Today’s reader question deals with a topic I’ve seen many people struggle with – how specialized do I want to be?
Currently, I’m a human resources professional in a specialized job that doesn’t provide a lot of experience in traditional HR departments. I’m also in business school and will graduate with my MBA soon. My question is, how to I capitalize on my education and specialized experience with future job opportunities?
I’ve asked myself this very same question before. Do I want to specialize or should I remain a generalist? And, what kinds of professional development opportunities are best for my situation? Here are a few suggestions
Got any other recommendations for our reader? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!
P.S. Speaking of specialists, be sure to take a moment to check out this month’s Leadership Development Carnival over at The People Equation blog. Jennifer V. Miller, who specializes in providing personal effectiveness resources to organizations at her company SkillSource, did a fabulous job of curating great reading on leadership.
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John Jorgensen says
Sharlyn, one thing you didn’t mention and it is not an immediate fix would be to obtain a PHR certification if the reader doesn’t already have one. That would show that the person has knowledge in all major aspects of HR needed to start up the generalist tract.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@John – Thanks for bringing up certification. Totally agree that getting a PHR could demonstrate both the knowledge and the commitment to a generalist role.
Carolyn says
I have an article that I recently posted that talks about different careers available in the PEO space that might apply to this discussion. http://www.peocompare.com/peo-careers-hr-degree/
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for sharing Carolyn. Working for a company that provides human resources products/services can be a great way to enhance skills and abilities.