Not just in Canada: assns are good for your career

Last week, Kevin Holland over at The Association Blog cited a Canadian survey about how 83% of hiring managers in Canada look favorably upon job applicants' association involvement. I used my Google Desktop Search to dig this up from a May edition of the GWSAENetwork's Fast Read, where an American version of the survey, with nearly identical results, was cited:

Eighty-six percent of hiring managers in the country’s largest companies recently cited involvement in industry or trade associations as somewhat or very beneficial to an employee's career, according to a survey by Accountemps, a staffing service. Organizations “value employees who proactively seek opportunities to develop their skills and expertise," says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001). "Participation in professional associations is an effective way to learn of new industry developments and network with others in the field… Taking an active role by volunteering for committees, writing articles for association publications, and delivering presentations allows members to strengthen their leadership abilities, interpersonal skills, and business acumen."

Kevin warned association folks not to pat themselves on the back too much about this. I certainly won't.

But here's what I will do. Let me tell you how I'm using this information to my employer's advantage, and I urge you to use it, too.

We've found other articles citing this data, and we are quoting them extensively in our membership marketing materials. Within our prospective member kit, one of our headlines reads: "Employers Value VSCPA Membership" and we go on to quote one of the articles...

"companies value employees who not only have the technical expertise required for their jobs but also exhibit a commitment to their profession. 86% of hiring managers surveyed recently cited involvement in industry or trade associations as beneficial to an employee's career."

We'll also cite this article in our comprehensive annual call for volunteers campaign. Pretty good idea, huh?

I've been looking for data like this for a long time. This is tacit knowledge that was just made explicit -- thanks to Accountemps!