great choice to jump into the wild wide and undeniably colorful world of tech conferences in order to gain some knowledge and credibility.

After a few local events I decided to give my (at that time) strongest-but-still-weak Ruby skills a chance at Euruko 2018… as a volunteer, to gain two new experiences at the same time.

After submitting my application, the whole preparation phase was full of uncertainty and waiting. Waiting for the acceptance letter, my role in the volunteering team, logistical information and well… everything you can imagine waiting for. However, not in a bad way, just a weird everything is -probably- on track and everyone is -probably- calm but I don’t know a thing way. After a last minute (few days before the event ) call with the leader of the volunteering team I was sure everything will be fine – even though I had to travel abroad to Wien at the  day of the conference, to arrive sharply.

So is it for you? If you are not stressing 24/7, you have no urge to stick to strict plans and you have  go with the flow approach, sure. If you are a different type, like me, it will be a mindset changing experience.
After the arrival, I transformed myself into a superhero with my brand new cape, aka the green volunteer shirt. From that time there was no turning back. People asked me various questions and I had to know the answer or at least figure out something.
Since the schedule was pretty flexible, I had the chance to listen to the speakers, however, the biggest knowledge boost for my lower level skills did not come from the speeches, but a more unexpected source – the wardrobe.
I was the volunteer responsible in the wardrobe/quiet room when I discovered the fact that I am not the only newbie who can’t pull everything out from a “hardcore tech guy beard” and only came to be a bit more informed. I was also there when another guy from the volunteering team shared his experiences with HTML and JavaScript with me. I was also there when another guy explained the pros and cons of freelancing and when a coach started to explain some Ruby basics during a conversation. I heard so many new stories and explained just for me!  The knowledge I’ve gained, as an introvert I would have never thought networking can be this easy! The next day I volunteered directly for this task and it was just as amazing!

• So how would I summarize the whole experience? Although It was chaotic and not the best example  team cohesion in my life, it gave me valuable takeaways both personally and professionally. I won’t deny, the conference had its flaws and it was not as smooth and organized with strict schedules as it would be ideal for my style but it was an enjoyable “first -conference-volunteering-experience abroad”.  If you are eager to know more and jump right into tech networking I recommend you taking the volunteer way.