A Member's Perspective
Changing
Jobs?
NMA's
Individual Membership Program can keep you "career resilient".
Let me begin by thanking
you for being a member of NMA. Congratulations on belonging to the organization
devoted to helping you have the career you desire and committed to further
developing you personally and professionally. You have taken that big step in
taking your destiny into your own hands, Who better to chart your future and
plot a course to get there? You're surrounded by people with common interests
during chapter activities; you learn and grow together, you are a part of our
NMA "family." Together, you experience that "leadership
laboratory" called NMA.
Then, what happens and will happen to many of us? We change
jobs! We go in an entirely new career direction. Whether we are taking new
opportunities or whether the company is trimming back, we find ourselves in a
totally different environment. In any case and no matter the reason, it is a
stressful time in our lives. We often ask, "Where do I go from here?"
and "How do I get there?" It's time to take personal responsibility-,
it's your career: it's your life - take control over what seems an overwhelming
or negative situation.
You've been a member of NMA,
you've taken classes in professional development, you've learned new skills,
you've gone to the chapter meetings or been an officer/committee chair, you've
participated in community activities. In summary - you have made yourself more
marketable in the workplace! Think about it - it's true. Think positive - you
have the confidence to make it happen.
Remember the NMA network you
enjoyed with the chapter? It's still there - it's nationwide! Did you know that
wherever you go, you can take your NMA membership with you? You can make new
friends instantly in your new town or maybe with your local community chapter.
(I even once met with NMA chapter members in Anchorage, Alaska, while on
vacation). Did you know that NMA has an Individual Membership Program? As an
Individual Member, you still enjoy all the national benefits. It's easy - you
can join on the NMA Website or give those nice folks at NMA Headquarters a call
- you will get a personal voice ready to help anytime.
I can attest personally that the
NMA network absolutely found me a new career direction and new job. I'll tell
you the story (briefly). I was at work one day and a friend of mine (another NMA
member from one of the local chapters) called to say hello. We were talking
about joint activities between our chapters and the conversation took on a more
personal note. She inquired what I was up to at work, and I replied that a
layoff by the company was probably imminent. She said she knew a manager who was
looking for someone to do some work (which she described) and could I do it? I
said of course (it was well within my capabilities, skills, and experience). She
said she would help this manager and me get in touch with one another. Stranger
than fiction - that very afternoon, the company laid me off with two weeks
notice; that very night, the 11 manager" found me at home and I had a
new job - just like that. It's worked out ever since. Now I can't guarantee you
a new job, but being with NMA definitely gave me this one.
Remember your professional
development courses? They are still there - check out the NMA Website and the
Learning Resource Center! Get the course catalogs - there are plenty of self-study
programs in them (with prices you can afford and at reduced rates because you're
an NMA member). Remember your CEUs and course credits? They are still there - at
NMA Headquarters! NMA will send you a transcript at your request. Still need
those training hours to keep your various certifications? Come join us at the
NMA National Conference and participate in the educational forums for CEUs. Who
knows, you may run into someone you once knew. You will definitely make new
friends and enhance your network - all at very affordable prices when you
compare NMA to other seminars and courses you can attend. As an added benefit,
you have great meals and special events with your newfound network.
All of us strive to be committed and loyal to our employers and do the best job we can. Did you know that a worker entering the workforce today changes companies an average of seven times in their careers? Some of us are lucky and remain employees with our companies until retirement. We enjoy the fact that our company cares about its people and us. But ultimately the responsibility lies within ourselves to keep us 11 employable." You've already done a lot of the work - you've been a member of NMA. But are we there yet? Probably not - but you'll get there quicker and easier by being an Individual Member of NMA.
Regardless of how your jobs,
companies, and lives change, NMA remains committed and loyal to you at all times
(and has been for over 75 years). It is a constant we can count on. Let NMA get
you there and keep you there - if you are not able to be a chapter member, then
join as an Individual Member. It's a lot more lasting and costs much less than
that pair of new tennis shoes for your teenager or that expensive dinner out.
It's your career - you can and will get there.
Oh, by the way, sign up your
spouse or a friend too - you can learn together, help each other's
careers, and just plain have fun.
Yours,
Mary
Anne Koltowich, PE, CM
Management
for Oak Ridge Excellence Chapter, Kingston, TN
Chairman,
NMA Association Services Committee