1984. Torquay. Nervous. Curious and keen to meet with this rare community of people who did the same kind of work as me.
And far from being like George Orwell’s novel, with its bleak tale of a dystopian working world, the working world of Internal Communication was brought to life in 1984, at my first IoIC conference, as a much more positive experience!
I’d been in my first job in internal communication for just six months, working at Marks & Spencer writing for the internal monthly newspaper and keen to learn more. My manager was an advocate for professional associations and sent me to the IoIC’s (BAIE back then) annual conference.
And honestly, it was a revelation. People like me! Doing work like me! Who I could learn with and from! A tribe!
I became an IoIC member, quickly an active member and got more involved over the years, working on various committees, workgroups, and taskforces, then heading up committees, becoming national chairman and now president.
I feel I’ve definitely got more from volunteering for IoIC than IoIC has got from me, even though it’s getting on for 40 years of Institute involvement.
This added value has included learning a wide range of professional and personal skills from problem-solving, negotiation and facilitation, and getting totally out of my comfort zone with presenting to large audiences.
Then there’s the building of a strong network of some really talented and expert contacts who I know I can call anytime.
Volunteering improved my employability over the years by raising my profile and putting me in the frame for job interviews. It was also a contributing factor for getting new roles, as I was able to talk about and demonstrate an active interest and involvement in my profession.
I’ve made lifelong friends within my industry. I even met my husband through IoIC. (That’s not a service that IoIC offers by the way, but there’s a number of us who met our partners through volunteering for the Institute!)
One of the most interesting aspects of volunteering has been the opportunity to be even a small part of something bigger, to be involved in shaping and influencing the IC profession over the years as the world of work changes.
This, in turn, has brought a different perspective to my own day-to-day job with new insights, varied and bigger thinking, and real-world contexts.
And contributing time to something where you can see a positive impact and the difference you can make is good for strengthening our own confidence, wellbeing and overall satisfaction.
As a not-for-profit organisation, IoIC relies on volunteers to support its success, providing valuable activities, resources, and input into our work for members.
The bigger our community, the bigger our impact, so think about being a volunteer for your professional institute. It’s definitely worth it.
