Step 1: Select three references

Identify the three references who will support your application for Senior member grade. References must be active members and hold the grade of IEEE Senior member or Fellow. It is generally preferable that your references know you personally or professionally; however, this is not required. The Boston Section has over 1100 senior members and fellows of its 6100 members in all specialties which you should be able to contact to act as a reference. The best source to find senior members and fellows is:

• Use IEEE Collabratec and select Menu (top left) > People > Country: USA, State: MA, Member Grade: Senior Member.

This lists member grade, society, section, and company to help you find someone within your technical field. Someone in your technical area that knows you is preferred. Finally, if you have difficulty in locating individuals to serve as your references, we suggest you contact your local volunteer officers for assistance.

Once you find a reference, write to them to ask if they have time to be your reference for senior grade membership. You should provide them with your work history. They will need to provide you with their member number.

Step 2: Prepare your resume or CV (optimized, verified, accurate and ready to be submitted for the application process)

Your resume should highlight areas of your experience that go toward meeting the requirement for five years of significant performance, not routine job responsibilities. Resumes or CVs should also include relevant dates of your professional and educational experience. Dates are important in order to determine that you do, in fact, have the required ten years of professional experience and five years of significant performance.

Applications that are not approved are the result of missing relevant dates and details associated with their background, or from a failure to properly document those specific activities that meet the significant performance requirement (not routine work). It is suggested that you review the requirements for Senior member grade; your documents should clearly state how you meet all the requirements. Recommend filling out and submitting your CV using the optimized sample CV template, it contains example cases.

Step 3: Complete and submit online application (include resume)

It is strongly recommended that you upload the resume or CV to your application. The resume will assist the review panel in confirming that you meet the requirements for Senior member grade. Complete the Senior member application online form. Send any questions to sec.boston@ieee.org. The application form contains these sections:

• Applicant Contact Information, Professional Experience, Significant Performance
• University Attended
• Present Occupation
• References: from Step 1 and 4
• Attachments: where to attach your optimized resume from Step 2, and optionally also a full CV/resume
• Review/Submit: you may review (even if you log back in later) until you submit. Details or references cannot be edited once you click Submit.

Step 4: Contact your references

Once their member number from Step 1 is entered into the online application in Step 3, they will immediately receive an e-mail to visit the IEEE website’s Senior Member Application, Nomination, and Reference Form to provide their referral in writing. You should immediately contact the individuals you have selected to serve as your references and provide them with a copy of your resume or CV (the full version as well as the optimized version) on which to base their recommendation. The system will suspend your application indefinitely until they visit the website to recommend you, and changing references is a tedious process, thus provide the relevant information in your e-mail with an encouraging reminder to log into the website.  The references you’ve selected are volunteers, some of them travel due to business, so be aware it may take a few days (or even weeks) for them to complete their reference feedback on the application form

Step 5: Track status of your application

Applications or nominations submitted will appear on the Senior Member Status Report, which is posted to the Web at close of business every Friday. The appearance of your name on this report indicates that your application was received. This is manually added by a reviewer within seven days.

After your application has reached the “complete” stage, it will automatically be scheduled to be considered at the next available Senior Member Elevation Review Panel. Reaching “complete” must occur at least ten days prior to the Panel meeting to allow ample time for processing and shipping the application package to the meeting location.

You can check the status of your application at any time by logging back into your application using your username and password.

Step 6: Interpret results

Shortly after your application has been peer reviewed at an A&A Review Panel meeting, you will receive an e-mail notification if your application was not approved.

Applicants whose application for Senior member grade elevation was approved will be sent a congratulatory letter within seven business days of the meeting date. Approved applicants will have their name posted in the Senior Member Update Report. Approximately six weeks after approval successful applicants will receive via surface mail: a formal letter confirming grade elevation along with a voucher for up to US$25 which can be used to join a new IEEE Society of their choice.

Senior Application FAQ’s can be found here.