Re: Are we a "professional society"?

[Lisa Higgins <lisarea -at- DRUAK -dot- DR -dot- LUCENT -dot- COM>]

> Excellent point, Diane. For my two cents, I learn more from the couple of
> lists that I am on than I do at formal association meetings. Since you
> mentioned it, I AM going to list them. Maybe as associations.

While I do see that there may be some validity to doing this, I
wouldn't dream of mentioning the fact that I subscribe to this list
on my resume. I did mention my STC membership even after I'd stopped
participating, though, and I can recognize that participation in a
professional mailing list could be as valid as being a dues-paying
member of a professional society. Still, if I were to see this on
someone's resume, I'm afraid it would still strike me as kind of
pathetic at best and borderline deceptive at worst. The fact that you
subscribe to a mailing list (or belong to a professional society) is
meaningless in itself. I wouldn't mention it any more than I'd
mention that I'm a member of the HTML Writers' Guild or a Universal
Life Church Minister, and for the same reasons. Anyone who knows what
these things really are is going to realize that they mean nothing
and wonder why I couldn't think of something more substantial to put
on my resume.

However, if you do participate actively and/or feel that it's
contributed significantly to your professional development, it may be
valid to include a brief description of it somewhere in your cover
letter.

Lisa Higgins
lhiggins -at- lucent -dot- com

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