Professional Association memberships can give your job search a boost

1. Leveraging Your Memberships:
Making Your Professional Association Dues
Pay Off
Presented by Cyndi McCabe and Chris Wenz

2. 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

3. 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?

4. REASONS TO JOIN PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS
 Networking opportunities
 Specialized training
 Certifications
 Contributing to
profession
 Mentoring /mentee
opportunities
 References

5. GETTING STARTED: MAKING THE
MOST OF ASSOCIATION
MEETINGS 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

6. HOW TO BUILD SKILLS
Identify core competencies
required for:
Current job
Targeted position or field

7. 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

8. IDENTIFY TRAITS TO DEVELOP
OR ENHANCE
Flexible Creative
Dependable Motivated
Analytical Resourceful
Insightful Collaborative
Self-Directed Assertive

9. 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

10. DOCUMENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Create a Portfolio:
 Certificates
 Letters of appreciation
 Calendars
 Newsletters /Blogs
 Programs / Projects
 Newspaper articles
 Website screen shots

11. 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

12. 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

13. Building An Accomplishment
Statement
O = 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.

14. Building An Accomplishment
Statement
National organization offers membership rebates
O 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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/

19. YOU CAN DO THIS!