Would you be interested in a Blog space where thought provoking ideas and opinions about career-related topics will percolate to promote positive results? Here are some ideas and questions to help start the discussion.
What is Your Mid-Year Status, What are Your Goals?
By Mona M. Melanson, SPHR
Sr. HR Consultant
Aviso HR Associates, LLC

Having attended the big SHRM 2010 Conference last week, a lot of ideas are swimming around in my head. One of them is that now is a good time for all good members of the SDHR to come to the aid of their own careers and perform some personal career reflection and planning because we have just entered the second half of this year. Some of you may have participated in a Mid-Year review where you work. Often these reviews start by answering some questions. Here are four questions to help get you started on your own career mid-year review:
 

1. What career resolution(s) did you make for 2010? It may be the beginning of July but it is never too late to make a career resolution and better yet to start implementing it. No matter where you might be in your career, at the beginning or at a top executive level, he or she who becomes complacent and doesn’t continuously acquire new knowledge, skills and abilities may perish in these still challenging economic times.
2. How competitive are you really? Now matter how long you may have been a member of the SDHR, by now you probably have seen some recruiting or HR job ads or postings. Some of them might have attracted your attention even if you haven’t been looking for a new job. What have you noticed about the qualifications and requirements for the jobs that may have interested you the most? How closely do you match these today? For example, do you have a college degree? Even though ads may state a degree is preferred not required, it is a much more competitive job market and those with degrees may have a real edge over those who haven’t completed one yet. The same is true for professional certifications such as PHR, SPHR, GPHR, CCP, CEBS, CPLP, AIRS and so forth. Perhaps now is the time to retool and go back to school, sign up for a certification program at a local college, or join a study group for a certification exam.
3. What are you doing for free to help yourself learn more? Thanks to the Internet, free webinars and podcasts on thousands of interesting recruiting and HR topics are available. Some may be for free even on sites that may charge for most of their offered courses. For example, www.hr.com is just one site I am aware of that offers both free and for a fee webinars almost daily featuring some of the leading HR authors, HR corporate leaders, or consultants. Check it out. If you know of any other sites to recommend, please send them to this blog.
• Let’s start a free webinar resource list. I’ve interviewed a number of people over the years for entry to executive recruiting and HR positions. An interview question I’ve often asked is: “What have you been doing to learn more, keep up-to-date, or develop yourself professionally?” Today there really is no excuse for not doing more for your own career because there are quite a few free ways to do this.
• Let’s start good business or HR books to read lists. Even if your current company won’t pay or your personal budget may not cover the costs of a course, seminar or conference, you can always go to a public library and check out a good business book for free. You can also save money sometimes on buying books online at Amazon.com. What other ideas about ways to save money on books might you have? What books have your read that you could recommend to others on the SDHR?
4. What is one of the most common job interview questions and how would you answer it for yourself? One of the top ten stock interview questions often listed is, “Where do you see yourself in three to five years?” Well, think about where you’d like to be and write it down now. Research indicates that the act of writing helps people to act on implementing their goals. Then put the year you want to achieve it next to your goal, three or five years from now. Below it write in reverse chronological order each year between now and then. Figure out what the major action steps you might have to take or milestones you need to reach to achieve that top goal and place them in the appropriate year. Remember that saying about “Failing to plan is planning to fail” applies to your career too.
 

Call to Action: Ask not what the SDHR may only do for you but what you can do for yourself and/or to help other members. One of the places I lived while growing up was on the Long Island Sound and I learned how to sail. There I learned an old sea faring adage, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” This means that when it appears that a boat is stuck in a shallow harbor or bay, if one waits, the next high tide may raise it up so all is not lost. Given the times, it may seem like you’ve been in a boat that has been beached or stuck in the sand. If we help one another by sharing ideas and career tips, we can create a rising tide and lift up ourselves as HR and recruiting professionals. Personally, I don’t want to see another magazine cover with the headline “Why I Hate HR!” ever again, do you? These are my thoughts and ideas and I bet you have some to share that might be even better. Now is the time to send them to this Blog! Contact us at info@hrroundtables for more info!
 

Consider answering these questions on this Blog:
• What is or has been your own best “career resolution”?
• What is helping or has helped you the most to develop yourself as a Recruiting or HR professional? I’ve seen questions on the SDHR asking about the value of AIRS or PHR and SPHR certification but I really do not remember anyone answering these for the whole group to see. How about any other certifications?
• What are your favorite websites for free Recruiting or HR webinars or podcasts?
• What are your favorite HR or recruiting blogs and LinkedIn groups?
• What are your top three all-time favorite HR, recruiting, or business books? What new books are you reading?