And what about HR professionals?
Do they like networking? Do they know how to network? Where do they meet? Where are they most active?
A few years ago I realised that my target audience for the services I offered was human resources directors and recruitment and training departments, and I had no idea where to find them.
I started researching and discovered the main professional association of reference where they gather, AEDIPE, the Asociación Española de Dirección y Desarrollo de Personas (Spanish Association for People Management and Development).
There are circles, clubs and associations that are hard to get into, but at AEDIPE my experience with these professionals could not have been easier or more pleasant. Besides, I have always made sure that the people around me are well, even if they were not in management positions.
It brings together more than 3,900 professionals nationwide and is a very active association, organising all kinds of events: business breakfasts, workshops, conferences, seminars and hands-on sessions, and its flagship event is its annual congress.
It has a good number of collaboration agreements with the main professional associations in Spain and across Europe, so you will always be up to date with what is happening in the sector.
And who is the driving force behind AEDIPE? For me, without a doubt, its general secretary María Jesús Pérez, with the support of her colleague Myriam and the rest of the association’s members, but María Jesús is everywhere: she listens to you, helps you and gets involved. She is a true professional.
She has also got involved in one of the most active Human Resources groups on XING, the Xpert Ambassador group 
for Human Resources, which she moderates together with another superconnector and great professional, Jesus Garcia Mingorance.
Jesús wanted to create a meeting point for human resources professionals by setting up a group on XING. The group was created in 2008, has just turned 2 and has more than 2,000 professionals from the sector.
It has several forums, each more active than the last, to discuss everything that concerns the sector; studies and news are shared and, most importantly, members meet face to face at the lunches. Here you have the first lunch, which was a success not because of the number of participants but because of their quality.
At the lunches, Jesus invites top-level speakers to discuss topics of interest, and the talk is followed by debate and then networking.
So now you know where to sign up to connect with and learn from Human Resources professionals.
Happy Networking!!!
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