Why Join One?
A Professional Association is defined as an organization whose members share a professional status, created to deal with issues of concern to the professional group or groups involved. Mosby
Joining a professional association not only looks good on your resume, it provides you with:
- Journals and Newsletters
- Member information & Networking
- Information about conferences and industry events
- Job Listings
- Professional Development opportunities
Resources
Encyclopedia of Associations is a guide to international nonprofit membership organizations including multinational and binational groups, and national organizations based outside the United States, concerned with all subjects or areas of activity.
National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States provides membership, meetings, budgets, and contact information for 7,800+ associations, professional societies and labor unions and their 20,000+ executives have been updated.
Professional Ethics And Insignia gathers together the codes of ethics and emblems of more than 200 major professional associations in the United States, providing a window into how various professions define, interpret, and enforce ethical behavior. A range of occupations are presented, including engineers, physicians, financial executives, university professors, anthropologists, authors and many others. Each entry includes the association's address, telephone number, web site address, if applicable, insignia, and the full text of the association's code of ethics. Arrangement is alphabetical by association name. Indexed by profession.
Occupational Outlook Handbook provides a tab within each occupation called Contacts for More Info that will list major associations and organizations related to a specific career, like the entry here for Respiratory Therapists.
Texas Trade and Professional Associations and Other Selected Organizations provides a list of professional and trade associations.
Networking
"80% of jobs are filled by referral - the 'who do you know' method of recruitment. But where do you meet people 'who know' about these job opportunities and how do you get them to help you? The answer can be found in Professional Associations." Career Cafe