Professional Organizations: But I'm a Student!

For those of you out there that have even glanced toward some research on your chosen field, you've probably come across something very familiar, yet equally foreign; the dreaded alphabet soup of Professional Organizations.  How are you supposed to know what all these 3-5 random letter combinations mean, or which ones are legitimately good?  It's a challenge that almost everyone faces as they begin the depth of their job or internship search.  For the ones that truly take advantage of such entities though, the search can be vastly transformed.

Professional organizations (or societies as they are sometimes known) can come in many different shapes and sizes.  For every national organization, there are usually regional, state, and sometimes even local versions of it.  Marquette itself even has student chapters of many large professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Professional Journalists, and Financial Management Association. With such a plethora of options out there, there really isn't much reason to at least check out a couple in your chosen field.

So once you determine which professional organizations to look at, or even join, then what?  What's the purpose?  Well, as students, I believe that these organizations are goldmines for pertinent information.  As I certainly hope you've heard (whether from us or anyone else), networking is the way of the world when it comes to job searching.  You know the line, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."  It's a maddening line for many students, because how are you supposed to know all these professionals who can help you get a job?  Let's think about this though step by step

1. You are in a professional organization
2. You have a member list
3. Other members are likely established professionals in your field
4. You can contact these professionals, and thus, NETWORK!

Sounds pretty good, huh?  Let's also not forget other added benefits of membership, such as professional development opportunities, interesting lectures, and, oh yes, a field specific job board!  I can assure you that any professional organization with a job board isn't going to get overrun with pyramid schemes!

So what are you waiting for?  Go out there and look for the best professional organization for you, and enrich your job search as a result!

Going To Door County For Work

Yes, we actually do/did that. Since Wednesday we've been on a retreat in Bailey's Harbor with WIPCCC, a professional organization that we belong to. Now, not being from Wisconsin, I didn't truly get what the whole big deal was with going "up north". It seemed to me that being in Wisconsin was quite clearly up north to begin with. It's pretty nice though I must say.

Meeting with our colleagues from the other private colleges in Wisconsin is always a good experience. Being able to share our experiences and ideas with others from similar institutions gives us a chance to grow professionally. Sometimes you can get so accustomed to the way things are always done in your workplace that you forget about other approaches; this is a good time to refresh your brain.

One topic we looked at in-depth was how to provide better counseling service to all by adapting for cultural differences. This doesn't just mean ethnic differences either. One of the cases we addressed revolved around an older person in an unskilled position that may be facing a layoff after 35+ years on the job. I think working on these skills will be able to help us help all of you. We already attempt to provide the best service that we possibly can, but just like anyone else, we can always get better. It might be in a situation working with an international student, or it could be working with a student trying to meet parental expectations. Either way, through attending seminars and other professional development opportunities such as this gives us the opportunity to become better at what we do, and really, isn't that the goal of everyone in their job?

What About Professional Organizations?

Have you ever been reading something and you suddenly see a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms in front of you? Sometimes these will just be simple abbreviations, like SCUBA. If you're reading something related to careers (and since you're on our blog, I tend to think you might have that inclination!), there's a good chance that the acronym is in reference to a professional organization.

Of course, the question then becomes, why would I join one of these professional organizations? If you recall an earlier post I made, I talked about how getting involved with groups in your realm of interest can benefit your job search process. I'd like to believe that you have a considerable interest in your field of choice. Involving yourself in professional organizations in your field will help you to build connections and network with people of similar interests. Get involved on a committee or sub-committee within your organization. The more you involve yourself, the more ingrained in the industry you will become. Additionally, your own personal knowledge level will increase considerably by working with professionals from other companies.

The best part about professional organizations in terms of a job search is that you can truly get involved at any point in your career. Many colleges have campus branches of professional organizations. For example, there is a chapter of the American Marketing Association here at Marquette. Getting involved with these groups now might be able to give you a leg up when it comes time to find that first professional position. But even if you don't join while you are in college, you can still jump into that world later in life. And as any student has met with me can attest to, I'm a huge proponent of giving anything a try at least once, because you never know if that experience will be the one that ultimately pays off for you.

If you need assistance finding a professional organization that fits your interests, Wikipedia provides a good starting point. It's not exhaustive though, so if you don't see the one for you, let us know and we can help, or simply google "professional organizations (your field)". I'd bet you find something...