You might realize that your association needs a job board for members, but you may not realize all of the benefits an online career center offers. Not only can it help your members find jobs and develop their careers, but it also can help your association improve member retention.
How can an online career center help your association improve member retention?
Based on association trends research conducted by Momentive Software, we know that offering an online career center can help associations recruit and retain members. Why?
Job opportunities and help with career development are among the most valued member benefits. An online career center helps members and other job seekers gain access to these benefits via:
- Jobs postings specific to your industry
- Career planning tools and resources
- Higher recognition with employers in your industry
Delivering these member benefits leads to increased member engagement, which in turn makes for loyal members who will continue to renew their memberships – in other words, improved member retention.
Offering a top-notch career center can help you:
- Attract new members
- Better engage and retain current members
- Position you as the top career resource in your industry
What should a career center include to improve member retention?
At a minimum, your career center should include an online job board for your industry. Offering an online job board gives your members the value they need, including the ability to easily search and apply for relevant internships and job opportunities.
To take your online job board to the next level, provide your members with career resources to help them land the job and grow their careers. For example:
- Résumé review – Offer free résumé critique through your online career center.
- Job seeker articles, tips, and recommendations – Offer articles and other content including résumé writing tips, interview techniques, job search ideas, and tips on social networking.
- Career coaching – Connect members with certified career coaches to help with things like job search strategies, interview tips, and résumé writing.
- Professional education – Use your career center to promote your association’s online learning courses and credentials. For example, recommend relevant learning courses that will make your members more qualified for the jobs they seek.
- Career pathing tool – Give your members a roadmap to help them map out and achieve their professional goals.
How do you improve member retention using your career center?
There are multiple ways to improve member retention using your career center. Here are some ideas:
- Send members relevant job opportunities – Momentive Software has found that members want new, relevant jobs delivered directly into their inboxes via a dedicated job email.
- Send career resources to job seekers and members – Email job seekers regularly with featured tips and best practices. Point them to resources based on their past activity with your association’s career center to provide them with added value and keep them coming back for more.
- Present job seekers with learning opportunities – As job seekers visit your online career center, present them with learning opportunities. That way, they will be more likely to visit your association’s education catalog and invest in their continuing education. In turn, this gives you another chance at getting them to become and remain members.
Deliver greater member value to increase member retention
Another way that your association’s online career center can play a big role in member retention is by providing ongoing member value. It provides a single, convenient place for members to turn throughout their careers for help and support when they need it.
Here are examples of specific ways your online career center can provide member value through each stage of the member career journey:
Student or new graduate
Searches and applies for an internship – Students and new grads often kick off their careers with internships in their professional field. Help them out by offering an internship board to connect them with employers that have internship opportunities. For example, use YM Careers InternBoard to integrate an internship board with your online job board, or create a stand-alone internship board.
Gets matched with a mentor – Students and new grads often seek a mentor to help them grow professionally as they enter the workforce. Support them by offering a mentor board to connect them with experienced professionals who seek to help those who are early in their careers. For example, using YM Careers MentorBoard, you can let students and graduates set up their own accounts and profiles with information needed to qualify them as a “mentee” and then search user profiles and initiate contact with potential mentors.
Early-to-mid careerist
Maps out career path options – As students and new graduates move into their first jobs, a career path can be a big help. Using YM Careers, you can give your members the ability to map out their career path based on the job they want. It gives them a well-defined path to get there, including the skills, learning, and job titles they need to reach their goals.
Searches and applies for industry jobs – When it’s time to find their next great job, be there to help your members find it. For example, set up a YM Careers job board, which allows your members to easily search and apply for job opportunities. They can sign up to receive job recommendations as well as alerts when new relevant job opportunities are posted. They can also access professional resources, including career advice articles and résumé critiques to help them land the job.
Attends a virtual career fair – Career fairs are another good way to connect your members with their next great job opportunity. YM Careers offers technology and services that help you deliver a great career event experience – from marketing and sales to execution.
Late careerist
Recruits and hires staff – As members move deeper into their careers, they might find the need to hire staff. Give them the opportunity to post their job opportunities on your job board. Go a step further by offering them opportunities to get their job postings in front of more candidates with banner advertising, social media outreach, and campaigns. YM Careers offers sales and marketing services to help you get employers on board as job posters and help them increase visibility of their job postings.
Becomes a mentor to young professionals – Just as your mentor board connects members early in their careers with seasoned professionals, it can connect members later in their careers with members who they can help grow professionally.
Learn more about how to increase member retention
With a robust online career center, your association can create a true career destination for your industry that helps members achieve their professional goals – keeping them around for years to come. Learn more about how YM Careers can help your association build an online career center that helps you retain members: Request a demo
