1. It’s an Incredible Community of Interesting Women: Really, this is the main thing. There are women who have built their own businesses from scratch, women who work for non-profits, women who work for corporations. Filmmakers, writers, PR experts, graphic designers. This is a community of women who love their work and love to share their experiences, insights, and laughs.
2. References, Referrals, Network: If one of the more than 250 members of this organization runs across a job she hasn’t time for or isn’t qualified for, you can bet she’ll reach out to one of the members of WCA. “Do you have time for this?” “Are you interested?” Women in this organization share leads, tips, and referrals generously.
3. Career Mentorship: We have formal mentoring events such as Careers Over Coffee, Connect Over Cocktails and our mentorship program where you can talk about working with your difficult boss, applying for jobs or trying to get ahead in your organization. Then we just have all kinds of informal support, encouragement and advice. You go girl!
4. Brilliant Programs: Want to know about local green organizations and what they expect from their communications support? How about exploring politics, entrepreneurship, social good organizations or spending lunch with three different experts from whom you could ask questions? WCA has luncheons every month at the elegant University of Texas Club covering the whole panorama of communications.
5. Job Bank: Got a hot tip on a job or gig? We do. Our members pass on any information they get from their vast networks about organizations looking for people with all kinds of communication skills, right to your inbox every day.
6. WCA Forum: What is the best way to thank someone for a referral? Who knows of a good accountant? Where can I house my mother-in-law for a week? That, and much more, gets shared on the WCA Forum. Anyone who is a member and subscribed to the forum can enter into the conversation with fellow members who may have been there, done that, and are happy to share what they learned!
7. More Brilliant Programs: In addition to the monthly luncheons, we have regular Leader Lunches where a small group of women gets to share an intimate lunch with a woman in the community who has distinguished herself as a leader. This is a great chance for conversation with someone you might never meet you our own. We also have Get Smart, geared specifically for communicators to learn what’s new and crucial in our career world, everything from boldly tackling social media to finding your own creativity. Then there’s Banner Brunch, where we honor some of the women who have made remarkable contributions to our industry and we take incredibly goofy pictures that are tons of fun.
8. The Barbie Award: What other organization gives a board member who has contributed the most that month an award in the shape of a Cheerleader Barbie? Seriously, the old girl looks pretty good for how often she’s been passed around!
9. You Don’t Have to Explain Yourself: This is a group of women who speak the same language, operate together in the same or similar industries. You don’t have to catch anybody up, explain what you’re talking about or why that client is frustrating.
10. Just Fun: This is a fun group of women who love to get together and talk and laugh. Many of us have met some of our closest friends through through WCA. And that, alone, is worth the price!