I just interviewed with company A today, and I found out later in the day at my current job (company B) that I'm going to be attending a conference that is highly relevant to my interview and potential employment with company A. How can I mention this gracefully in a follow-up/thank-you letter to company A?
Unfortunately the conference is put on by my current company (company B), so I know none of the employees at company A will be attending. I thought about stating "if possible could I follow-up with at said conference, which I'll be attending in August?" but since they won't be attending, this won't work.
My field is social work, if it's relevant. My current company already knows I'm leaving (it's a temporary position), so I'm not worried about them finding out I'm following up. How can I fit this into a follow-up/thank-you note to an interview? Should I play dumb and ask them if they'll be sending any employees to this conference?
When writing a follow-up letter to an interview, how do I mention to a potential employer that I'll be attending a relevant conference?
UPDATE:
I'll add a bit more to clear up some of the comments.
A) I know company A won't be attending because the conference is put on by company B, and since I work for company B, I can see the complete list of attendees. Company A isn't included.
B) My exact goal is to be hired by company A. The conference consists of several professional development workshops, as well as presentations (one of which I'm giving) that are directly applicable to the work I would be doing with company A.
C) I don't want to be sneaky in any way; I found out that I would be attending and presenting at this conference when I got to my office a few hours after finishing my interview with company A. Had I found out sooner, I would have mentioned it in the interview.
D) I thought about simply writing a follow-up/thank-you letter like this: "--boilerplate follow-up/thank-you--. Also, I found out a few hours after we spoke on Tuesday morning that I would be attending --specific conference name-- and presenting --name of my case study--. I think the professional development workshops will prove an asset when working for you. " etc.