New Year's Resolution: Get Involved!

It's almost here - the New Year and New Year's Resolution! This year resolve to get more involved in an industry or community organization. I'm not just talking about signing up to be a member, but really getting involved. Many organizations have committees you can sign-up to join or you could get more involved with a position like Secretary or President.

In addition to feeling good about volunteering, you will also gain valuable networking time with people in your industry or your community. Don't have an organization in mind? Simply Google a topic that interests you, for instance "engineer organizations."

Before you dive into volunteering, a word of caution. It can be fulfilling to sign-up for a lot of tasks to help out. Before you take on anything, think about how much time you have to dedicate to volunteering each month and be up front with the organization or volunteer organizers about how much time you have to dedicate. Many will just be happy to have an extra set of hands to help progress the organization's priorities along.

Lastly, don't forget to add your involvement in any organization on your LinkedIn profile. Your online profile is a great way to categorize and display all of your activities (not just your volunteering activities).

Have and happy, prosperous and fulfilling 2013!!