Mdthbs

Last week, I received a dinner invitation from an organizer that I never worked with nor heard of. I received the invitation through my employer's email. The location of the event is a well known restaurant in my area.

Beside the date/time info (Weekday - After hours), the invitation describes the event as "a complimentary dinner and discussion" for "professionals who work for nationwide companies and live in this area"

Then, there is a link to register. In the link, there are questions about "your company", such as:

• What's your company's net worth?


• What's your company's annual revenue?


• How many employees?


• Where are the branches?


• etc..

I asked a senior coworker if they received similar email, they denied. I asked them to take a look and they said "it looks real". I invited them to come with me, but they said they can't due to the early notice since the event is in three days.

Today I another email, as reminder of the event. I would like to attend the event (is it real?), but I am concerned that it would be a security breach. Is it OK to submit my honest answers, and attend the event? What if my employer knew about it? What if I met my manager there? Thanks!

Sounds like a networking event - and given you were "invited" through the company e-mail it sounds as if you'd be attending as a representative of the company. Especially given the questions asked.

Best course of action in that case is to discuss it with your manager to see if this is something the company sees as being potentially beneficial. If so the whole thing would be above board and there's nothing to worry about in terms of meeting your manager etc and you can feel free to benefit from the complimentary dinner etc.

These types of events are usually nothing more than a sales pitch by a vendor to get your company to buy its products or use its services.

Before you unilaterally decide to register and attend you need to find out your company policy on gifts. Depending where you work, a free dinner can be considered a gift and you need to understand your company's policy on receiving gifts from vendors. Some companies don't care, some allow up to certain limits, and others don't allow it at all. You need to find out your company's stance on the matter as attending could result in your termination if you are in violation of their policy.

Next speak with your manager to determine if you are the appropriate representative of your company that should be attending. Perhaps your manager would want to attend or appoint someone else. It's best to ask beforehand than to have to later explain your actions and face possible discipline.

You asked a few related questions:

I would like to attend the event (is it real?)

Of course, none of us can literally tell you if it's real or not, but the scheme is somewhat common. Typically, these sort of "networking" sessions are set up with a hook (free food!) and are a thin veil for a marketing firm or vendor to try to get a captive audience so they can sell you something. Of course, they don't tell you that upfront. Remember the old adage, "there's no free lunch." In this case it applies literally. The organizer may be offering "complimentary" food, but they wouldn't be doing that unless they had something to gain.

but I am concerned that it would be a security breach. Is it OK to submit my honest answers, and attend the event? What if my employer knew about it? What if I met my manager there?

Unfortunately, none of us can really tell you those answers, either. However, the fact that you're asking these questions shows you have an awareness that it might not be OK - and that's a healthy awareness. The questions they're asking may seem innocuous, but things like net worth or annual revenue may be closely guarded secrets for some employers. In general, before you divulge any information about your employer to a third party, it's good practice to get approval from an appropriate authority at your employer (your boss, or your public relations department, etc.) Your company may have strict policies on what information you're allowed to disclose. It may also have policies on vendor management that would cause an offer like this to be funneled through an official channel (versus you as a random person). There may also be policies based on accepting gifts to take into consideration.

The fact that this invite came through your work email, and is clearly targeted at your employer (not you personally) means that you need to consider yourself a representative of your employer when interacting with this entity. If that's a role you're not familiar with or comfortable with, you may be best off declining to respond.