A list of 50 people in your LinkedIn contacts to reach out to and inform about your career goals and job search.
A list of 50 target companies to follow on LinkedIn and create alerts on their career pages. Additionally, job seekers should identify people they know in these companies to reach out to and discuss potential opportunities.
A list of 10 accomplishment stories to highlight your successes. These stories can be used in resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and during job interviews.
Having these lists completed and acting on them daily will result in a living, active, and vital plan that will build a strong network and increase your chances of landing your dream job!
Unlock Your HR Potential: The Power of Training and Certifications
As the Human Resources (HR) field continues to grow and evolve, professionals in this industry must stay up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies, and best practices. One effective way to enhance your HR knowledge and skills is through certifications. HR certifications not only demonstrate your expertise and commitment to your field, but they also open up new job opportunities and increase your earning potential.
In this post, we will highlight 7 top HR certifications to boost your career in 2023 and beyond. From general HR certifications to more specialized ones, we will discuss the benefits of each certification and how they can help you advance in your career. Whether you are just starting out in HR or are a seasoned professional, investing in these certifications can be a great next step in taking your career forward!
1 SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP):
Offered by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), these certifications are widely recognized and respected in the industry. They cover a range of HR topics, including talent acquisition, employee engagement, and employment law.
Most valuable training and certification offered: Both certifications cover a wide range of HR topics, but the SHRM-SCP is more advanced and focuses on strategic HR management.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The SHRM-CP is ideal for early-career HR professionals or those with limited experience, while the SHRM-SCP is best suited for mid- to senior-level HR professionals.
Time required to achieve certification: The SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP require passing an exam and meeting specific education and experience requirements. The amount of time it takes to complete the certification will vary depending on an individual’s background and study habits.
2 Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR):
Offered by the HR Certification Institute (HRCI), these certifications demonstrate your knowledge and mastery of HR principles and practices. They cover topics such as business management, employee relations, and total rewards.
Most valuable training and certification offered: Both certifications are well-recognized and cover a broad range of HR topics. The SPHR is more advanced and focuses on strategic HR management.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The PHR is designed for early- to mid-career HR professionals, while the SPHR is geared towards mid- to senior-level HR professionals.
Time required to achieve certification: The PHR and SPHR require passing an exam and meeting specific education and experience requirements. The amount of time it takes to complete the certification will vary depending on an individual’s background and study habits.
Offered by WorldatWork, this certification focuses specifically on compensation and benefits. It covers topics such as job analysis, market pricing, and incentive plan design.
Most valuable training and certification offered: This certification is focused specifically on compensation and benefits and covers topics such as job analysis, market pricing, and incentive plan design.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The CCP is best suited for mid- to senior-level HR professionals with a focus on compensation and benefits.
Time required to achieve certification: The CCP requires passing an exam and meeting specific education and experience requirements. The amount of time it takes to complete the certification will vary depending on an individual’s background and study habits.
Offered by HRCI, this certification is designed for HR professionals who work in a global or multinational environment. It covers topics such as global talent acquisition, international employment law, and cross-cultural communication.
Most valuable training and certification offered: This certification is designed for HR professionals who work in a global or multinational environment and covers topics such as global talent acquisition, international employment law, and cross-cultural communication.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The GPHR is best suited for mid- to senior-level HR professionals with a focus on global HR management.
Time required to achieve certification: The GPHR requires passing an exam and meeting specific education and experience requirements. The amount of time it takes to complete the certification will vary depending on an individual’s background and study habits.
5 Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP):
Offered by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), this certification is focused on learning and development. It covers topics such as instructional design, training delivery, and performance improvement.
Most valuable training and certification offered: This certification is focused on learning and development and covers topics such as instructional design, training delivery, and performance improvement.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The CPLP is best suited for HR professionals with a focus on learning and development, including trainers, instructional designers, and performance consultants.
Time required to achieve certification: The CPLP requires passing an exam and meeting specific education and experience requirements. The amount of time it takes to complete the certification will vary depending on an individual’s background and study habits.
Offered by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), this certification covers a range of employee benefits topics, including retirement plans, health and welfare benefits, and group benefits.
Most valuable training and certification offered: This certification covers a range of employee benefits topics, including retirement plans, health and welfare benefits, and group benefits.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The CEBS is best suited for mid- to senior-level HR professionals with a focus on employee benefits.
Time required to achieve certification: The CEBS program is designed so that you can complete the CEBS/GBA/RPA designations within a three-year time frame. Depending on personal/professional demands, you can determine how many courses you take each year and how long it will take you to finish the program. CEBS examinations are administered year-round through computer-based testing.
7 Human Capital Strategist (HCS): Offered by the Human Capital Institute (HCI)
Offered by the Human Capital Institute (HCI), this certification is designed for HR professionals who are focused on strategic workforce planning and talent management. It covers topics such as workforce analytics, talent development, and leadership development.
Most valuable training and certification offered by the Human Capital Institute (HCI) is the Human Capital Strategist (HCS) certification. This certification is designed for HR professionals who want to develop a strategic mindset and gain the skills and knowledge necessary to align their organization’s human capital with business objectives.
Stage of HR career that will benefit the most: The HCS certification is best suited for mid to senior-level HR professionals who have a strategic focus and are looking to advance their careers. It is also ideal for HR professionals who work in talent management, organizational development, or HR business partner programs.
Time required to achieve certification: The HCS certification program consists of four courses, each lasting approximately four weeks, for a total of 16 weeks of training. The courses are conducted online, with live instruction and interactive learning activities. Upon completion of the courses, participants must pass an exam to earn the HCS certification. The program can be completed in approximately four to six months, depending on the participant’s pace of learning.
Water Well Project: My goal was to have Artificial Intelligence compile in alphabetical order, a spreadsheet that identified the major aquifers in all 50 US states and include their average depth, and identify the government agency in each state that controls permitting and inspection of water wells. As a bonus, I wanted a link for each agency. A relatively new entry in the AI race, ChatSonic, accomplished this in about 30 seconds!
Overview
While working with ChatGPT I discovered WriteSonic’s new tool, ChatSonic. It’s a disruptive tool!
I started with ChatGPT and found that I could have URLs generated for my spreadsheet, but only if the URL were contained within articles found inside ChatGPT’s data set. ChatGPT continuously printed a disclaimer that the data may need updated and warned it couldn’t access the live net.
This was concerning because if ChatGPT doesn’t have the requested data, it is famous for filling in the blanks with erroneous data that sounds and looks correct. It just makes it up and it’s very good at it!
I think it’s the AI version of the cheating spouse!
Best practice would be back checking all AI data, but the time required if there are lots of errors kills the time savings. Worse yet, links were only randomly available, contingent on being embedded in a given search result, again more wasted time.
Then I discovered ChatSonic, WriteSonic’s latest brainchild!
The developer built the program using NLP, (Natural Language Programming) and did NOT tie the program to any database. Instead, ChatSonic goes anywhere it wants for data and is not limited to a compiled database.
The product is amazing, and although I know that it is not sentient, after spending some time, it certainly feels sentient! It doesn’t have the restraints of working within a data set, and I do realize the ChatGTP database is enormous, but ChatSonic is like ChatGTP on steroids.
After you read this, you might want to take ChatSonic for a test drive. It is free for now while in development, no credit card needed. After you sign up to WriteSonic, there are dozens of features to play with, but the tool I used for this project is their newest offering, ChatSonic. Here’s the link for a free account:
Now back to my project. As stated, the anticipated problem was that ChatGTP is built on a fixed database with no update since around 2021 and it doesn’t access the internet.
Getting max performance from an AI requires careful prompting. It’s helpful to tell the AI who you want it to be. In this case, I told the AI it was a professional geologist. Unlike a search engine, the AI will remember your previous questions, commands, and comments, so a good idea to start out by telling AI to disregard all previous conversations. Another good policy is to remember, “garbage in, garbage out.”
The more detailed description of what you want, the better the result. Here is the prompting I used:
Instructions provided to AI
You are a professional geologist preparing a report on aquifers in all 50 states of the US. Please list the average private water well depth for each state in the US and the name of the aquifer. Please include a link to the regulatory agency responsible for well permitting and reporting information. Please include the source of your information.
Results ChatSonic
As a professional geologist, you should find the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website extremely useful. [1] The USGS website provides a comprehensive map of the principal aquifers of the United States, which shows the areal extent of the uppermost principal aquifers on a national scale. [2] The map also includes aquifers of alluvial and glacial origin. Additionally, the Department of Natural Resources’ website [3] provides a list of water wells in each state, along with their depths, to help you find the aquifers you need. With this information, you can easily navigate to the specific aquifer maps you need
Maine: Permitting Authority: Maine Department of Environmental Protection (https://www.maine.gov/dep/ 

Maryland: Permitting Authority: Maryland Department of the Environment (https://mde.maryland.gov/
Massachusetts: Permitting Authority: Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Missouri: Permitting Authority: Missouri Department of Natural Resources (https://dnr.mo.gov/) Montana: Permitting Authority: Montana Department of Environmental Quality (https://deq.mt.gov/
Nebraska: Permitting Authority: Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (https://deq.ne.gov/
Nevada: Permitting Authority: Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (https://ndep.nv.gov/
New Hampshire: Permitting Authority: New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (https://www.des.nh.gov/
New Jersey: Permitting Authority: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (https://www.nj.gov/dep/
New Mexico: Permitting Authority: New Mexico Environment Department (https://www.env.nm.gov/
Washington: Permitting Authority: Washington Department of Ecology (https://ecology.wa.gov/ West Virginia: Permitting Authority: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (https://dep.wv.gov
Wisconsin: Permitting Authority: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (https://dnr.wi.gov/
Wyoming: Permitting Authority: Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (https://deq.wyoming.gov
Grab your free account and have a little fun with this:
