The Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting provide an opportunity for doctoral students to network, develop professional skills, interview for faculty positions - and have a good time! Below are some tips on how to get the most out of the DSI Annual Meeting. Also, check out past articles from Decision Line that focus on doctoral student issues.

Before the Meeting

Attend as many DSI Annual Meetings as you can while you're a doctoral student; don't wait until you're interviewing for a faculty position. Take advantage of opportunities to be seen and heard so that you're known when you do begin interviewing. The Annual Meeting call for papers, which comes out at the previous year's meeting, provides instructions for how to submit papers as well as how to volunteer to be a paper reviewer, a discussant or a session chair. The Call is posted on the DSI website (http://www.decisionsciences.org/).

General Tips

• Ask your faculty who will attend the meeting to introduce you around. Find out which sessions and social events they will attend and ask if you can join them.
• If you don't already have them, order business cards to hand out to people you meet. Write your area of research focus on the back to remind people you meet what you're interested in.
• Prepare copies of your resume and papers you may want to show people. Many people try to avoid carrying papers back with them, but some like to be handed hard copy, so it's a good idea to have some with you and to collect names of people who would rather have you send the document after the meeting.
• Scan the program to identify sessions and events you'd like to attend. If you are a presenter, discussant or session chair, find out when your sessions are scheduled.

Reviewing a Paper

Papers presented at the Annual Meeting are works in progress. The review process has two goals: to ensure that the quality of the papers presented (and published in the Proceedings) is good and to offer constructive input to the further development and polishing of the papers so that they can be submitted and published in journals. A few things to remember:

• Authors will benefit from an honest assessment of their papers, but feedback is most effective when both positives and negatives are presented.
• Write the review unemotionally; don't ever denigrate someone's work.

Preparing for Interviewing

If you're on the job market, check the job postings on the DSI website and set up appointments to interview at the meeting. Work with your advisor and faculty to plan mail or e-mail introductions to faculty at schools that are hiring. A few tips:

• Do your homework! Study the websites of schools you're interviewing with. Make notes about their faculty, research focus, academic programs.
• Work with your advisor to focus your search. Are you interested primarily in doctoral degree-granting research universities, or universities and colleges that focus primarily on teaching?
• Plan the questions you'll ask. Typically, interviewers both provide information and solicit it. They'll tell you about their schools and what they have to offer and they'll ask you about your research, your teaching experience and your goals. Be ready to ask questions about teaching load, tenure requirements, students. You may want to make a form to fill out as you interview, to keep track of the details. Avoid questions about salary and benefits; these should only be asked when a job offer is being made. If you're not sure what's appropriate, check with your advisor or faculty.
• Buff up your resume. Make sure it's up to date and organized in an academic format.

At the Meeting

Presenting a Paper

Your paper has been reviewed and accepted for the meeting, but there is more to a successful presentation than a good paper. To help you prepare a presentation that matches the high quality of your paper and to make the best use of the 20 minutes you will typically have to present a paper in a regular session, here are a few guidelines.

Prepare Early

Putting together a good presentation takes time. Don't wait until just before the conference to prepare. Draft your presentation a few weeks before the meeting, then set it aside and come back to it. What initially seemed like a clear, logical presentation may look quite different upon a later look.

Prioritize Topics

Determine which topics in your presentation are most important. Keep your audience in mind as you prioritize. Ask yourself what they are most likely to be interested in and what they already know. In most cases, you can assume some degree of audience familiarity with your problem and/or the relevant literature.

Share Your Insights

Remember, you've spent more time working with your data or problem - analyzing, interpreting, and understanding it - than your audience. Share your insights and conclusions with your audience. Don't simply present data or summarized results, forcing your audience to draw its own conclusions.

Use Appropriate Visual Aids

Most Annual Meeting presenters use projected PowerPoint presentations or overhead transparencies to reinforce and clarify their presentations. Here are a few tips for creating effective slides:

• Use 18-point or larger printed fonts. Avoid handwritten slides.
• Limit the number of slides you use. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least one or two minutes per slide. If you go beyond 15 slides, you may overwhelm your audience.
• Limit the information on a slide to three to five points.
• A picture (that is, a good one) is worth a thousand words. A well-designed diagram or chart will make your point more quickly and clearly than words.
• Avoid visual clutter. Fancy graphics can distract your audience and diminish the slide's impact.
• Have a good reason for showing every slide. If your slides are properly prepared, they will provide the visual clues that will help you to keep your presentation on track.

Practice Your Presentation

Practicing your presentation enables you to manage your time more effectively and to be sure you have sequenced the material appropriately for the audience. You may want to present to your colleagues before the conference to get their feedback in time to make changes before the conference.

Chairing a Session

Session chairs promote the smooth flow of a session and encourage scholarly discussions. A few tips:

• Arrive five or ten minutes before the start of the session.
• Welcome session attendants as they arrive.
• Introduce presenters to each other and set the ground rules for the session. A typical regular session is 90 minutes long, presenting three or four papers. Divide the time up among the presenters and make time for open discussion.
• Introduce each presenter in turn: name, affiliation and paper title. Make sure when you meet presenters that you can pronounce their names correctly when you introduce them!
• Manage time. Some enthusiastic presenters lose track of time, so it's good to plan with them how you will signal time left. For example, you may tell a presenter that you'll discretely raise your hand when there are five minutes remaining and two fingers when there are two. A "warning signal" is generally more acceptable than an abrupt cutoff.
• Close the session and thank presenters and participants.

Attending Sessions

Session attendance is often fluid; participants may move from one session or another to hear particular papers presented. Arrive on time for the start of a session. If you arrive a little early, you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to other session participants. If you plan to leave a session early or enter one late, be discreet: sit at the back of the room and the end of a row; move quietly.

Good sessions are lively and interactive. Ask questions, make comments, engage. Be careful, however, not to dominate the discussion.

After the session is another opportunity to introduce yourself to participants - and to continue your discussion with them about the papers or other related ideas.

Attending Social Events

Annual Meeting social events are terrific opportunities for networking - but can be a bit overwhelming until you get to know people. Arrange with faculty at your school to meet at social events and be introduced. It's fine, of course, to introduce yourself to people you'd like to meet, too, but remember that people are at the events to see old friends and colleagues, too, so avoid interrupting conversations. Basically: be polite.

Keep an eye out for doctoral students from other schools and introduce yourself. You are meeting people who will be your professional colleagues for years to come. They are also valuable contacts: you can introduce each other to faculty at your respective schools - and your network of colleagues grows quickly!

Interviewing for Faculty Positions

If you're on the job market, the preliminary interview process at the Annual Meeting is very important. Some tips:

• Arrive on time for interviews.
• Listen, take notes.
• Be enthusiastic about your research and teaching interests.
• Ask questions about the school, the students, faculty research interests, academic programs, teaching load, etc. Avoid questions about salary and benefits.
• Thank the interviewer and leave your resume and business card. Ask interviewers whether they would like a copy of any papers you've written or are working on now, or if they would rather you send them later. Many interviewers would prefer not to have to carry papers back with them, but some like to get them along with your resume, so be ready and let them decide.

After the Annual Meeting

Whether you're on the job market or not, there are probably a number of people you should follow-up with after the meeting. Here are some possibilities:

• Send e-mails telling people you enjoyed meeting them and look forward to seeing them at future meetings.
• Send a resume or paper to anyone who requested one.
• Send thank-you letters to interviewers or to people who invited you to events or functions. Don't forget to thank your own faculty for their help and introductions!

Remember, you've just received the Call for Papers for the next Annual Meeting, so you can start to plan your involvement!