HR Florida Council – Emerging Professionals update

By Georgette Cartagena, SHRM-CP, Director, HR Florida Emerging Professionals

There is a major focus at SHRM National right now that claimed part of the spotlight at their recent Regional Council Business Meeting (RBCM) on February 8-10th and that is Emerging Professionals.

An emerging professional (EP) is someone who has 3 years or less of experience in Human Resources. This means an emerging professional can be a student in a degree seeking program and/or someone who has been in the workforce already but is transitioning into a new career in HR.

At RBCM, the focus was very much on the student pipeline. Attendees heard about how SHRM is connected to over 200 academically aligned universities teaching content that covers their HR Curriculum Guidelines. Not only are they continuing their partnership with colleges and universities, but they are also investing in their student member to professional member pipeline. Based on membership data discussed, students may join their student chapter but they are not consistently joining the local professional chapters post-graduation. SHRM called the period between graduation and when they re-engage with SHRM the “dark period” that actually lasts about 8 years.

To counter this problem, here is a list of resources from the SHRM Foundation that would be helpful for any emerging professional in your area to stay engaged with us at a student, local chapter or state level:

• HR Registered Apprenticeship Program – a compensated opportunity to gain experience
• Several mentorship programs that are available for SHRM members and non-members
• Funding assistance through scholarships for students in a degree program and professional development grants to use towards certifications
• HR Tomorrow Leadership Program – a cohort-based leadership development program to support emerging professionals from underrepresented groups

Those are just a few examples of resources at the National level. If you want to learn more about what is happening at the chapter level check out the HR Florida Chapter Directory to find a chapter in your local area! Volunteer leaders across the state are putting together amazing programs all year long to support all HR professionals.

Georgette Cartagena is a Corporate Citizenship Partner managing corporate social impact programs such as charitable giving, employee volunteerism, a grant program and internal DEI strategy. Her varied background spans hospitality procurement, real estate and most recently technology. Georgette is also the President of Algo Mas HR, an HR consulting company specializing in employee experience programs. 

She has served on the HR Florida Conference team as the Social Media volunteer in 2020 and previously served on the board of New Leaders Council Palm Beach, a leadership development organization training young professionals to be agents of change in their local community, in multiple capacities. To her, the most important thing is to always be helping and elevating the people around you. Looking forward to connecting! [email protected]