Get involved

In addition to the branch events, we also support members who work as consultants or are self-employed, with a Consultants special interest group and to assist you in developing your career we offer both a dedicated Careers group (MyHRCareer) and a successful mentoring programme.

Mentoring
Our mentoring scheme re-launched in January 2016 and has been phenomenally successful with an incredible demand for these services provided free of charge by volunteers who are local role models. Having a mentor supports your career development, adds another person’s knowledge base and experience to your own and helps you gain confidence both in day to day activities but also, importantly, when taking critical decisions.

To ensure you get the most from our mentoring scheme, we partner you with the right mentor who has the right skills and experience for you, we want to get to know you a little better. 

We always have more members looking for mentors than mentors available, so please do consider registering as a mentor as well or if you are not sure you have the experience or skills to do that, contact us to discuss how we can support you.

Events
We try to accommodate all our members and hold events on various evenings, Saturday mornings and, through our Morning Club, during the day, so we hope one will suit you.

Regional groups
We run several regional subgroups arranging local events and learning sessions. The groups are in:

• Dorking
• Farnborough and Camberley
• Guildford
• Walton and Weybridge
• Woking

The branch is run by volunteer CIPD members and more of your support is welcome. This could be everything from providing help with event planning to joining our committee in one of our many branch roles. You can read more about branch volunteering below. Please email us if you would like to find out if we have any current branch volunteer vacancies.  

Networking and learning

With workshops, round tables, panel discussions and expert speakers, our thought-provoking events cover everything our community needs. Network, learn and stay up to date. 

Volunteering

Keen to get involved, give back or raise your profile? Whatever your skills and interests, learn more about branch volunteering. 

Support for student members

Just starting out on your career? Want to meet experienced people professionals and keep up to date with all the topics you cover in your studies? We’re here for you as you study for your CIPD qualification.  

Member-to-member mentoring

We connect members who want to develop new skills and progress their careers with members who have expertise in coaching and mentoring. 

Join one of our special interest groups

We bring together people professionals with a common interest to network, share ideas and learn from one another. Please email us if you’d like to join one of our special interest groups.

Morning club

Our morning club was launched to allow those who may find it difficult to attend our traditional evening events, a regular and informal opportunity to participate in workshops and networking. The group appeals to a wide range of members, from those with a breadth of experience to share, to student members who are early career professionals.

We particularly aim to support:

• returners and those on career breaks who want to keep in touch with the profession and update their skills;
• those who work part-time or who have caring commitments and struggle to attend evening or early morning sessions; and
• those who simply want to network and update their skills in a friendly and informal environment.

Our recent workshops have covered a wide range of technical and skills topics. Sessions are practical, relaxed and interactive. We welcome new members and future topic suggestions.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our sessions, which usually take place on a bi-monthly basis, from 10.00-12.00 either online or in Guildford town centre.For more details please join our LinkedIn group.

MyHRCareer 

MyHRCareer provides an opportunity for members from across the branch to better manage their careers and achieve the personal growth they are seeking. The group provides an understanding of how to achieve better work and a better working life.

We run several MyHRCareer Saturday morning study sessions during the year supported by visiting experts. Each session offers a selection of career related learning activities that are informative, interactive, and enable members to take-away tools and techniques to continue working with beyond the sessions.

The MyHRCareer sessions are designed to support members in using the CIPD's development plan and the CPD cycle to:

• Identify skills, strengths and career motivations.
• Plan goals with clear outcomes and milestones.
• Act upon the plan, helped and supported by the visiting experts, tools and techniques offered, and other delegates.
• Reflect on progress through day to day experiences & contributing to LinkedIn discussions.

The MyHRCareer sessions planned include such topics as:

• Career self-awareness
• CV writing practice
• LinkedIn profile writing and networking
• Interview practice
• Changing roles in your HR career

We want these sessions to provide what you want so please let us know so we can include it.

For more details of future events check and to participate in the discussion, please join our LinkedIn group.

Consultants

The special interest group for consultants (SIG-C) is a forum for members who run a professional services business either as an independent consultant or as a small business. The group will also be of interest to members who may be contemplating a route into consultancy and may wish to investigate the challenges and opportunities that people can create for themselves through self-employment. The aim has remained to provide insights in how to develop your consultancy skills, improve your business and facilitate mutual support.

The group runs from September to June each year with a seasonal theme providing connected meetings. The interactive meetings enable members to participate in exploring their knowledge and in fresh thinking, building approaches to professional practice and developing solutions to clients. They also discuss how to best secure new business opportunities. 

We hold them at the Guildford Institute, Ward Street, Guildford, GU1 4LH, assembling at 19.00 for a 19.15 start, and lasting about an hour. Sometimes we meeting online. Please email the branch or check Eventbrite for details. 

Get in touch to find out more. And let us know your ideas for other special interest groups.