One step closer to your dream job
While some of you might have a bunch of Christmas markets planned out for your December, we advise you to also squeeze in a little networking every now and then. We’ve mentioned it before, and we are happy to do so again – according to Performance-Based Hiring, 85% of all jobs are filled via networking. As so, there are many advantages to be gained from going to all kinds of interesting networking events.
However, the internet can be a confusing place with information overload, and it can be a little hard to find out where to dig up the best networking events in the coming month. Luckily, we are more than happy to help you out with that! We’ve found 10 top networking events in Belgium in December – and what’s more – they are for free! So, get your pitch ready to impress and your business English – or Dutch – sounding like a dream and start building those fruitful connections. Without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
This event is targeting many different profiles with a wide range of interests. Grow your knowledge within art and culture, consumers and buyers, finance and assurance, cosmetics and pharma, lifestyle and tourism – the list goes on. The venue will also have a delicious food and halal trade market for when you need a snack. It will allow you to network with businesses and start-ups as well as all the other participants. And we can only agree with their peaceful goal of bringing Muslims and non-Muslims closer together. So, if you happen to have some free time on the 8th and 9th of December, make sure to register for this event where culture and business come together.
Are you a young expert within any given field, and do you like to discuss your field with others? It might also be that you want to learn about a new field – in that case, you should find all the experts gathered at this event. The event kicks off in the evening, so even if you have things to attend to during the day, you can still squeeze it in! The organizers have put quite some time aside just for all of you to network and exchange business cards to re-connect with each other at a later stage. Ps. This is also a great way for you to practice speaking your field-specific Dutch skills which clearly will be of value in your job search.
For a wide range of fields, basic SEO knowledge and good copywriting skills are virtues treasured by companies. You might know about online SEO courses, but we say: why not spice it up with some great networking? What’s more, the event will be in Dutch, so you can even tell about your new learnings in the local language at your next job interview.
Are you ready for some serious meta-action? This is a networking event about networking! Gentrepreneur will guide you through all the do’s and don’ts of professional networking. How do you do it online? What about offline? When you are at the networking event, how do you break the ice and start a fruitful conversation? All of that and more will be covered at this informational event all while munching on some good lunch.
Start off your day on the 11th of December with an interesting and pertinent debate. This events seeks to explore what comes first when doing new ways of business: the right people or the organisational alignment? Scaling and digitization will be touched upon and two short presentations of 10 minutes each will take place followed by an hour discussion that you are free to join! As this is a challenge many companies, big or small, is facing today, your acquired knowledge from this event will definitely come in handy in your future job search!
What can you expect from this event? The key speakers will educate you on the possibilities of emerging technologies and how they influence our behaviour and thoughts. The emerging technologies are not only part of business life – they are also playing an increasing role in our personal lives. Are we ready for the take-over? The speakers include: Jochanan Eynikel, who will talk about the ethics of emerging technologies, Roderick Reichenbach, who will guide you through neuro marketing and Deevid De Meyer, who will shed a light on Artificial Intelligence, and the past, present and future.
Do you have a migrant background, and have you ever thought of starting your own business? Then you cannot miss out on this event! The organizers, the AMIF-funded European project MEnt (Migrant Entrepreneurs team-up with mentors), aim at facilitating, fostering and strengthening migrant entrepreneurship in five EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Italy, France and Germany). At this event, you can meet EU officials, NGO representatives, social and economic interest groups, AMIF partners and different researchers interested in supporting entrepreneurship of migrants. Of course, all of the interesting talks will result in a networking session where you get to connect with all speakers and other participants.
The Healthcare Committee of American Chamber of Commerce invites you to an event focusing on the intersection between real world and real data. With data being as hot a topic as it is, naturally you can easily spend 3½ hours on it like you will at this event. Alright, this time also includes a free networking lunch and a networking reception. You will be educated by keynote speakers Olivia Natens, Chair of the Innovative Healthcare Committee, Prof. Dr. Marc Noppen and Joan Van Loem from IBM. Educate yourself at this hot topic hosted by an organisation that is known for its multicultural teams.
Are you a fan of Virtual Reality? Do you want to build your personal and professional network in Brussels? Then you need to mark December 5th in your calendar! On this day, 16 companies will be exhibiting their new Virtual Reality Cinema that will be available to all participants from the Meetup Community. Also, you will not be the only international at this event, since it is directly targeting internationals. This will for sure be a fun event offering you new insights on Virtual Reality in an informal way while connecting with other expats.
We have previously advocated for the importance of learning the local language(s). Especially if you live in Walloon, it is important to excel in French – or at least do an effort to learn it! There are lots of language meet-ups around Belgium, this is just one of them. These meet-ups allow you to practice your language competences in a laid-back setting with drinks and giggles. Because we all learn much easier when we are having fun!
Good luck with all the networking and upskilling talents! Everything that will make you grow is valuable in your job search!
All the best,
The Talentree Team
Pssst…
Now that we are talking networking, how about you swing by our blog article on how to shine at the next job fair/networking event? It will offer you concrete tips on how to prepare the best for your next December event.
While you’re at it, you might also want to check out our post on how to practice your English – after all, most of the jobs you will encounter here in Belgium will have an English requirement, so it is important that you become as fluent as possible.
When you’ve returned from the events, and you think to yourself “hmm, that person was very interesting! I want to stay connected with him/her”, you can have a look at our blog post on how to reach out to professionals on LinkedIn. You want to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is shining before you do this.