Today is going to be exciting. I get to join the rest of my peers and kick off my SHRM chapter mentoring program (known as NASHRM Mentor University). Why is it exciting? Well, I get to spend some close, personal time with a wide range of HR professionals in all stages of their careers, and I get to do it for $50. While I debated the value of other high cost HR conferences, this thing sounds like it’s value-packed and dirt cheap. Check out the post below that I wrote forRocketHR after I found out about making the short list.

Want to get mentored? Well, you\’ll have to wait until next year. This year\’s participants in the NASHRM mentor project were announced last week, and I am thrilled to be on that exclusive list. The mastermind of this project, Rusty Brand, passed along this comment:

We believe that the mentor program has the potential to bring tremendous value to the career development of our members.  NASHRM has been considering the idea for a few years and we are excited to get it off the ground in 2010 under the title of Mentor University.  The plan is to utilize a variety of approaches including group, peer, and flash mentoring as well as the more traditional approach.  HR Pros will have a chance to network and engage in a smaller forum and focus their time on areas/topics that are of interest to them, helping them to take the next step within their respective careers.  Its going to be a lot of fun!

Someone asked me the other day why I would use my own limited time and money for this project. My reply: why not?!? You probably know how hard it is to break into the HR field and advance through the ranks. This experience is going to put some of that hard-to-reach information at the fingertips of the next generation of HR leaders. If the others are as excited as I am about this, then it\’s going to rock.

One thing that really excites me about NASHRM Mentor University is that the leaders have purposefully kept the group small enough to encourage discussion and interaction. That\’s one thing I learned at HRevolution earlier this month. The smaller sessions encouraged a lot of ideas and chatting, but the larger groups were more subdued. The smaller the group is, the more people can absorb and interact. Look for some great posts to come from the interactions facilitated by Mentor University.

As you can plainly see, I’m planning to come away from this year-long experience with some great new contacts, invaluable insights, and fresh ideas. I already have some questions lined up for the mentors.

• To what/whom do you credit your success in this profession?
• How can you establish and promote a solid organizational culture?
• How do you stay sharp as an HR pro? Reading? Researching? Seminars/conferences?

But what about the rest of you? I’m pretty sure you’re all not CEOs. You’re everyday professionals with a busy schedule, a boatload of paper on your desk, and a never-ending series of issues to solve.

I feel your pain.

So here’s what I want to do. If you were able to take part in something like this, what would you want to learn? Do you have something specific that you’re dying to know, or maybe you (like me) just have a general thirst for knowledge? If you want to share your questions and comments, I’ll do my very best to get them answered in one of my sessions with the other attendees.

Photo by gsfc.