We want you! To join professional organizations.

I wish there were more time in the day and honestly who else doesn’t? I have recently been interested in finding professional groups in fields related to law and public relations. I am graduating from Kent State University next December, and think it would be good to join a different professional group in the fall. I want to join all the groups I have been researching. It is definitely one of my flaws; I tend to overextend myself because I get excited about all the different opportunities out there. I usually pull it off, but I’m sure my body will hate me for the lack of sleep I am getting now in later years.

I keep finding there is never enough time in the day.

riseli53 “World Time 1″ world and time. sxc.hu [http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1161702."]

I know I don’t have enough time to devote to so many different groups. If I joined the two new groups and kept everything I am currently involved in, I would be involved in four organizations, a full time student, and working two jobs. No time for a life in there so I don’t think I will be joining all of the groups I want too.

I thought I could use my blog to inform other students about the great opportunities that these outside of the classroom activities have offer. And maybe my promotion of the group will allow me to tag along once or twice with someone who joins. The two organizations I want to feature are the Legal Marketing Association and the American League of Lobbyists. These organizations go above and beyond when it comes to helping students in the pursuit of knowledge.

LMA

The Legal Marketing Association is a global organization that serves the needs of professionals within the legal marketing realm. The group helps members maintain and develop industry standards and high ethics, and provides knowledge to continue learning within the field. I decided to focus on the Ohio chapter because I am from Ohio, though all the information on other chapters can be found on the national Website.

An upcoming event, one of which I hope to attend, will focus on “Developing targeted, on-to-one communication with clients through online channels.” This event will be held on May 14, in Cleveland, Ohio. The time and more specific location are not available on the site. The speaker is Anthony Green, the president of Concep, the New York devision, a marketing technology and service company with offices in London, New York and Sydney Australia. The focus of the event will be e-mail marketing. Sounds like an event any PRKent student could attend and get ahead in our PR Online class.

The American League of Lobbyists

This is a national organization located in Washington D.C. that works to “enhance the development of professionalism, competence, and high ethical standards for advocates in the public policy arena, to collectively address challenges which affect the First Amendment right to ‘petition the government for redress of grievances.” (From ALL’s Website.)

ALL offers a student membership for $30 a year. Students can attend all events. Each event is $145 for members. Events are held in D.C and include sessions such as Lobbying 101, Grassroots and coalitions, different ethics courses, and workshops on regulations and procedures.

The American League of Lobbyists also offers a lobbying certificate program that started in 2006. This is the only organization to offer such a certificate for the lobbying industry. To apply for the certificate you have to actually be a registered lobbyist. Hope I make it that far one day.

Conclusion

This post is supposed to help students get a foot in the door. It is an attempt at helping people network and find their place in the job market. I enjoyed researching this topic. It gave me a new perspective and made me feel okay about graduation. I hope you liked my research, and until next week, I hope you enjoy doing a little research of your own.

December 2009 here I come!

jusstas “Graduation cap” graduation hat [http://www.sxc.hu/photo/993663].