--- title: "Monday Buzz: Appealing to New Graduates" id: "38540" type: "post" slug: "monday-buzz-appealing-to-new-graduates" published_at: "2017-06-12T20:09:02+00:00" modified_at: "2017-06-12T20:09:02+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/06/12/monday-buzz-appealing-to-new-graduates/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/06/12/monday-buzz-appealing-to-new-graduates.md" excerpt: "How to engage and recruit new graduates to your association. Also: Even a veteran event planner can make these common mistakes." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "conferences" - "event planning" - "Meetings" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Director" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Monday Buzz: Appealing to New Graduates The class of 2017 has collected its hard-earned diplomas and is ready to head into the workforce. Now is a great time for your association to engage with and possibly recruit these new college graduates. Since many graduates are anxious about starting their careers, association can help them out by providing them with a mentoring program, suggests [MemberClicks in a recent blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.memberclicks.com/3-tips-to-transform-new-graduates-into-association-members) . “By providing these new graduates with the opportunity to observe others in their career and foster their professional network, you’re providing a huge appeal to join your association.” Once they are interested in joining, your organization has to be able to cater to this particular generation. Keep in mind that these young millennials are looking for more autonomy than the previous generation. “Make sure that your association is providing members the ability to choose what tasks they’d like to accomplish as opposed to forcing them into a committee that isn’t in their interests,” writes Krissy Conant. “When you allow for members to feel like they have some control of their participation level, it allows for them to take ownership of their projects and foster a real connection to the mission of your association.” ### Event Planning Errors https://twitter.com/micefxsolutions/status/874297414823415808 We all know meetings take a lot of planning, but is there a chance you’re putting too many of your personal preferences into the planning stage? That’s one of the mistakes even seasoned planners make, according to [a post from event agency MICEFX (opens in a new tab)](http://www.micefx.com/6-things-even-the-most-seasoned-event-planners-get-wrong) . “Great events are created when planners set aside their personal preference and think like their attendees,” says the post. “This will create an audience-centric program to address the attendees’ needs.” The blog post also warns about picking “second best” venues. “Because of this compromise, you’ll have to make your event fit the venue when it should ideally be the other way round.” ### Other Links of Note **Does your website have everything it needs?** The Wild Apricot blog shares the essential features any [top nonprofit website should have (opens in a new tab)](https://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2017/06/08/best-nonprofit-website-features) . **Crowdsourcing isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.** While your online community can drive innovation, Feverbee points out that you need [a thoughtful process to develop ideas (opens in a new tab)](https://www.feverbee.com/innovation/) . **Facebook Live can be a great tool for your association.** *Social Media Examiner*reveals a few ways you can [incorporate it into your marketing strategy (opens in a new tab)](http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-ways-to-add-facebook-live-to-marketing-strategy/) . (BananaStock/Thinkstock) [Raegan Johnson](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Tags: [#conferences](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conferences/) [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoAshley Cobb Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/ashley-cobb-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoJenny Teeson, CHSE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/jenny-teeson-chse-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoLakisha Woods, CAE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/lakisha-woods-cae-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoKevin Hesser Shares His Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/kevin-hesser-shares-his-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F06%2F12%2Fmonday-buzz-appealing-to-new-graduates%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !