--- title: "Give Members the Career Resources They Want" id: "6606" type: "post" slug: "give-members-the-career-resources-they-want" published_at: "2024-03-28T00:00:00+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-14T21:45:27+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2024/03/28/give-members-the-career-resources-they-want/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2024/03/28/give-members-the-career-resources-they-want.md" excerpt: "The 2023 Association Trends study (opens in a new tab) by Community Brands shows that help with career advancement and job opportunities rank as top priorities among benefits for members, especially for those in the early and middle stages of..." taxonomy_category: - "Career Development" taxonomy_post_tag: - "ASAEcenter" - "Business Process Analysis" - "career resources" - "Employee Retention" - "Employee Training" - "job opportunities" - "Management (General)" - "member development" - "Professional Development" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Give Members the Career Resources They Want The [2023 Association Trends study (opens in a new tab)](https://www.ymcareers.com/resources/whitepapers/2023-association-trends-study/) by Community Brands shows that help with career advancement and job opportunities rank as top priorities among benefits for members, especially for those in the early and middle stages of their careers. ### Member Priorities Based on Career Stage But there are gaps when you compare how important these career benefits are to members with how important association professionals (“pros” in the graph below) think they are to members. The data suggests that associations greatly underestimate the value of career assistance to members. ### Among the Top Membership Benefits ### **Three Opportunities for Your Association to Deliver Greater Member Value** What can you do with this data about what members want? Let’s look at how you can bridge gaps in member value by offering career-related resources. #### 1. Provide high-value, career-focused opportunities. A relatively low percentage of members in the study attended an in-person or virtual career fair with their association or used the organization’s job board or career center in the past 12 months. However, members placed high value on those activities. These data points suggest that associations have an opportunity to provide and promote more of these types of high-value, career-focused engagement activities. ### Engagement Activities with Organization (Members’ Perspective) continued #### 2. Become the preferred source for job opportunities. When looking for job opportunities, members in the study say they are most likely to use LinkedIn and Indeed job boards, yet they are significantly more likely to view their association as the best source for getting a quality job offer. These findings suggest a strong opportunity for associations to transform their job boards into the go-to career destination for their industry or profession. (More on that below.) ### Member Viewpoints of Sources for Job Opportunities #### 3. Provide a broad range of career development resources. Members in the study are interested in receiving career development help from their association in multiple ways. There’s another discrepancy here in terms of what associations actually offer. While a majority of association professionals in the study say their organization has a job board, few offer the types of additional career advancement help that members want. ### Career Development Offerings vs. Member Interest ### Where Can You Start? The data points above indicate an opportunity for associations to provide a broader range of resources—so members can land the jobs they’re seeking and grow their careers. Help your association become the top career resource for your members and your industry by optimizing your job board and career development resources with these tips. #### Online job board. Offer an online job board that makes it easy for members to search and apply for job openings. Here are some capabilities to consider: - **Build in mobile responsiveness** to allow your members to quickly apply for jobs from their mobile devices. - **Adding personalized search** will increase engagement and job views by recommending opportunities to members based on their prior searches. - **Offer job alerts and matching** that automatically send jobs to interested and relevant job-seeking members via email when they are posted. - **Let members upload their resumes to an anonymous resume bank** so that employers can approach qualified candidates for open positions. #### **Career development resources.** Create a more robust online career center by adding career development resources, including: - **Career insights**, like salary, education and skills requirements, outlooks for job growth, related jobs, and more to help members make informed career decisions. - **Career advice** through articles, tips, best practices, and other content formats. - **Career coaching**that connects members with professional career coaches who can help them develop career-building skills, such as career planning, resume building, interviewing, and negotiation. - **Career pathing**, so members can build a clear road map to reach their professional goals by using an online tool to visualize the steps from the job they have to the jobs they want next. - **Mentoring**that connects members who are early in their careers with experienced industry professionals who can provide them with inspiration and guidance in their careers. Offering a comprehensive online career center shows members you’re invested in their futures. With the right tools and approaches, your career development resources have the power to help you increase member recruitment, engagement, and retention. [Lauren Lanz Farrar](https://associationsnow.com/author/lauren-lanz-farrar/) Lauren Lanz Farrar is a content marketing specialist for Community Brands. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/lauren-lanz-farrar/) Tags: [#Business Process Analysis](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business-process-analysis/) [#career resources](https://associationsnow.com/tag/career-resources/) [#Employee Retention](https://associationsnow.com/tag/employee-retention/) [#Employee Training](https://associationsnow.com/tag/employee-training/) [#job opportunities](https://associationsnow.com/tag/job-opportunities/) [#Management (General)](https://associationsnow.com/tag/management-general/) [#member development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-development/) [#Professional Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/professional-development/) **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 - [VideoWelcome to ASAE AcademyMarch 19, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/03/19/welcome-to-asae-academy/) - [ArticleThe Conversations You’re Not Having Are Costing You Your Best PeopleJuly 7, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/07/the-conversations-youre-not-having-are-costing-you-your-best-people/) - [VideoDJ Johnson Shares His Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/dj-johnson-shares-his-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/) ## 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%2F2024%2F03%2F28%2Fgive-members-the-career-resources-they-want%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !