You are a member of several clubs, such as volunteer organizations, speaking clubs, networking clubs, social clubs, art communities, and educational groups. Are you paying your dues or using your membership as a resume builder, or are you truly getting value beyond your membership? The purpose of this article is to convince you to get more out of your membership by engaging more in the group. There are many benefits and you will learn about a few here.
Having group affiliations on your resume is a nice thing, however, you can get so much more if you engage in the group on different levels.
- Volunteer to participate on a project team. You will receive recognition and team members will notice the extra effort.
- Volunteer to lead a project. Here you receive the same benefits as a team member and likely people in higher ranking positions will notice the effort too.
- Brainstorm and think of ideas to help the organization grow by increasing membership, improving retention, or helping members get more out of their membership. Every club has a goal to grow its community. This is a valuable way to help.
- Become a mentor. Offering to help new and emerging members helps you give back and make new connections. It also helps you build leadership skills just as the previous suggestions demonstrate.
- Become a mentee. There is always room for growth and learning. Pair up with someone with more experience than you. The result is a lifelong friendship and advocacy for each other.
- Volunteer to take on higher ranking positions such as a Board Member or leadership position. This is an excellent way to grow your network or community and help you gain referrals.
The key to getting more value out of your membership is to choose a few of your memberships and decide you are going to give more value. Giving more value means an automatic win for you because you will receive more value. Often the value you receive is far greater than the value you give. It causes a chain reaction of win-win situations.