Adding Value to Your Chapter: Professional Development Programming

1. Donn LeVie Jr. Principal, ENCYGNIUM Austin, Texas 2012 ACFE Annual Conference Adding Value to Your Chapter: Professional Development Programming

2. Donn LeVie Jr. Winner of the 2012 International Book Award for Business/Careers • 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.

3. My involvement with association chapters • Toastmasters International • Houston Geological Society • American Association of Petroleum Geologists • Society of Exploration Geophysicists • Society for Technical Communication (formerboard member) • IEEE Professional Communication Society • Texas League of Writers (formerboard member) • Austin Classical Guitar Society (formerboard member)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Connecting the Community of Members 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 http://www.higherlogic.com/WhySocialMedia/ConnectedCommunityOverview/

9. 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

10. 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 month LinkedIn: World’s largest professional network with more than 40 million members and 7.7 million unique visits per month Twitter: Microblogging with more than 23 million visitors and 160 million unique visits each month

11. VisualCV (www.visualcv.com)

12. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)

13. Twitter (www.twitter.com)

14. 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

15. donn@encygnium.comwww.encygnium.comConfessions of a Hiring Manager blog at encygnium.wordpress.com Questions?