The future of your association relies heavily on your ability to continually attract and retain new members. A powerful way to appeal to new members and keep them around is to connect them with mentors.
Here’s why: Community Brands research shows that most members (76 percent) join a professional organization early in their career journey. Many of those early in their careers typically fall into the Millennial or Generation Z generations (those ages 24-39 and eight to 23, respectively, as defined by Pew Research Center). And, like most members of professional organizations, job and career development opportunities are among the top member benefits they value most.
Appealing to these young professionals with the benefits they seek helps you ensure a steady stream of new members and keep them around long term.
The power of online mentoring
Students and new graduates often seek a mentor to help them grow professionally as they enter the workforce. Just think: how powerful it would be if you could support your next generation of members by connecting them with your members who are more experienced professionals and want to help those early in their careers.
Connecting these members online through a “mentor board” is an ideal approach in today’s fast-paced mobile-driven environment – especially with today’s added challenge of social distancing.
Offering a mentor board supplements your association’s career resources, including your job board, career fairs, networking events, and continuing education offerings. It turns your association into the one-stop go-to resource for career development in your industry.
YM Careers MentorBoard
YM Careers MentorBoard is designed to help you facilitate mentorships with early career professionals through online mentoring. It gives your student and new graduate members the ability to set up their own accounts and profiles with all of the information needed to qualify them as a “mentee”. They can then search user profiles and initiate contact with a potential mentor.
Over time, those same young professionals can then share their experience by becoming a mentor. This keeps both new and renewing members engaged and active with your association. Everyone wins.
Take the next step
With the right career center technology and approaches, you can deliver member experiences that attract and retain students, new graduates, and young professionals – the future of your association. YM Careers offer job board software and career center solutions to help you reach more members and keep them around.
