I guess most of us feel a little wary of diving into the big World of HR events, perhaps because we are all students (got my NUS card already!) and feel a little bit worried about being out of our depth when the talk starts to turn to the 'heavy' stuff?
Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's just me that feels that way! No matter, I'll carry on regardless as I'm sure there will be some of you who get what I mean..
To cut a long story short, I took the leap and booked myself on an ACAS Employment Law Update in Bournemouth. Why? Several reasons I suppose..
1. To get a better understanding of changes to Employment Law. (that one is pretty obvious I suppose!)
2. To network with other local HR people.
3. Build personal credibility ( I refer to module 1 of the HRM course!)
4. I recognised that I needed to push myself to get stuck into HR events.
There were no doubt a few other factors, but those were the main ones.
The Update was today. All I can say is that I'm so glad that I went! I felt at ease from the start, got some great networking done, met some fantastic people who are all very willing to help me whenever I need to contact them, and above all - I've broken through that first barrier, and will be booking myself onto plenty more local workshops as a result.
So, if you've always stayed away because you think you might not fit in, or feel out of your depth - just go ahead and make that leap. Book on a workshop, go to an event or go to a local meeting.
Think about it.. The people there are all HR people. There's nobody more understanding and better qualified to welcome a new person into their group than a bunch of HR people. People just like you and me.
Go for it. When you've done it, and been to your meeting - don't forget to update your CPD! ;-)
Steve
Comments
Sounds like a great idea Debbie. I do intend to go along to a local Branch meeting in the New Year - I've joined their LinkedIn group and the session sound really good. Will see how it goes before I feel able to offer my services, though as a Volunteering Manager I guess it's the least I can do to support my local Branch..
Glad you are maximising learning opportunities Steve! Just a thought - your local CIPD Branch is run by willing volunteers and in my experience having done just about every role on various CIPD Branch Committee and managed an annual regional conference for years willing volunteers are always welcomed! For example, to set up these events by sourcing and arranging speakers and venues; writing branch news on communications such as blogs, branch events marketing etc.; or acting as treasurer. Why not get in touch with your local CIPD Branch Chair and have a chat. AGMs usually run about May each year and you could always look at starting from then towards the end of your programme. It is a great networking opportunity and relevant CPD too! I think 'bite your hand off' is the phrase that springs to mind...
I recently attended a workshop given by one of out training providers. It was a free event ans they invited all the managers who employ them. The subject was "accelerated learning techniques".
I thought it was a brilliant initiative and wanted to support it, mainly to give me an opportunity to network with other training managers. They laid on an excellent workshop demonstrating all the techniques that contribute to accelerated learning. The audience was very mixed from new starters to very experienced training managers. It was a relaxed, safe environment to learn in and great fun. Everyone was invigorated by the experience. For me it was a nice refresher. It was only 2.5h long (the company ran two sessions that day, so that as many people as possible could join in) so no time to look in depth at the subject, but I gathered a handy tip for "ice breakers".
The company said they will do another next year, with the subject being ROI, which is a subject of great interest to all training managers. I think it is a great initiative by the company who are keen to share their expertise, and I imagine it is excellent advertising for them and does their reputation the world of good.
I have never been a fan of networking in the past; I have found the arenas too big and daunting; but since moving into the world of training I welcome every opportunity to do so, and this relatively small focussed event worked well.
The hardest bit was deciding to do it (keeping a morning clear in my hectic diary) and then driving to the venue which was in a place I had never been to, but I too would recommend folks to join in if they get any such opportunity.
I agree both. There's a whole world of stuff out there to go see. I'm a fond fan at the moment of these online live events too. There's a few I've been to over the past couple of months that have been really useful from a content perspective, but also a gateway to meeting some real great people. The great thing about these are they don't involve a huge amount of travel and often happen in the space of a lunch break too! Time should no longer be the excuse all of the time for me!
I enjoy the face to face stuff too and you're right, sometimes, it's just plucking up that courage to leap out of the comfy zone and go meet some new people. It always makes me smile when you do this and you actually discover that everyone's got the same challenges, issues, problems, concerns etc. It's like group therapy!!
Great message here Steve - take advantage of events and other opportunities to network and build relationships with those in our field. I also have attended a number of tweet ups where I've got together with those I've met through Twitter and developed some great friends through doing this.
CIPD branch events, unconference events, free conferences, tweet ups or tweet chats are all a great way to develop industry knowledge and build your PLN personal learning network
Great work!