You can begin advancing your career this year.

Join a professional association. Be proactive about manager training.

1 Becoming a member of a professional association,
7 Whether you’re already managing a team or not,
like SHRM, provides access to exclusive benefits you can boost you career by having solid people
and opportunities. It will take your career to new management and team leadership skills. The award
heights. -winning SHRM People Manager Qualification (PMQ)
training will prepare you to have just that.
Create a development plan. NOT SO FUN FACT: 28% of HR professionals’ time
2 Set goals and stay on track. Explore SHRM’s is spent addressing problems caused by poor
Competency Self-Assessment to identify your People Managers.**
strengths and development needs. Then, create
a Competency Development Plan to help you
target and prioritize to move your career forward. Enroll in an educational program.
8 Continuous learning is key. Unlock the technical and
behavioral competencies critical to success in the HR
Attend a conference.
3 Learn new techniques, build strategic relationships,
field by enrolling in an accredited program to expand
your knowledge.
discover innovative solutions… the list goes on.
Conferences are an easy way to accelerate your
HR career— register for one today! Utilize available resources.
9 Rely on free resources (or ones from your professional
membership) like interview questions, how-to guides
Grow your network.
4 Expanding your professional network is one of
and sample policies to help you save time with career
planning and effectively hone your skillset.
the best ways to set yourself up for success. Utilize
professional networking platforms-like LinkedIn or
SHRM Connect-to start meeting valuable contacts! Read up.
10 Not only will reading regularly make you smarter, you’ll
become a better HR leader in the process. Here’s a
Find a mentor.
5 Surrounding yourself with the right people will help
list of top HR books to get you started.

you get ahead in your HR career. Boost your potential

by finding a mentor to help you develop strengths,
learn best practices and identify opportunities. Not
sure where to find one? Start with SHRM!

Get certified in HR.

6 Credibility is everything. Demonstrate your proficiency Sources:
across all competencies of the HR profession by * Based on SHRM HR Careers Study
obtaining a SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential. (sample of more than 4,000 HR
professionals in 2020-2021)
FUN FACT: HR professionals who pass the SHRM ** Source: SHRM’s 2019 Culture Report
certification exam report salaries 14%-15% higher LEARN MORE AT
than peers who do not.* SHRM.CO/NMTE