#WorkingTitleHR Launch

Welcome to Working Title HR!!!

The path toward launching my own blog has been fun, exciting, and also a little bit terrifying. Other than writing papers in school like a hundred years ago, my heart has never been in writing. I credit Twitter and the HR Tribe for stoking the fire inside me...

Over the past few years, social media has been a significant part of my professional journey, as I’ve connected with, engaged with, and learned from some amazing HR professionals. Many of those folks are part of the affectionately named #HRTribe. These are people with a passion for their craft that cannot be equaled. And beyond being passionate about HR and their own careers, they are equally as passionate about creating a community of caring, support and learning, and being a resource for new and prospective HR professionals. They welcome everyone with open arms and open hearts.

I have enjoyed following and learning from these folks on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, but also following those professionals who have their own blogs. The more I read, the more I began to think that maybe this is something I could do too.

Finally, last July, I decided to dive in and write my first blog post. A chance discussion with Mary Kaylor (Managing Editor of the SHRM blog) a few weeks prior at a #NextChat meet-and-greet at #SHRM17 gave me potential venue to test the waters of blogging. I found that when I sat down to write my first article, the words came surprisingly easy. I envisioned not having enough things to say. Not the case at all. In the months that followed, I submitted an article to the SHRM blog every month or so.

Then a few months ago, I was presented an opportunity to join the 2018 SHRM Blog Squad for the national conference in Chicago. I immediately jumped at the chance.

So why did I choose to call call this blog Working Title HR? I wish I could say there was a well-thought out approach to this. It all sort of came together by chance. As I sat down the other day to start building the bones for my site, I needed to put something in the title area. So I typed in "Working Title" as a place-holder, and began building the site. The next day when I opened it back up to keep working, I saw Working Title, and thought that it actually sounded kind of cool. It's not unlike my career, really, which is a constant work in progress. And I'm constantly telling our employees, we are all on our own professional journeys. The important part isn't where we are today, but where we're going and our commitment to getting there. Personally, I'm a much different professional than I was 5 years ago, and I imagine I'll be still different in 5 more years. My career has evolved as I have grown and developed as a person. (Check out my article "What Being a Parent Has Taught Me About Leadership" as an example). So after some deliberation, I decided on Working Title HR. The truth is, we are all works in progress. I'm a work in progress, and proud of it. And beyond my own professional growth, I'm fortunate enough to work in a profession where I can help other works in progress navigate their own professional development.

I'm so excited for this journey, and I hope you'll follow me and engage with me throughout.

Cheers,

Keith