11-12-2007, 09:09 PM
Here is some very sound advice for those of us wanting to establish your career and still jobless.....
For those of you looking to advance your career, you may have heard that you need more experience. Most companies are not willing to go out on a limb and promote someone to management without any previous experience. Thus, the question remains: How do you get the experience you need to move to that next step? It might surprise you just how simple the answer is: volunteer for it.
Nonprofit organizations like SAE offer hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of opportunities for volunteers to help out and gain experience along the way. The unique structure of nonprofits encourages volunteer leadership involvement in almost every aspect of their activities, opening up numerous opportunities for growth and development. Associations offer volunteers the chance to put their skills to work immediately, where employers may not provide the chance for young or inexperienced managers to run with a new project before getting their feet wet.
The value of association leadership experience is being sought out by many companies. “The same skills that companies desire in hiring and promoting employees are the ones provided by volunteer leadership with nonprofit organizations,” said Mark Levin, President, BAI, and published author and expert on volunteer leadership. For example, recruiting other volunteers leads to team building, management skills, and even sales and marketing; fundraising can be translated into fiscal responsibility, budgeting, and long-term planning; and lastly, leadership is one of the most sought-after skills in companies, yet one that can not easily be taught without adequate experience.
Members are discovering that SAE experience has been valuable throughout their careers.
“SAE has given me opportunities to develop leadership skills all along the way. It started as a student member and continues today as a member of the Board of Directors. It has also allowed me to have visibility at very high levels of my company. I met our CEO through SAE before I met him through the company. I had organized a session at a Truck and Bus meeting, and our CEO was involved with the executive committee. I met him at an organizer’s reception. He remembered me after that and would always make it a point to ask me how my SAE involvement was going when he visited our facility. I believe my involvement in SAE showed my superiors that I was someone who was involved and enthusiastic.”
—Steve Woodard, Division Engineering Manager, Powertrain Controls Division,
Eaton Automotive, and member of the SAE Board of Directors
Perhaps the biggest advantage to the volunteer is the speed at which he/she is able to gain the experience. “Three to five years of volunteer work can provide management experience most corporations couldn’t provide in over 20 years, if it came at all,” wrote Howard Isenberg in a Wall Street Journal article. For volunteers, there are far less barriers standing between their ability and a position where it can be actively put to work.
Volunteering also provides targeted networking opportunities that put you in the right place to meet the key people in your field, and it makes making the contacts easier than ever. Consider the young section leader planning a meeting on a specific technical area. He most likely has no problem calling the Chief Engineer of a local company directly and inviting him to speak on the topic. If that young engineer ever finds himself out of work, he has made that contact and has opened the door to inquire about career opportunities in the future. Already knowing that this person is capable of executing a well-planned program, the Chief Engineer may even recommend him or her for an interview.
In addition to providing hands-on training and valuable management skills, volunteering is a way of giving something back to the industry. Those engineers who volunteer to help students through the A World In Motion program and Collegiate Design Series competitions and the thousands who serve on technical standards committees, organize sessions, and lead their local section have gained far more than their marketable experience.
“The SAE network is an amazing thing,” said Woodard. “You can go just about anywhere in the world and network with an SAE member.” That said, it is true with SAE involvement— like anything valuable in life—you get out of it what you put into it.
Previously published in SAE UPdate, December 2005. Written by Tracy Fedkoe © SAE International.
For more valueable information you can go to:
http://www.saecareercenter.org/
For those of you looking to advance your career, you may have heard that you need more experience. Most companies are not willing to go out on a limb and promote someone to management without any previous experience. Thus, the question remains: How do you get the experience you need to move to that next step? It might surprise you just how simple the answer is: volunteer for it.
Nonprofit organizations like SAE offer hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of opportunities for volunteers to help out and gain experience along the way. The unique structure of nonprofits encourages volunteer leadership involvement in almost every aspect of their activities, opening up numerous opportunities for growth and development. Associations offer volunteers the chance to put their skills to work immediately, where employers may not provide the chance for young or inexperienced managers to run with a new project before getting their feet wet.
The value of association leadership experience is being sought out by many companies. “The same skills that companies desire in hiring and promoting employees are the ones provided by volunteer leadership with nonprofit organizations,” said Mark Levin, President, BAI, and published author and expert on volunteer leadership. For example, recruiting other volunteers leads to team building, management skills, and even sales and marketing; fundraising can be translated into fiscal responsibility, budgeting, and long-term planning; and lastly, leadership is one of the most sought-after skills in companies, yet one that can not easily be taught without adequate experience.
Members are discovering that SAE experience has been valuable throughout their careers.
“SAE has given me opportunities to develop leadership skills all along the way. It started as a student member and continues today as a member of the Board of Directors. It has also allowed me to have visibility at very high levels of my company. I met our CEO through SAE before I met him through the company. I had organized a session at a Truck and Bus meeting, and our CEO was involved with the executive committee. I met him at an organizer’s reception. He remembered me after that and would always make it a point to ask me how my SAE involvement was going when he visited our facility. I believe my involvement in SAE showed my superiors that I was someone who was involved and enthusiastic.”
—Steve Woodard, Division Engineering Manager, Powertrain Controls Division,
Eaton Automotive, and member of the SAE Board of Directors
Perhaps the biggest advantage to the volunteer is the speed at which he/she is able to gain the experience. “Three to five years of volunteer work can provide management experience most corporations couldn’t provide in over 20 years, if it came at all,” wrote Howard Isenberg in a Wall Street Journal article. For volunteers, there are far less barriers standing between their ability and a position where it can be actively put to work.
Volunteering also provides targeted networking opportunities that put you in the right place to meet the key people in your field, and it makes making the contacts easier than ever. Consider the young section leader planning a meeting on a specific technical area. He most likely has no problem calling the Chief Engineer of a local company directly and inviting him to speak on the topic. If that young engineer ever finds himself out of work, he has made that contact and has opened the door to inquire about career opportunities in the future. Already knowing that this person is capable of executing a well-planned program, the Chief Engineer may even recommend him or her for an interview.
In addition to providing hands-on training and valuable management skills, volunteering is a way of giving something back to the industry. Those engineers who volunteer to help students through the A World In Motion program and Collegiate Design Series competitions and the thousands who serve on technical standards committees, organize sessions, and lead their local section have gained far more than their marketable experience.
“The SAE network is an amazing thing,” said Woodard. “You can go just about anywhere in the world and network with an SAE member.” That said, it is true with SAE involvement— like anything valuable in life—you get out of it what you put into it.
Previously published in SAE UPdate, December 2005. Written by Tracy Fedkoe © SAE International.
For more valueable information you can go to:
http://www.saecareercenter.org/