Emerging Professionals: Use These Tips to Stand Out as an HR Leader

Learn from your manager. Create opportunities for yourself. Be proactive by using a variety of sources to meet and interact with people.

Those are a few of the many pieces of practical advice on standing out at work, gaining credibility, and advancing your career shared during the Spotlight Stage presentation “Elevate and Uplift the Next Generation of HR Leaders” at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24) on June 25 in Chicago.

Claire Stroh, SHRM-CP, manager of managed talent services at Lighthouse Technology Services in Buffalo, N.Y., offered lessons from her HR experience at privately owned and publicly traded companies.

Stroh also is CEO of Claire Is Coaching in Buffalo and is a former member of SHRM’s Emerging Professionals Advisory Council. She has served as a mentor through the SHRM Foundation and is a board member for the University at Buffalo School of Management in New York.

Standing Out at Work and Establishing Credibility

Stroh gave the following hard-won bits of advice for the next generation of HR leaders:

Be curious and take the time to learn the business. Your manager can be a good resource. Ask questions, clarify expectations, and learn from their experience. Ask how they got to where they are today. Were there any projects they participated in that helped them develop their skills?

Be a lifelong learner. “Professional development will serve you well if you want to move up,” Stroh said.

Find an HR community. Potential sources include LinkedIn, Slack, and your local SHRM chapter.

When Stroh started her career in 2012, she said, “I was head down in my work” and her LinkedIn profile was a static online resume. She was reactive, accepting connection requests but not initiating contacts.

Five years later, in a new role as manager of an HR department of one who reported to a general manager, she realized she needed more connection with other HR professionals. She started creating HR posts on various platforms and ultimately discovered an HR community. Her social media activity attracted SHRM’s interest, and she was invited to blog for SHRM18 in Chicago. Her HR community expanded exponentially because she made the effort to reach out.

Be proactive, ask a lot of questions, and come prepared to meetings. Ask yourself: Why am I in this room? What am I here to contribute? Who do I need to influence?

Position yourself as someone who brings value. Grow your expertise by attending a webinar or course, writing an article, volunteering, or commenting intentionally where those with whom you are connected will see that commentary. Ask to sit in on meetings or learn new tasks. Be sure to do your current job well before asking for additional responsibility.

Cut out the disclaimers. Stop saying phrases such as “This might not be a good idea, but … ” when presenting ideas or suggestions. People will remember the negative disclaimer.

She recalled as a young person in an HR leadership role that her expertise was sometimes questioned. She prepared herself by reading articles and staying current with business trends and practices.

Stroh learned to respond to skeptics by noting that while she didn’t have the expertise in question, “here’s how I would handle that situation” based on a LinkedIn Learning course she took, for example, and then asking the other person for their thoughts.

Conduct preliminary research, have ideas, and ask for additional resources and feedback. Stroh made it a practice to ask her manager how she did after meetings.

“Sometimes, I would get feedback and I didn’t agree with it,” she admitted, but it’s important, she noted, to consider what the person said. They may be voicing a legitimate observation.

Remember that people are the most important element to your success. Ask yourself who the key people are at your organization and who do you need to have good relationships with in order to get your job done? Reach out and introduce yourself. Stroh likes to schedule 15-minute meetings, coffees, or virtual calls to meet important people.

Also, learn where the real information is exchanged. Breakrooms? Communication channels such as Slack? Are there meeting invitation lists you need to be on and volunteer committees or other events within the organization where you can get to know people and build relationships?

Be on time, be present, and don’t gossip. Even on social media.