Program Highlights

The Division of Membership and Scientific Advancement (M&SA) continues to offer innovative solutions to better serve ACS members. The ACS Career Navigator™ continues to provide members and other chemistry-related professionals with a one-stop-shop of key resources to help them succeed in the global chemistry enterprise at all stages of their careers. The ACS Career Navigator™ seamlessly combines the offerings of Career Services (Career Fairs, Career Consulting, ACS Career Pathways™ Workshops), Professional Education (Short and Online Courses), Leadership Development (Facilitated and Online Courses), and Market Intelligence (Employment Dashboard, ACS Salary Calculator™) into a single, unified experience for ACS members and potential members.

This unified brand touches every ACS member. It is responsible for training governance leaders, assisting and facilitating employment searches, improving technical and managerial skills, informing on job trends, and connecting and mentoring. The Navigator brand’s central theme of “Your Competitive Advantage in a Global Workforce” speaks to the value that this product mix provides ACS members. Specifically, the ACS Career Navigator™ seeks to:

• Enhance the professional skills and career knowledge of chemical scientists and engineers by providing a seamless product portfolio responsive to their needs,
• Develop a diverse and coordinated portfolio of products, programs and services containing something for members and potential members at all career stages,
• Serve the employment and advancement needs of members in a coordinated and seamless manner, and
• Craft a member benefit with tremendous value important to constituents.

In 2015, the ACS Career Navigator™ achieved more than 8,700 substantial interactions worldwide with ACS members and potential members to meet their professional needs, exceeding its goal of 8,000. This included over 1,500 participants in professional education and leadership development courses, 1,750 personalized career consulting sessions, 2,000 career workshop attendees, and 3,400 job seekers at the career fairs. The ACS Career Navigator™ further grew its relationship with corporations and government laboratories around the globe through onsite, customized training that provided solutions to their technical and personnel challenges. The ACS Career Fair in Boston was a success with several new features and offerings for job seekers and employers alike; resulting in the most employers participating and positions posted since 2011 and the most attendees since 2013. Additionally, M&SA began awarding a new ACS Career Navigator™ Certificate in Polymer Chemistry: Principles and Practice for learners who attend and successfully complete the 5-day polymer lab/lecture course held three times a year in Blacksburg, VA.

In 2015, 47 ACS Leadership Development System^® (ACS LDS) courses were offered at the ACS Leadership Institute, National Meetings, Regional Meetings, and Local Section events. In addition to providing leadership skills training for individuals, the ACS LDS conducted 11 Strategic Planning Retreats for ACS subunit groups.

In 2015, a symposium entitled “Leadership Skills as a Strategic Advantage: The Chemist’s Competitive Edge,” was held during the Boston National meeting. The symposium featured perspectives from corporate and academic leaders on what chemists need to start, grow and succeed in their careers. The symposium was organized by the ACS Leadership Advisory Board in celebration of 50 years of leadership development at ACS.