My Favorite HR Resources for Students and Emerging Professionals

In September of 2022 I spoke at the NYS SHRM conference at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY! My session was titled “Elevating and Uplifting the Next Generation of HR Leaders” and it was a BLAST. I made so many new friends and got to share my career story and all the resources that have helped me along the way in my career!

After the presentation, I got a few messages on LinkedIn saying my slide specifically on SHRM resources was news to them, and they were so glad to have learned about those resources. So, I’m going to share them for you here. This is not an all-inclusive list, just the resources that I have used and are aware of. Please send me a message if you have any questions!

1. Get involved with your local SHRM professional chapter in a board role or on a committee! Volunteering with your local chapter is a great opportunity for networking, community building and professional development. It’s also a great resume builder. To find your chapter, check out SHRM’s Chapter Locator on their website. I started with the BNHRA as secretary, then moved into the professional development director role, and now I’m in the college relations and emerging professionals director role! I’m also a member of SHRM’s EPAC- emerging professionals advisory council. All of these volunteer opportunities have helped me learn, add value to my network, and advance my career.
2. Join SHRM as a member so you get access to a variety of resources such as the SHRM 3-month mentoring program. HR Professionals and Students/Emerging Professionals are matched for a 3-month, structured mentoring experience designed to assist students in clarifying career goals, developing career plans, and strengthening high demand skills in HR. I’ve been a mentor for 3 cohorts in the 3-month program throughout 2022 and it’s been so much fun meeting HR students from around the country interested in learning, networking and advancing their careers. Such a wonderful opportunity for you to connect with the broader HR community and gain knowledge from experienced HR pros who are SHRM members.
3. Check out a one-time career connection event! You do not have to be a SHRM member to register for and attend these virtual events. Career connection events are designed to increase students’ awareness of HR career pathways, gather HR career insights, and expand HR professional networks.
4. Visit the resources tab on the SHRM.org website to find articles and information relevant to your career growth and development. A few of my favorites are HR job search advice, advice on preparing for your HR career and advice for having a successful internship experience.
5. SHRM has 5 podcasts. That’s right, 5! Career Compass is specifically for students. Career Compass is a podcast from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the SHRM Foundation to inspire students and emerging professionals as they pursue their careers. Tune in to hear from HR professionals, workplace leaders and experts as they share their career insights for success in navigating the current and future career landscape.

While you’re here, let me share some of my other favorite resources for students and emerging professionals!

1. I created an emerging professionals toolkit, right here on my website! This page has a ton of resources on job searching, hitting the ground running in your new job, advancing your career, growth mindset, impostor syndrome and more!
2. HR Summer School usually hosts a couple of virtual events throughout the year and they’ve been wonderful! Great speakers and networking through a user friendly online platform. You can find them on social through #HRSummerSchool
3. The #HRSocialHour community is wonderful. Check us out on Twitter and join the Twitter chat, happening the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month at 7 PM ET. If you have any questions on participating in a Twitter chat, please ask me! HR Social Hour also has a podcast. Although they aren’t recording new episodes at this time, there is so much to learn from their prior guests.
4. Throughout 2022 I hosted an HR emerging professionals learning series and it’s BACK for 2023! All events are recorded and housed in the member only area of the BNHRA website. If you’re a student, you can join our student membership for free to access all of the recordings! To see what topics we cover and how to join BNHRA, please visit here.
5. And of course… make sure you’re on LinkedIn and using it to communicate and behave in a way that helps you learn, grow your network and attract opportunities to yourself. Let’s connect if we aren’t already!

Please send me a message if you have any questions! I would also love to hear from you if you found this helpful, and what other post topics you’d like to see from me. (: