Your learning journey shouldn't end when you finish your MBA. As you progress and grow in your career, you'll likely need to develop new skills. You may even find that some of the industry standards or practices that you learned in school have changed over time.
Joining or following a human resources organization can help you stay up to date on the latest industry developments and help you stay in habit of lifelong learning.
Joining an HR association may also help you discover new job openings and build connections with other HR professionals. These types of connections have the potential to put you in a position to develop relationships with your peers that may come in handy if you’re ever looking for new position or need a professional endorsement.
Some HR organizations and associations to know about are:
- Academy of Human Resources Development (AHRD): This organization is designed to help members keep up to date with trends in the HR industry. It exists to promote the study of HR theories and practices and offers networking opportunities to members.
- American Payroll Association (APA): The APA is an HR association specifically geared toward those working in a company’s payroll department. They offer the Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) and the Certified Payroll Certification (CPC), as well as conferences and networking opportunities.
- Association for Talent Development (ATD): The ATD is geared toward HR professionals who are primarily concerned with talent acquisition and development. They provide members access to conferences, networking events and the latest information about talent development practices in the form of classes and webinars.
- HR People + Strategy: A close associate of the Society for Human Resources Management, HR People + Strategy is geared toward experienced HR professionals who have been in the industry for 10 or more years. They cover a broad range of topics, including talent development, HR strategy and leadership skill development. Members also gain exclusive access to conferences, research and recent discoveries in HR.
- Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM): SHRM offers a variety of useful benefits, include access to conferences, custom HR tools, an advisor service, an HR magazine subscription and more. It's also worth noting that DeVry's MBA with a Specialization in Human Resources Management program fully aligns with the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) HR Curriculum Guidebook and Templates.