(no subject)
I had my lunch meeting with the CBIZ HR Consultant this past Tuesday. Turns out that she doesn't believe a Masters degree in HR is the best route for me right now either. She thinks I should get PHR certified, since that usually takes less time to achieve, and actually has more clout in the HR field. She said she would hire someone with PHR certification over someone with a Masters in HR, which really says a lot. And, if anyone remembers, I was originally considering PHR certification when I decided to get further immersed in the HR field. That was another reason I took my HR Management certification class, as the class was directly set up as a prep for PHR certification - the textbooks were straight from SHRM (Society for HR Management), who partners with HRCI (Human Resource Certification Institute). HRCI is the company that directly administers the exam. (Not that anyone else cares about that much detail.) So I basically have all the tools for test; I just probably need a refresher before I take it. It's a 6-hour exam so I will have to do some mad studying, since I really don't want to fail and have to take it all over again.
It was very encouraging to hear her back up my own suspicions. And the best thing about getting PHR certified is that it can qualify you for you a variety of HR positions, not just management.
We also discussed my becoming involved with the local SHRM chapter in Howard County. She belongs to it, and she said that they only meet about once a month, which I think I can handle. I think it would be a good way for me to network, plus it would be another opportunity to learn about relevant topics and other things that no one at work can teach me. They've been encouraging me at work to join a professional organization too, so I know this would please them.
The Consultant also said she would be willing to help me out at any time and answer any questions I might have about things at work. All I would have to do is give her a call or e-mail her, which was really nice of her to offer.
So it looks like I am finally getting some direction and going in a way that feels good. This morning I decided to mention to the Vice President that I'd like to go for the PHR certification instead of my Masters and he actually seemed okay with it. But now the onus on me is to figure out how to get there and when, since I've put my intentions out there. I forgot to mention joining the Howard Co. SHRM chapter, but I'll bring it up soon. It was a crazy today, since we had our quarterly "All Hands" meeting this afternoon. Our "All Hands" meeting is basically a company-wide meeting to update everyone on how and what the company is doing, what changes are happening, to celebrate birthdays, and to give out awards. I'm always in charge of organizing them, which involves a lot of work, plus I had to make a presentation (yay, Powerpoint!) about the Service Awards that we've recently decided to give out for employee anniversaries. Luckily I had some help setting up from my co-worker, Chrissy. But I'm glad it's over now and we won't have another one again until April.
In other non-work related news, I'm on page 8 of my England scrapbook. Not much further along, but still making progress.
It was very encouraging to hear her back up my own suspicions. And the best thing about getting PHR certified is that it can qualify you for you a variety of HR positions, not just management.
We also discussed my becoming involved with the local SHRM chapter in Howard County. She belongs to it, and she said that they only meet about once a month, which I think I can handle. I think it would be a good way for me to network, plus it would be another opportunity to learn about relevant topics and other things that no one at work can teach me. They've been encouraging me at work to join a professional organization too, so I know this would please them.
The Consultant also said she would be willing to help me out at any time and answer any questions I might have about things at work. All I would have to do is give her a call or e-mail her, which was really nice of her to offer.
So it looks like I am finally getting some direction and going in a way that feels good. This morning I decided to mention to the Vice President that I'd like to go for the PHR certification instead of my Masters and he actually seemed okay with it. But now the onus on me is to figure out how to get there and when, since I've put my intentions out there. I forgot to mention joining the Howard Co. SHRM chapter, but I'll bring it up soon. It was a crazy today, since we had our quarterly "All Hands" meeting this afternoon. Our "All Hands" meeting is basically a company-wide meeting to update everyone on how and what the company is doing, what changes are happening, to celebrate birthdays, and to give out awards. I'm always in charge of organizing them, which involves a lot of work, plus I had to make a presentation (yay, Powerpoint!) about the Service Awards that we've recently decided to give out for employee anniversaries. Luckily I had some help setting up from my co-worker, Chrissy. But I'm glad it's over now and we won't have another one again until April.
In other non-work related news, I'm on page 8 of my England scrapbook. Not much further along, but still making progress.