ADDING VALUE TO YOUR CHAPTER: Professional Development Programming

Donn LeVie Jr.

Principal, ENCYGNIUM

Austin, Texas

2012 ACFE Annual Conference

Donn LeVie Jr.

Author Presenter Speaker 25 years experience in various hiring manager positions

(marketing, technical, communications) for Fortune 500 companies Specializing in professional brand development and promotion

Through programs offered at conferences, college campuses, corporations, and military bases, I help both employed and unemployed

professionals map a strategy that helps them attain professional success.

Winner of the 2012International Book Award

for Business/Careers

My involvement with association chapters

Toastmasters International Houston Geological Society American Association of Petroleum Geologists Society of Exploration Geophysicists Society for Technical Communication (former board member) IEEE Professional Communication Society Texas League of Writers (former board member) Austin Classical Guitar Society (former board member)

Talking Points

Two types of professional development:

Technical skills and knowledge directly associated with the profession

and the mission of the ACFE

Skills and knowledge directly associated with individual career

development and may be secondarily associated with the profession

or mission of the ACFE

Why the need for professional development and how it fits in with the

chapter environment

Topics of value to chapter members

What does a strong chapter professional development program look

like?

Connecting the community of members

The job of the chapter: connecting members

Transitioning from paper identity to digital identity

Chapter leaders: Setting the precedent for digital identity

Why the need for professional development and how it fits in with the chapter environment

In good and bad economies, members are always transitioning laterally from one job or career to the next, or vertically into different positions of authority, responsibility, and accountability

Engages your members and constituents in a secure forum Attracts new members Increases retention rates Helps members connect, collaborate and share information and

resources An engaged audience converts to higher member retention,

recruitment, and revenue sharing

Topics of value to chapter members

WIIFThem: What’s in it for them? Creating and promoting a professional brand (employee or

consultant) Strategies for enhancing career success Promoting a consulting business Résumé, cover letter, and interview strategies Social networking, digital profile creation and promotion

Talk to your members often, find out what works and what doesn’t

What does a strong chapter professional development program look like?

Easy-to-navigate website Blog with frequent (at least once a week) posts Twitter account Document repository Facebook page (as a chapter) Webinars, podcasts with career experts Engaging hands-on speakers/presenters for meetings Online job bank/résumé posting bank Special recognition for members Staying strongly linked to the ACFE for national, international

trends

Connecting the Community of Members

http://www.higherlogic.com/WhySocialMedia/ConnectedCommunityOverview/

Give members plenty of ways to stay connected to each other, to the chapter, and to the ACFE, as well as access to career-enhancing information

The job of the chapter: serve as a forum for member networking

70% of jobs are found through networkingor career marketing*

Large online job sites have historically had low hiring rates (less than 6%)*

It’s not who YOU know, it’s who THEY know Connecting with new people is the most

reliable route to a satisfying job and a rewarding career

An effective chapter professional-development program uses as many ways available to keep

members connected to the ACFE, to the chapter, and to each other to maximize exposure to job or career

opportunities

* As quoted in Confessions of a Hiring Manager Rev. 2.0

Old-school paper identity vs. social networks and digital identity Business clubs (GOB network) Social clubs Job clubs Events

Local, sometimes regional Mostly peers When schedule allows Delayed feedback

Social networks LinkedIn Twitter VisualCV

Local, regional, national, global Peers, influencers, decision makers Immediate Real-time feedback

VisualCV: Online résumé creation and sharing site that reaches 25,000 people with 123,000 unique visits each monthLinkedIn: World’s largest professional network with more than 40 million members and 7.7 million unique visits per monthTwitter: Microblogging with more than 23 million visitors and 160 million unique visits each month

VisualCV (www.visualcv.com)

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)

Twitter (www.twitter.com)

Chapter leaders: Set the precedent by getting started with digital identity

Google your name Dispose of all content and photos that do not portray you in

a favorable, professional light Start with one professional social network site Make your profile professional Participate often (commenting, updates, etc.)

Hiring managers do troll the social networking sites to discover the “real” person behind the interview and résumé

QUESTIONS?

donn@encygnium.comwww.encygnium.com

Confessions of a Hiring Manager blog at encygnium.wordpress.com