Keeping Up on Certifications and Policy

If you want to turn a human resources job into a lifelong career, obtaining one of the numerous available human resources (HR) certifications is imperative. It's becoming more common for employers to require HR job applicants to be certified, so obtaining your certification is a great way to make your resume stand out. However, before you decide to go ahead and become HR certified, it's important that you understand what the process entails.

It's common for people to confuse the acquisition of HR certifications with an HR certificate program. However, HR certifications are rather more involved than completing HR certificate courses at local college level. Certification is a career-long commitment that requires you to continue your education and recertify your credentials every three years. It's therefore important that you have a plan in place to obtain the level of certification you need to achieve your career goals and ensure you can complete the recertification requirements. Valuable HR certifications include:

• Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
• Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)
• Human Resources Management Professional (HRMP)
• Human Resources Business Professional (HRBP)

Conferences and workshops are ideal ways to help HR professionals maintain their HR certifications and keep up with the requirements for continuing education. They can help you stay abreast of changing HR laws, new labor strategies, and best practices. This helps you stay up to date, and it makes it easier for you to adapt when your company creates a new HR policy, a new software system is installed, or laws affecting the HR department change.

Keeping up on your certifications won't always require you to complete a workshop or attend a conference. Many HR professionals earn credits toward recertification through activities that make them valuable to their employers and increase their HR knowledge. Some of these activities include:

• Developing diversity programs
• Implementing HR best practices
• Participating in contract negotiations with union leaders
• Creating leadership development initiatives

While maintaining your HR certification is a huge commitment, it also has numerous benefits. Not only are certified HR professionals more likely to get promotions, but they also make more money than noncertified employees. Also, once you receive your HR certification, you can add your certification letters to the end of your name. 

While the company you currently work for may not require certification, HR certifications are essential to long, successful HR careers. Certification enables you to stay current on changes that could affect HR policies and procedures, and obtaining and maintaining your certification proves your commitment to your career.

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