Organizations

Student, honor, and professional organizations gather people interested in the same field of knowledge, in academic excellence, or in similar professional activities. Your membership in such an organization will be a signal to employers that you are serious about your studies and that you are familiar with your field of interest—the subject matter but also the people in that field.

Student organizations are a great way to meet other students who are interested in making a difference. Students who participate in running clubs and organizations at John Jay learn how to collaborate with groups of peers, how to lead groups, and how to develop their missions. These are all skills that are helpful in any professional career and even suggest to employers that the job candidate has leadership potential and knows how to think long-term. At John Jay, as an English major, you could easily get involved in organizations such as the Debate Team, Law Society and Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society.

 

Professional organizations gather people excited about a particular field, and commonly organize yearly conferences. These conferences are excellent opportunities to get to see professionals in action, to mingle with them and learn how to behave in their company, maybe even to show off some research you did with a professor or on your own, and to introduce yourself to other participants. They will be impressed with you, and will later want to hire you when you apply for a job with their organization. Some relevant professional organizations are the National Council of Teachers of EnglishAmerican Society of Journalists and Authors, Investigative Reporters and EditorsPublic Relations Society of AmericaPublic Relations Student Society of AmericaAmerican Association of Advertising Agencies, and The Association for Women in Communications.