As an Asian American and Pacific Islander industry professional, are you currently facing the following career growth challenges?
- Become too comfortable in the current position you are in
- You are unable to explore other opportunities due to maintaining your professional career
- Looking to differentiate yourself to climb up the promotion ladder
One solution is to boost your community involvement. Here are a couple of reasons why community involvement can help overcome a plateaued career growth.
1. Increasing your Network and bring business to your Company
Many local Asian American and Pacific Islander Non-profit organizations often have internal staff that run day-to-day operations to improve or provide services for the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. These local Las Vegas non-profits often have a board of directors and advisory board with various ties to other business industries throughout the Las Vegas community.
As you continue to be involved with specific Asian American and Pacific Islander non-profit organizations that are based in Las Vegas, you’ll have a high opportunity to be connected with these board members who could be referrals that can bring in new business opportunities for your company.
2. Improving soft skill sets that can be used at your company
Depending on the various volunteer opportunities you participate in, event-based volunteering can help you improve your soft skills from leadership to public speaking. Many volunteer events throughout the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander community require volunteers to constantly evaluate and help run the event as smoothly, since some organizers in the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander non-profit organizations can get overwhelmed with running the event.
If you haven’t volunteered with an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) non-profit organization or an event organized by various AAPI’s, start by volunteering at smaller events and gradually become a lead who can help take ownership of small pieces of an event.
3. Learning/improving uncommon skill sets
If you have skills or hobbies that you participate in in your free time, these could be of value for a local Asian American and Pacific Islander non-profit organization. Offer these services as in-kind work. The benefit you can gain by providing in-kind services is the ability to improve your skills and even collect data on how your in-kind work has helped the non-profit organization.
Some examples of data you can collect within your in-kind work for a local Las Vegas non-profit organization are:
- How many people have been impacted by your work
- If the service you provided helped the non-profit organization reach its goals
- Metrics the non-profit organization can provide for your work (i.e. reach, impressions, actions, conversions)
4. Having a Mentor
A mentor is often the jewel that can help grow your career path. You can find mentors through the non-profit Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations you’re involved with in the Las Vegas community. It’s okay if a mentor isn’t in your industry, as they can still provide guidance or become a long-term mentor that can give you different perspectives of challenges you face in the future and personal life.
Start your Community Involvement with OCA
Be a part of a national organization focused on community building and serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Since 1996, OCA Las Vegas has been focused on community building in the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Become an OCA member by purchasing your membership. Annual membership pricing starts as low as $10/year.
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