CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

Where: The Historic Menger Hotel, San Antonio, Texas - next to The Alamo

When: October 18-20, 2007

Theme: The Future is YOU! Leveraging new changes and trends in the careers industry to empower the present and lead the future.

NEW FOR 2007

In 2007 we will take the extreme OVER THE TOP for a conference you will never forget!

New for 2007:

• Breakout Sessions on Friday;
• Longer Networking Breaks;
• Shorter Awards Ceremony;
• More F-R-E-E Time to Explore the City.

SPEAKERS

Current pending programs include:

• The 40 Ways to Find a Job with Heather Wieshlow, Turning Point Coaching and Consulting
• Empowering and Leading Clients Effectively with Heather Bradford, R.L. Stevens & Associates
• CEO! Creating External Opportunities with College Students with Sharon Pierce-Williams, The Resume.Doc
• Expert Panel Discussion on Professional Resume Development with Louise Kursmark, Best Impression Career Services, Inc.; Marty Weitzman, Gilbert Resumes; and Deborah S. James, Leading- Edge Resumes & Career Services.

Stay tuned for programs with Don Straits and Grant Cooper to be posted soon! Get your proposals in soon to be considered! See below for more details.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Our program roster is filling up fast with custom programs. If you are interested in speaking, please send a proposal to info@careerdirectors.com.

The Menger Hotel was constructed in 1859 under the direction of owner William A. Menger and architect John Fries. The original two-story building occupies a prominent location in downtown San Antonio, only 100 yards from the site of the Alamo. It is the Menger that has housed personalities such as Theodore Roosevelt, Sidney Lanier, Babe Ruth, Mae West, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Sarah Bernhardt, just to name a few.

More than 130 years of refinements have created a masterpiece of traditional elegance and atmosphere at the Menger. The hotel now boasts five stories, 316 rooms, and unparalleled amenities. Guests not only get to experience the history and charm of a national landmark, but also to enjoy the comfort of a high-class hotel. Although much of the architecture, history, appointments, and artifacts found at the Menger Hotel certainly qualify as museum-quality, it remains a public hotel - as it has been since 23 years after the fall of the Alamo.

The Famous Menger Bar is a reproduction of the House of Lords Pub in London.

San Antonio captures the spirit of Texas. Now the eighth largest city in the United States, the city has retained its sense of history and tradition, while carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress. The city has always been a crossroads and a meeting place. Sounds and flavors of Native Americans, Old Mexico, Germans, the Wild West, African-Americans and the Deep South mingle and merge. Close to twenty million visitors a year delight in the discovery of San Antonio's charms.

Amidst the daily hubbub of the busy metropolitan downtown, sequestered 20 feet below street level, lies one of San Antonio's jewels - the Paseo del Rio. Better known as the "River Walk,"these cobblestone and flagstone paths border both sides of the San Antonio River as it winds its way through the middle of the business district. The River Walk has multiple personalities - quiet and park-like in some stretches, while other areas are full of activity with European- style sidewalk cafes, specialty boutiques, nightclubs and gleaming high-rise hotels.

The Texas weather in October couldn't be more beautiful with a high of 81.1 and a low of 59.2 degrees; perfect for a stroll along the Riverwalk.

For more information on San Antonio, visit:

http://www.sanantoniocvb.com
http://thesanantonioriverwalk.com
http://HeartofSanAntonio.com

By Ellen Mulqueen, A FutureLink

Here's some ROI advice for all you folks who don't attend conferences.

Yes, they can be expensive, but it's a worthwhile investment. Let me tell you my story.

As most of you know, I recently retired from working as a vocational counselor at a psychiatric hospital and started my own business in August 2006. I'm not exactly overwhelmed with business yet. But because I attend CDI and at least one other professional conference per year, I'm getting a big return on my investment.

First of all, five top professionals in the industry have approached me about doing some sub-contract work with them. If they hadn't known me personally, they probably would never have thought of me. Three of them talked with me at the 2006 CDI conference, and two others whom I'd met at previous conferences contacted me via email. These contacts will provide a nice resume stream until I get more of my own clients.

Second, at the recent CDI conference, I learned some outstanding ideas for more revenue streams. If I sell these services to my clients, I'll be able to increase my revenue significantly, and it won't take a lot of extra work. You'd better believe that these offers are going on my Website as soon as possible, and recent clients will receive emails outlining my new services.

And third, the sessions and the informal networking always pump me full of ideas and cutting-edge techniques. I'm so energized after the conferences that I can't wait to incorporate them into my work. And each year I have new friends I feel free to contact privately for advice. One of the great things about our professional organizations is that members are so willing to share and help their colleagues. We see it on the elists, but it's even better when we know each other and can phone someone about a concern.

I estimate that each of the conferences cost me about $1000 or so. But you know what? I'll be able to make up that money in only a couple of weeks. Really!

So, plan to put away a few dollars each week to attend the CDI conference. Think of it as a very special Christmas Club. Next October, you will receive so many gifts you'll wonder why you hadn't done this before.

By Nona Pratz, Types Write

It's not too early to make your 2007 New Year's Resolutions – first on the list should be: Attend the 2007 Conference in San Antonio! Can't afford it? I used that excuse several times. I thought I wouldn't make it again this year, especially since Katrina whipped through the New Orleans area in 2005 and displaced 90% of my local customers. But I found a way to register, save $$$, and still have a great time! The boundless networking, the vast amount of knowledge gained, and the ideas that completely filled up that little blue book of "Great Ideas" are priceless! Here are some suggestions that will enable you to attend Convention 2007.

1. Early Bird Special. Take advantage of the early bird special. You'll save $80 right off the bat.

2. Air fare. There are several thoughts. If you go through an agency, most of them now charge a flat fee to book your flight – skip that idea. I went directly to Delta's web site, booked online, selected my seat, printed my boarding pass, printed my baggage receipt at the kiosk at the airport, and was good to go. No waiting lines. You could go through any of the online cheapy ticket sites, but beware; they look cheap, but by the time you input your credit card number, most of them have additional fees, and you are not guaranteed a seat. Going directly through the airlines and selecting the seat, usually guarantees you will be on that plane!

3. Room with someone else. I roomed with three other members; some attendees couldn't believe it – four women in one room - yikes! But no one foresaw the end results of this scenario – explosive energy and strong bonds that developed between us – we are already planning our once-a-month “brainstorming” conference calls – how's that for networking with your colleagues! In terms of savings, this lowered the $504.00 total room charge to $126.00 per person. Additionally, you could arrive on Thursday morning, instead of Wednesday, or even take the red eye out, to save on 1-2 hotel nights. The problem with this is you might miss sessions if there were delays or could only get an early flight out. I felt this wasn't worth the money it would save so opted not to fly in on Thursday or out on Saturday evening.

4. Transportation. Pay one way to the hotel. On the return trip, buddy up with others leaving around the same time; arrange for a taxi the night before your group leaves, and split the costs. Again, more savings!

5. Meals. I splurged on the luau Friday night. I didn't count on this (so it wasn't budgeted), but I was having such a good time, I decided to join with everyone else – and I'm glad I did! There was nothing sweeter then to see Carrie’s little "hula" girl blow a kiss to the audience and Jack Chapman steal the show with his drum-playing abilities (skills? – I don’t really know which attribute to put here)! Between splitting a dinner on Thursday, continental breakfasts, all the snacks Thursday through Saturday, lunches on Friday and Saturday, along with the banquet on Saturday night (all included with registration), I didn’t spend much on meals. For you big eaters, well allow for a little more in this area. However, keep in mind you can save a lot if you bring your own snacks, sodas, and waters! Some hotels even have rooms with refrigerators, allowing you to bring and keep even more food.

As a US member, I attended the Orlando Conference for under $800 So, if you put $20 a week into you CDI Convention can, bank, jar, or sock, you will have enough money for Conference 2007 in San Antonio with a little $$$ to spare; but with so many ideas you’ll write down in your “Great Ideas” book (complements of the conference), you'll need a couple of bucks to purchase notebook refills when you get home!

1. Have a Game Plan for Attendance.

Once you arrive and have the conference notebook, take a few minutes to create an action plan for yourself. A few good steps include:

• Determine what vendors you want to visit.
• Review attendees to see what individuals / organizations you want to meet.
• Review breakout sessions to see which ones best meet your needs. Be sure to not just pick what you like but what will enhance, round out, and expand your skillset as well as fix possible problem areas.

2. Take it all Down to Take it all In: The only downside, if there were one, to conference is HOW MUCH you take in. How will you remember it? How will you know which were the golden nuggets? While I am of the school of, "take what you need and leave the rest," my mother also taught me right -- Take it all down so that later you can get to what you need.

So, as you sit in a workshop or chat with colleagues, listen carefully for the big idea or little tip that moves you forward and write it down. Use the CDI Great Ideas! notebook for writing down key information that you want to easily access later.

To get the most out of these notes, review them each evening and highlight or bullet out the key elements you wish to remember. Also, take the time to include a broader sense of how you can effectively apply it to your work, what you'll do differently, how your programs will be enhanced or advanced, and what else you will have to do to fit the idea to your situation.

3. Share the Wealth: A few ways to get the most out of your experience is to share the wealth when you return home. Collaborate with staff or co-workers to discuss what you learned and brainstorm ideas, build a library of resources from what you learned to return to in the future, and/or set up accountability partnerships with a fellow attendee and commit to talking at least once a month. Finally, be your own accountability partner by putting reminders in your calendar to check in with yourself and see how you are succeeding at implementing the changes and new ideas you learned at the conference!

It took a little while, but we've compiled a list of unique resources and web sites to make your next flight to a CDI convention (or anywhere else) more convenient, affordable, and enjoyable:

ITA Software and Flyspy.com: Compare flight rates for up to a month at one time.

HotelChatter: Blog on what hotels to avoid and where to stay. -- Be sure to search for The Menger to read about BusinessWeek's review of it's historic pub!

InFlightHQ: Sponsored by Boeing's in-flight Internet service, these bloggers offer advice and links to gear that will make your flight more tolerable such as JetBlue's free spa products for red-eye flights.

Road Weary: Enjoy the travails of a frequent travel who has seen and suffered it all.

Transportation Security Agency Web Site: Before you fly, visit the site for an updated list of what's allowed in carry on items and what isn't.

Flightstats.com: Reduce wait times with up-to-date information on checkpoints and wait times for specific screening areas within airports.

Baggage Direct: Especially worth the price when you are flying in for an interview and don't want to worry about lost luggage or not being able to carry on more than an ounce of shampoo! Baggage Direct will pick up bags from your doorstep at least three hours before your departure, hand you a boarding pass, check your luggage on your flight, retrieve it at baggage claim, and deliver it to your destination. Another similar service is Baggage Airline Guest Services.

Globalbagtag.com: For $19, the company sells a pair of metal tags embossed with a unique serial number. After you register your tags and contact information online, the company works with airlines to locate your lost bags, ASAP.

Travelocity.com: One of the best sites for comparing and buying tickets at the lowest rates available. At Travelocity, prices are frequently even lower than those advertised at the individual airline's sites, you can buy travel insurance (which I've used and successfully cashed in), and even book rental cars at the same time, all with no hidden fees. Additional services are Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com.