Professional associations offer a unique way to connect with others in your industry, stay up-to-date on current industry news and trends, and find support to help you grow as a professional. Typically, by joining a professional association, you gain access to conferences, speaker events, industry-specific job boards, and much more.
For the second part of the Black History Month Series, I’ve picked out a few organizations in the Marketing, Sales, & Communication industries. While these aren’t the only organizations out there, they are a great place to start your journey in connecting with others in your field of interest.
National Black Public Relations Society: Since its founding in 1998, the National Black Public Relations Society (NBPRS) has served as an advocate for black professionals in public relations, media relations, corporate communications, investor relations, government affairs, community relations, and related fields.
National Sales Network: National Sales Network (NSN) is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit membership organization whose objective is to meet the professional and developmental needs of sales and sales management professionals and individuals who want to improve their professional sales skills.
National Association of Black Journalists: The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization that provides innovative, quality programs and services to its members. The organization advocates on behalf of Black journalists and media professionals in the U.S. and worldwide. NABJ’s membership is more than 4,000 strong and includes emerging journalists, professional journalists, student journalists, journalism educators and media professionals of all kinds.
National Association of Real Estate Brokers: The National Association of Real Estate Brokers, (NAREB), is a Real Estate Professional trade organization with local chapters across the country who embrace the ideals and mission of “promoting democracy in housing”. While the name suggests an organization of Real Estate Brokers, it is a professional real estate organization which includes membership from multiple disciplines in the real estate industry. We welcome professionals in all areas of real estate to join us and help promote our mission.
Black Career Network: The Black Career Network is a general network to find and post available jobs, as well as to find and attend career events.
If you’d like to look into more professional groups, I’d suggest checking out these lists from JobStars.com or ClimbCredit.com.
