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HR Certification Changed the Career of A HR Department of One Professional!

hr best practices hr certification hr department hr essentials hr for small business hr management Apr 26, 2021

Regardless of your role in HR – certification changes lives!  You may be a HR Department of One – or in a larger organization and want your visibility and decision making enhanced in your role.  Or – you might be looking for your next job, and know that you need certification if that is going to happen! 

If you’re a HR generalist or Leader, you are often doing a little bit of everything. You must to have in-depth knowledge in all areas of the employee lifecycle, from recruiting to termination and all compliance situations in between. Add that to the skill set required to be a trusted advisor to leadership, and being a HR professional today is not for the weak of heart!

From Accounting to HR Department of One: Karen’s Story

With years of management experience behind her, Karen L. decided she wanted to make a move into Human Resources. She had a solid background in accounting, but to move into the HR field she knew she’d need to supplement her on-the-job experience with education. She enrolled in classes at the local community college. She signed up for courses that included compliance, recruiting processes, and performance management. These classes would give her the information she could couple with her existing knowledge and that she believed could ensure successful Human Resources practices. With her new found knowledge in hand, Karen took the plunge and accepted an HR role at a manufacturing firm of about 150 employees.

Karen was the first Human Resources person her new company ever had. She reported directly to the CFO, who had been handling HR to this point. Karen came in with business experience, but as the organization knew, she had never run an HR department, especially an HR Department of One. Although her manager was incredibly supportive, Karen knew she’d need to show leadership she “knew her stuff” to be trusted with decisions.

HR Certification As the Foundation for Success

I came to know Karen through the community college courses I taught. Karen liked my style and felt that she would learn well from me. When Karen received an announcement that I was offering an HR test prep class online, she signed up. She hadn’t previously considered HR certification but realized it might be the exact solution she needed to show leaders that she was, in fact, the HR leader their organization needed.

Karen completed my 6-week course and, after investing some time on her own for some additional self-study, passed the PHR on her first try! Today, Karen continues to run the HR Department and earned respect as a member of the leadership team.  She has taken the certification on to future roles as she has grown in her HR pursuits.

For many of you running HR functions, whether of One or more, the ability to advance will lie in your determination to bring more to the table. It will require an investment on your part, much like the one Karen made. And, as it did with Karen, if done correctly it will pay off for you as well!

If you’re considering HR Certification to help boost your career, we can help! Our next LIVE Test Prep class starts soon. Seats are running out… so sign up today!

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