In addition to ISACA being a top-flight professional global community with great resources for IT professions of all levels, it is a highly collaborative community. On ISACA’s Engage platform, community members ask industry and career questions and get answers quickly from their ISACA colleagues.
It has always been a pleasure to be part of this community. I was originally inspired to get involved by Ian Cooke, who was a topic leader for Audit & Assurance at that time. Ever since I became an ISACA member, I have had quite a number of opportunities to connect with global IT leaders like Mark Thomas, Opeyemi Onifade, Allan Boardman, Edward McCabe, and other experts, industry leaders, young professionals and ISACA certification exam aspirants. This year, I was privileged to qualify and volunteer as a topic leader for the SheLeadsTech community.
Being a topic leader on Engage has enabled me to connect with a large global community, which is indeed thrilling. I love that we have new members joining the community every single day. Being active on Engage does not require much time – simple gestures like liking others’ discussion posts, contributing to a discussion, asking questions, sharing resources in the community library, posting a topic to discuss, and replying with magic words like “thank you” to anyone who responds go a long way. I recall one especially interesting discussion about how it feels to be the only woman on the team, in which one community member mentioned that “Often being the only woman makes you strive harder to show that you are also the best.” Engage is a great platform to inspire others and encourage colleagues to become involved (you can also send invites or nominate others to join). It is so much fun!
Below are some of the ways in which being active in the Engage community can be helpful:
- You can prompt relevant industry discussions with peers and subject matter experts.
- Your experience on the platform can earn you a job if your activities are highlighted on your resume and LinkedIn profile. In addition, your activities earn you digital badges for your Engage profile.
- You can encourage other professionals to connect and share their experiences and professional advice.
- Through the ISACA community, you might make long-term friends, who I refer to as “family.” You can connect your profiles to create a personalized network of professionals to keep in touch with.
- Due to the collaborative nature of the community, young professionals get a feel about what working in tech really looks like through learning from others’ experiences, which prepares them for early job opportunities.
- If you are currently unemployed, responding to other members' queries may land you referrals for job opportunities from peers and you can continue to build your industry knowledge. Through reviewing the daily and weekly digests, there is plenty of time to learn new skills and knowledge. I can’t express this enough; members learn best industry practices from community members.
- Active topic leaders earn up to 10 CPEs hours for their volunteer role in leading the online community. Engage Topic Leader volunteer applications are typically posted in or around November and June in the volunteer portal on Engage.
- Being active on Engage can help prepare community members for global recognition, awards, chapter and global leadership positions.
ISACA makes it possible for everyone to learn and gain value from different Engage communities, ranging from Audit and Assurance, IT Governance, Privacy, Rising Professionals, Information and Cybersecurity, One in Tech-SheLeadsTech, Emerging Technology, COBIT and Frameworks, CISA Exam Prep, etc.
Throughout the globe, organizations today are relying on IT professionals, ISACA certification-holders, and ISACA members to succeed amid a challenging environment. If you have the right industry tech skills, that means companies will be relying on YOU. For both those already in the Engage community as well as those who are hearing about this for the first time, consider joining the Engage platform and participating in its online forums.
Editor’s note: To learn more about volunteer opportunities through ISACA, visit the Engage portal.