It surprised me where HR knowledge fell on the list of core competencies for senior HR leaders, because you’d think that it would be higher. Having a core knowledge of HR isn’t the most important thing once you get to the senior ranks, I suppose. Let’s dig in.
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Why would I take a few days away from my precious family to attend the SHRM Leadership Conference? It’s simple, really. I wanted to see and hear from other people in the SHRM volunteer community. I created the SHRM Volunteer Leaders LinkedIn group to help connect and collaborate with these people. But that was just the first step. Now the Rock Your Chapter eBook is out there and I want to keep the conversation going about how to make chapters better.
I’m looking bigger than my own little chapter. Yes, I’m dedicated to helping them and have already set aside 2011 to serve as the Social Media Coordinator/Webmaster for NASHRM, but I want to connect with other leaders to learn and grow (them and me).
The LinkedIn Group: Mark Christensen initiated a discussion about having a time to talk about state best practices during the Leadership Conference. The discussion received a lot of comments, and (surprise surprise!) SHRM then added some time to talk about it. If that doesn’t make you feel good that they are paying attention (somewhat, anyway), then I don’t know what will.
Chapter director collaboration: My friend Bobbi Wilson found out recently that she was going to be the Certification Director at NASHRM for 2011. In an effort to help her get started on the right foot, I reached out to my network to find other certification professionals at other chapters. I gathered some names and email addresses and passed them along to Bobbi.
Now tell me this. If this is her first time as our chapter’s certification person, do you think she’ll do a better or worse job now that she has 5-10 people to brainstorm with? Yeah. That’s a micro example of what my eventual goal is with this SHRM volunteer leader stuff.
I tweeted this last night during a conversation, and it started a great discussion with some of the people I was sitting with. At one point earlier today, someone actually said the words: “I’m connected enough.” I had to roll my eyes at that. There’s no such thing. Just because you can do what you do now without a solid network in place doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to handle what comes your way.
Networking is a great way to prepare for those “Ahhh! What do I do?” events. Just like in the job search, by the time you’ve lost your job it’s too late to start networking. Same with this. Don’t wait. Join in. Use some of the tools and see what you can do. Need a hand? Here’s a social media mentoring program.
Let’s stop living in our little bubbles. It just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Today we have a guest post from Steve Browne, an HR pro who I’ve recently come into contact with and have already developed a respect for. I recently joined his HR Net group, and after you hear what he has to say, you might want to do the same. Hit him up in the comments if you’d like to know more about the group. In this post, he’s sharing his thoughts on HR’s isolation and how we need to be getting out there. Enjoy!
Human Resources is one of the most fulfilling, challenging, uplifting and… lonely professions. You see, almost any position within a company has a place they can go to and vent (HR) or complain about employees (HR) or grouse about Senior Management (HR). Where can HR go?
Often it’s to a bar. I mean really! Since we are the bartenders (with no copyright infringement to Sharlyn Lauby) in our own organizations listening to every story of woe and sense of frustration from our employees about other employees, we’re just missing the long wooden bar and the stools. (That would be a cool office for HR though!)
People are tough. However, that’s why most great HR professionals are in HR! They truly are “people” people. So, where can they go?
The great voices in HR that are flooding the waves of Social Media forums such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter are sending out great messages… But, more often than not, it’s to each other and their great thoughts never reach practitioners.
Why? Continue Reading »
In an effort to bring more people to the free HR Ninja course, I’m going to go through the lessons myself and post my updates as it goes along. Enjoy!
Weekly Topic
This week was all about networking and making connections. The final challenge of the lesson was to take advantage of the social media tools available to crank networking up beyond the ordinary “here’s-a-business-card-now-we’re-buddies.”
Weekly Challenge Continue Reading »
This post has some ideas for why you should think about, and maybe even join, a local SHRM chapter… Enjoy!
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something to make this HR thing easier to do? Maybe if there was some sort of way to meet other professionals, share ideas, and trade best practice tips, then we all would feel less like we’re treading water and more like we’re making a difference. Wait a minute, there is a way to do that, and it’s your local SHRM chapter!
Now, before I get into the meat of the post, I’d like to say that not all SHRM chapters are great. Some of them just plain suck. And you know what? This post may or may not be for you. If not, check back later. Or read something inspiring. On the other hand, some chapters really do rock, and this post can help you leverage that for your own career. Continue Reading »
Note: this post is not encouraging anyone to spam a group of people. It’s only a recount of my own experience. If you spam your local HR pros, you could get booted from the SHRM chapter. Fair warning!
Back in the spring of 2009, I started looking for my first HR job. While I graduated college a year earlier than that, I had to work for my employer for a year since they paid for my final semester of college. I knew that it was time to step out of the small pond and jump into the world of HR with both feet. At that time, I was working with Andrew at Jobacle as a staff writer. In a fortunate coincidence, I had interviewed JT O’Donnell for a story on the Jobacle blog, and after a brief mention that I was job searching, we began to work together. JT is a great career coach, and her company, CAREEREALISM, is the place to go if you’re a job seeker looking for help.
Within a week, an entry level HR position with a local nonprofit opened up. I went for it. I wrote a cover letter, attached my resume, and sent it to their in-house recruiter. The only problem is that I knew that everyone else who applied for the job would do that exact same thing. I had to make it better. Continue Reading »
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