Ask Isa: "Honor or scam?" How do you know if an honor society is legit?

From the Ask Isa inbox:

Hi Isa! My boyfriend and I keep getting offers to apply for honor societies, but they come with an upfront fee. Are these worth it? They don't even look that competitive, the ones that we've been receiving only require a 3.0. Since you're the college expert, I thought you might know or have written an article about this subject. Thanks Isa! Sincerely, Honor or scam?

Dear Honor or scam, 

Thank you so much for asking this question! I remember getting many honor society letters and never knowing which ones were really worth it. I'm not the ultimate expert on this, but here is what I recommend you do before you accept an offer:

1) Bring the letter to a few trusted professors and get their input. Most legit honors societies are well known. If you get a letter for an honor society specific to your major (e.g. I got invited to Lambda Pi Eta, a communications honors society) be sure to ask a professor in that major. I had never heard of Lambda Pi Eta, but when I asked my communications professor about it she said it was a great thing to add to my resume, and she asked me to get involved because she was the chapter advisor; it was great.

Professors live in the academic world and will often know what is recognized as an honor and what isn't worth your time and money. 

2) Search the honor society online. Check their website, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn group, and then do a Google search to see what people are saying. Don't take one complaint too seriously (as many people use the internet to complain more than to praise), but do take notice if a lot of people are saying it's a scam or if they thought joining wasn't worth it.

The Association of College Honor's Societies also lists some great things to consider when looking online to see if an honor society is legitimate. 

3) See if the honor society has a presence on campus. Another good sign is if the honor society has a chapter and meetings on your campus - that way you know it will be a chance to get involved. 

Though of course if you go to a very small college, the absence of a chapter may just be because no one has stepped up to lead - if the honor society checks out, consider starting a chapter on your campus!

4) Consider the benefits. Once you've determined the honor society is a good one (note: the ones I can 100% guarantee are looked upon as great honors are Phi Theta Kappa (2-year colleges) and Phi Beta Kappa (4-year colleges)), JUMP right in. 

You should be so proud of yourself for being recognized, and realize that good honor societies will add a great line to your resume, transfer applications, and scholarship applications. They can also provide opportunities to get involved. 

When I speak to community colleges my heart breaks when students come up to me afterwards and say "I got accepted to this thing called Phi Theta Kappa and I wasn't going to accept because of the money, but now that I heard you talk about it I'm definitely going to do it." 

Phi Theta Kappa was a HUGE benefit to my life; it offered me the opportunity  to apply to tons of scholarships, helped me develop my leadership skills, made me eligible for a special transfer scholarship at my transfer university, and introduced me to lifelong friends and my first airplane ride. 

I know when you get this random letter with a price attached it's easy to be unsure. And for some of those letters, you should be skeptical. But there are some that you should be so proud of, and for which the money invested will give you a huge return, especially if you get involved in your local chapter. 

So basically what I'm trying to say is, join Phi Theta Kappa if you're accepted, and always ask trusted professors for advice in this area. 

Congratulations for doing the hard work to get the GPA that honor societies look for. KUDOS! :) 

Sincerely,

Isa

P.S. To any current Phi Theta Kappa members: I will be at the international convention in San Jose, CA next week!!!! 

I'll be doing two ed sessions (check out the times in the agenda when you arrive), and when I'm not doing those you can find me in the Marketplace at the Pearson booth helping students tell their One Professor stories to get us to 500 videos so I'll get pied in the face live at convention!

(If your chapter would like to get an early start on the chapter competition associated with One Professor, check out this video). 

If you get to Marketplace early you might just find yourself walking away with a free autographed book. If you've already bought my book be sure to bring it with you as I'd be happy to sign it for you while I'm there. I can't wait to see you!!!

You can also check out this special highlight reel featuring all of the PTK One Professor videos we've already received!! :) 

To ask me a question that I'll answer on the blog, go to the Ask Isa inbox to submit it anonymously. 

How to access the hidden job market

Do you know how many jobs are actually posted online? The short answer: not very many. Check out this quick-tip video from The SKiNNY to find out what you can start doing right now to access the hidden job market :)

A habit that can put you in the top 1%

“Formal education gets you a job, self education gets you rich.” - Jim Rohn

As you know, I'm kind of a big fan of formal education. However, a college degree alone is not enough. Those who succeed are always learning. 

Self-education is a habit, and the earlier you start the more successful you will be. Period. 

(Sometimes I think back to what an odd kid I was - when I was a teenager I asked for 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens for Christmas (I know, nerd-alert). Self-learning always seemed a natural companion to formal learning to me.)

But how do you fit in extra learning while you're also getting formally educated? Well, you just do it. 

It's also helpful to set goals. For example, how about reading one book per month? I recently read in The Charge that people who read one book per month are in the top 1% of intellectuals. Not a bad payoff. 

A core concept in my book is how to find and learn from mentors - which is vital to college success. However, some of my favorite mentors also live in books. 

Lately I've had a lot of (awesome) readers e-mail me asking for my favorite non-fiction books about success, so I thought I would share them below. 

This is just a list to get you started - if you have any recommendations please share them in the comments section or on the Facebook page. 

And while I believe there is no better investment than in your formal and self-education, never underestimate the power of libraries when money is tight. 

The 10 books that have helped me reach my dreams these past few years (in no particular order):

1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 
2. The Compound Effect 
3. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth 
4. Outliers 
5. So Good They Can't Ignore You 
6. How to Be Like Walt 
7. What Should I do with my Life? 
8. Making Good 
9. Good to Great 
10. Never Eat Alone

And if you're looking to improve your college performance, some of my favorites include How to Win at College, How to Become a Straight-A Student, Say This, NOT That to your Professor, and a little diddy called Community College Success. ;)

How to banish laziness and get motivated

Is motivation a feeling or an action? I answer in this latest Break Through video from Pearson Students! 

First steps to build your online presence in college

Lately it seems building an online presence comes up at every event I attend with students. Some of the sound bites I've been hearing include:

"Yeah I started a LinkedIn profile but I have no idea what to do with it."

"I'm not sure how much employers actually check Facebook."

"I'm in college so I feel like I don't have any experience to put online."

"I don't really know how to network with people online."

"I feel awkward putting myself out there."

"I know I should have a website or something but I'm just terrible with all that stuff."

Many assume the millennial generation is born knowing how to do all of this stuff, but the truth is, building an online professional persona can be daunting, even for the most technologically-savvy millennials.

You are not alone if this online presence thing feels new and a little overwhelming. 

Many of the students I work with and speak to are first generation college students. Like myself, we enter the professional world of college graduates without parents who've been there. 

And even for those who have college-educated parents, getting a job and building an online presence was certainly not something their parents did when they graduated college. 

But the truth is building your online presence is not just a "nice" extra thing to do. It is THE thing to do. LinkedIn ambassador Linsey Pollak recently predicted in her award-winning career blog that "LinkedIn Profiles [will] replace resumes."

Below are the top three things you should do right now to get started:

1) Start a LinkedIn profile if you haven't already. 

2) Develop your profile immediately. Having a bare LinkedIn profile is not just as good as not having one at all. Take an hour or so and create the entire thing (it's actually pretty fun, especially with all the new features). 

Check out Lindsey's tips for what to add on your LinkedIn profile as a college student/recent grad. 

You have more skills that you realize, even if you haven't had a lot of work experience. List your education, awards, leadership experiences, internships, and any additional work (e.g. volunteer) you are doing in your desired field. 

Then, make an appointment with the career counselor at your college and ask her to review your LinkedIn profile just as she would a resume. Ask lots of people for feedback and continue to tweak it as you grow. 

You can see my LinkedIn profile here.

3) Link all of your work and profiles on a home page. Having a website in your name (e.g. isaadney.com) will make you stand out (note: I use WordPress). 

However, thinking about developing an entire website can feel daunting at first, so to start, consider creating a simple about.me page. I tried it out a few nights ago so I could share it with you if it was any good, and I was amazed at how easy it is and how professional it looks. 

When creating yours, keep it simple and focus on the apps and links that best represent your professional goals (i.e. blog, online portfolio, artwork, publications, online articles, etc.). Only add social media channels that you keep professional (e.g. LinkedIn). 

I also recommend considering using your Twitter (or perhaps creating a second one) for sharing news in your industry and interacting with professionals you admire. 

Creating your online presence can actually be really fun, and will pay off when it comes time to finding internships and jobs. Just try it and see.

And if you have any questions along the way about the steps above or your online presence in general, please submit them in the Ask Isa inbox as I'm currently gearing up to tackle building your online presence and personal brand as the 2013 summer series.