How can you leverage professional organizations to advance your Project Management career?

From my experience, professional organizations are crucial for advancing in Project Management. They provide networking, education, and visibility opportunities that enhance skills and career growth. Engaging with these organizations has been instrumental in my professional development.

I have taken PMI membership. I am a PMP and a certified Agile Practitioner. PMI membership helps in following ways: 1. I can attend webinars and also access recorded webinars. The webinars help polish my project management skills and also add new perspectives. 2. PMI membership helps to renew PMP and PMI ACP certification at lower rates. 3. Certificates from PMI are globally known and respected. 4. PMBOK guide developed by PMI is an excellent knowledge bank to improve and hone my skills in project management. 5. PMI conducts seminars in the local chapters which helps connect with other professionals in this community.

There are many professional organizations which one can join. I am a proud member of PMI. I have been able to reap following benefits from this membership: 1. Gain new insights in the project management domain by attending webinars. 2. Renew my PMP and PMI ACP certifications at lower rates. 3. Attend seminars in local chapters and get connected with other like minded people. 4. A Project Manager certified by an internationally known organization such as PMI, is more readily accepted by customer as they understand the maturity and competency that comes with this credentials.

Joining a professional organization is an easy process. Visit their websites and explore membership options. Pay the required fees and get membership. The membership is valid for a period of one year from the date of membership registration. After paying the membership fees, we receive a confirmation email from the organization confirming our membership. We can then start reaping the benefits of this organization by attending webinars, attending local chapter meet ups, pay lower fees for certificate renewals, present your own paper in the forum etc.

My experience is that most people are passive participants or participate in spurts. If you want to actually be able to leverage your membership to make a career move, there is a lot of groundwork to be done: 1. Start by participating in all the ways you can (the time for discernment will come( - forums, events, panels, social media. 2. Pause after a meaningful period of participation (2 weeks? a month?) and ask yourself: where did you find the most engagement, and where did you feel more engaged? 3. Ideally that helped you narrow down a few things - go beyond participating, offer to volunteer, edit, review to be seen as a leader. All of this should help you build strong relationships, often a critical component of career moves.

Leveraging professional organizations for your project management career sometimes diverts your focus from practical experiences and real-world challenges. Instead of over-reliance on professional organizations, consider exploring unconventional avenues for your project management career development. Seek out diverse sources of knowledge, like cross-industry insights, non-traditional mentors, and self-directed learning. This method equips you to stand out in the field of project management by bringing fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the table. While professional organizations have their benefits, less conventional routes often lead to significant career advancements.

Before joining an association, ask yourself what the investments are, both of money and time. I find the PMI subscription to be expensive but still worthwhile because it helps me earn PDUs that will count towards my certification renewal. I have not leveraged it or chapters enough for intentional networking yet, but since there are other channels for me for that: talent accelerator programs, LinkedIn communities, courses I am doing, I do not consider that to be a significant downside.