LITCAM: The Monthly Meetup and Other Networking Opportunities

About The Monthly Meetup
The LITCAM Monthly Meetup is a regular monthly ** free ** and informal networking event, currently scheduled for every second Thursday of the month in Central London.

It is one where the IT industry business associates and colleagues of IT Contractors – such as IT contract recruiters, IT training companies, Job Board marketing people and possibly even end-clients’ HR or current/prospective hiring managers – are invited, along with a few interesting special guests, to meet up in a social setting where everyone can compare how their professional profiles and interests coincide, including what contacts and interests they share, as well as opportunities or interests be identified for working together on contract.

The focus of this meetup is on making first contact in a relaxed and sociable setting – and before moving on to more formal meetups and networking opportunities. It is ideally suited to contractors who want to establish rapport and develop friendly relationships with people who they might encounter in the course of seeking and doing contract work – including other IT contractors that they might be likely to work with as well as IT contract recruiters, training companies and contractor hiring managers.

The Setting
The LITCAM Monthly Meetup is currently held at a pub – but it does not have to be!! It could just as easily be held in another relaxed, fun or active setting – such as in a nice cafe somewhere with good coffee and comfy seating, over a game of cricket or ten-pin bowling, or even at an outdoor evening music concert in a park (such as held each summer at The Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park). The choice for this setting, as well as preferences for who and how these meetups can be held, is up to those who sign up to the LITCAM mailing list. This can be done by advising interests for the Monthly meetup when submitting details through the Contact Us form on the 7C Alliance web-site. To do this, select London IT Contractor Alliance Meetups and, in the query section of the form, advise that not only is your interest in attending the LITCAM Monthly meetup (or other meetups), but what setting you would prefer that meetup to take as well as what types of people you would like to meet from the IT contracting supply chain or IT industry at large. You can also advise any special interests that you have which will give an indication of who might be good to invite as a special interest guest or which setting could be good for you for the monthly meetup.

Other Types of Meetup and Networking Opportunities
The LITCAM Monthly Meetup is an informal meetup – but it is not the only form of meetup that is available to those who sign up to the LITCAM list. Other types of meetup can be suggested and discussed in response to this Blog page being posted as a News item listing through the IT Job Board’s LinkedIn Discussion Group or the 7C Alliance LinkedIn Discussion Group (which are two of the key places where LITCAM is actively promoted and discussed). Other types of meetup can also be sugested and discussed at the Monthly meetup itself.

The form that OTHER types of meetups can take, as well as what opportunities those meetups provide for members of the list to network, are as follows:

- Strictly social: an event where friends of IT Contractors and work colleagues are invited along (such as a few drinks after work or a barbecue) to just meet and enjoy socialising.

- Informal: an event where business associates and colleagues of IT Contractors are invited along, with some interesting guests, in a setting where everyone can meet to compare how their profile and interests coincide as well as see what contacts and interests they share as well as how they might work together – before moving on to more formal networking opportunities.

- Semi-formal: a night where IT contractors can meet IT contract recruiters and other IT contacts, including possible end-clients, to chat about opportunities for work in their area

- Formal: A seminar or meeting (possibly sponsored by a company) where a meeting or conference room is booked and topics of interest are presented by speakers. Industry or contractor market networking opportunities are possible before or after such meetups, as well as Q & A on topic or topics in question.

About LITCAM
London IT Contractor Alliance Meetups (LITCAM) is an initiative of 7C Alliance, a contractor business coaching and marketing business, that has been created to look at ways to bring independent/freelance IT contractors together in person to socialise as well as source opportunities to find work or work together to create opportunities for work. N.B. Given that some of the proposed activities involve meeting up and networking in pubs, 7C Alliance promotes responsible drinking where alcohol is involved. It also fully respects the interests and concerns of those who belong to communities where alcohol is forbidden or restricted from being consumed for cultural or religious reasons and, for that reason, 7C Alliance is keen to seek and promote ways that will allow all good members of the contracting community to come together in the interests of being good at what they do – and respected for that – and so are interested to hear about ways that we can help make that happen that are interesting and acceptable to all.

What is 7C Alliance?
7C Alliance is a business born out of the necessity for IT and other types of independent/freelance contractors to find new and innovative ways to source or even create work for themselves – as well as continue to be the best that they can be at what they do, as well as get the best from doing that. Our primary aim is enable or encourage contractors to achieve excellence in doing work in IT or other forms of contract work. It is also to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle that not only the individual contractor themselves can be proud of – but the end-users of contract services at large can respect and also want to encourage and perhaps even be a part of.

The 7C Alliance Ethos
7C Alliance’s slogan is: “Independence through Interdependence“. The ethos underpinning this is that we will use our best endeavours to provide opportunities that are equal and fair to meet, prepare, network, get and do work – and according to levels of interest and drive of each individual in wanting to work together, happily and responsibly, with other members of the community operating in the same area of the market as them. The key principle is consideration of what is good for all, and expects that everyone will accept and respect what each individual is considered best at doing – and support each other in doing that, even where they may be in competition with one another for a contract opportunity.

In this way 7C Alliance aims to help contribute to a happy and integrated society where there is freedom and equal opportunity for all – and in open and true respect of not only the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – but just commonsensibly what is best for all humanity and the environment.

Tags: business, end-clients, Recruitment