IAAO U40 changing to IAAO Launch Pad for career advancement, networking, and onboarding


“Launching our careers, our organization and our profession to new heights”

Woodrow Wilson said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” Fast change was one part of the innovative IAAO U40 Leadership Lab motto and we are embracing change now as we step into the future of new professionals.

Responding to changing times requires a status check. We did this by asking a few questions. Where are we? Where do we want to be? What is working? What can we improve on? During the IAAO Annual Conference in Boston, we held a focus group with passionate emerging professionals-the results of which are innovative and inspiring! We landed on the idea that our most important function will be to launch careers, our profession, and our organization to new heights. Prepare for take-off as we share our vision for IAAO Launch Pad, with a kickoff at noon Central on March 22! Look forward to an interactive and productive networking hub and come ready to build relationships and plot the trajectory of the IAAO Launch Pad and the future leaders of IAAO!

Launch Pad will now be the first step for career advancement, future engagement, networking, and organizational onboarding. This shift in focus is not just a renaming but a comprehensive approach to leave no person behind, no member disengaged.

The Launch Pad Focus group identified three key objectives that will ensure the future growth of our profession and the individual careers of our members which will in turn foster growth and sustainability in the future of the International Association of Assessing Officers.

Register for Launch Pad MEETING on FEBRUARY 29 

Launch Pad Goals

RPM (Recruit, Promote, Mentor) summarizes our goals. These are verbs, not ideas, and they require action. But, action without a plan is never a good idea. Here’s the plan:

Recruit!

Assessing has a reputation as the “accidental profession.” Our goal is to cultivate an industry culture where recruitment is taking place at the high school and college levels. Launch Pad will be tasked with creating a road map that can be used all over the world to showcase our industry at job fairs and universities and provide local governments with internship plans to entice new talent. It will leverage new leaders in our profession to continue extolling the tangible and intangible benefits of a career in public service.

Promote!

We will encourage our Launch Pad members to become more active members in the IAAO. Launch Pad will be a starting point to educate members about the IAAO mission and the benefits of membership. Launch Pad will promote individual education, IAAO Professional Designations, and the Emerging Leaders’ Summit. It will provide opportunities to teach, to engage with peers on projects, and to network. In time, members will be encouraged to grow and volunteer to serve in various capacities: on task forces, in committees and, ultimately, on the Board of Directors! This is a great way to begin one’s journey to a rewarding and active membership in IAAO by engaging with peers who have common interests and are in similar stages professionally, even if ages are different.

Mentor!

Launch Pad will provide an opportunity for organic mentorship to occur at the peer-to-peer level. In a more structured environment, Launch Pad will refer our members to the newly formed IAAO mentorship program “Value In Exchange.” New professionals will have a place to get their foot in the door through IAAO Launch Pad, while taking an active role in our organization and launching their career to new heights.

Launch Pad will Recruit, Promote and Mentor a visionary path to the future where it can be self-sustaining and serve as the launching point for each new group without the constraints of age. The goal is to continuously engage new members and promote current members to move forward to greater endeavors for the organization so that Launch Pad does not fizzle out.

Launch Pad will determine a process to keep a record of the IAAO members who are a part of our group in order to intentionally provide opportunities to interact and engage in activities throughout the year. This will foster a sense of belonging and encourage members to take advantage of our strongest asset in the IAAO - the people.