Leveraging Your Memberships: Making Your Professional Association Dues Pay Off

Presented by Cyndi McCabe and Chris Wenz

LEVERAGING NON-PAID EXPERIENCE

“Volunteering allows you to test drive a new career choice and pick up substantial skills (and their all-important Key Words) that you can ride to a new resume and talking points that you can use to hammer home your benefits in job interviews.”

Resumes for Dummies

TAKE A PROFESSIONAL TEMPERATURE READING

Are you seeking a new position? What level

are you targeting?

Are you interested in shifting careers?

Are you targeting a promotion?

Do you need to improve your job

performance?

Are you concerned about job security?

HOW CAN YOUR MEMBERSHIP HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

REASONS TO JOIN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Networking opportunities

Specialized training

Certifications

Contributing to profession

Mentoring /mentee opportunities

References

GETTING STARTED: MAKING THE MOST OF ASSOCIATIONMEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

Do your homework

Set goals

Circulate and observe

Prepare brief self-introduction

Meet leadership, speaker, guests, exhibitors

Retain file of old programs and membership directories

Branch out – attend meetings of affiliate organizations

HOW TO BUILD SKILLS

Identify core competencies required for:

Current job

Targeted position or field

IDENTIFY SKILLS TO DEVELOP OR ENHANCE

Accounting Leading

Programming Organization

Writing Coaching

Database Management Managing

Budgeting Team Building

Financial Analysis Project Management

Presentations P&L Responsibility

Training Strategic Planning

Event Planning Customer Relations

Marketing / Sales Analysis

Meeting Management Negotiating

Problem Solving Website Design / Hosting

IDENTIFY TRAITS TO DEVELOP OR ENHANCE

Flexible Creative

Dependable Motivated

AnalyticalResourceful

InsightfulCollaborative

Self-Directed Assertive

SEEK STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES

Chair or serve on a committee

Become an officer

Chair a special event

Write for newsletter

Develop and /or manage website

Volunteer to speak at a meeting or provide a speaker

Staff registration table/ serve as greeter

DOCUMENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Create a Portfolio:

Certificates

Letters of appreciation

Calendars

Newsletters /Blogs

Programs / Projects

Newspaper articles

Website screen shots

INCLUDE ASSOCIATION ACHIEVEMENTS IN RESUME

Create accomplishment statement “bullet points”:

State actions

Use action verb or verbs

State results

Quantify results

One or two sentences in length

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Increased participation: # or %

Improved revenue: $ or %

Took the initiative to solve a problem

Reduced costs: $ or %Created a new program, system, service, procedure, plan

Initiated, devised and carried through a complex project

Successfully handled an emergency situation or crisis

Received an award or commendation

Building An Accomplishment StatementO = Obstacle, opportunity, objective you faced, problem you identified, performance objective

A = Action, approach you took

R = Results you obtained; quantify

Document in 1-2 sentences, stating

action and results. Use action

verbs.

Building An Accomplishment Statement

ONational organization offers membership rebates to local chapters. Accurate membership records were nonexistent for our chapter.

A Consolidated all membership records into one user-friendly system & identified redundancies

R Based on my system and its newly available information, we increased membership rebate from national organization by 20%.

Increased membership rebate 20% by developing and implementing membership database.

SAMPLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS LINKED TO ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

Directed annual scholarship fundraiser,

exceeding goal by 25%.

Produced statewide conference for 300 professionals including coordination of workshops, keynote speakers, logistics, registration, meal functions, media relations, and awards.

SAMPLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS LINKED TO ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

Increased professional association membership 15% through targeting programming, community outreach, and incentives.

Reduced professional association’s annual operating budget by 22% through corporate underwriting, in-kind contributions, and increased volunteerism.

HIGHLIGHT ASSOCIATION EXPERIENCE IN INTERVIEWS

Review list of accomplishments and traits. Illustrate with specific examples.

Use to respond to behavior-based questions.

Reference as examples of community involvement and/or staying cutting edge

in your field.

WHERE TO FIND ASSOCIATIONS

from the American Society of Association Executives

http://www.asaecenter.org/Directories/AssociationSearch.cfm

 

WEDDLES association directory

http://www.weddles.com/associations/

  Associations on the Net from the Internet Public Library

http://www.ipl.org/div/aon/browse/bus00.00.00/

Google’s Professional Association Directory

http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Organizations/Professional/

YOU CAN DO THIS!