2018, you were awesome. 2019, bring it on!

What an incredible year 2018 has been!

Career wise, it has been very hectic but productive and I am thankful for the experiences that the year gave me.

I am also grateful for all of the support, lovely comments and wonderful connections that I have made. I am looking forward to much of this in 2019!

My highlights of this year have to be; inspiring other students at the CIPD Midlands Conference back in March, my first public speaking event and I am delighted to be returning next year and speaking at other events too so if anyone out there needs a HR speaker, feel free to get in touch!

Another highlight was blogging for the blog squad at the CIPD Annual Conference, it was so good to be back in Manchester and I met so many wonderful people. It was such an inspirational event and to me, it showed the direction that the CIPD are steering the profession and I left feeling motivated and full of hope even in the uncertainty that 2019 is due to bring us with Brexit. I am already looking forward to next years conference and I hope to see many of you there. To my fellow blog squadders; it was a pleasure meeting and working with you and thank you for making ACE even more awesome.

2018 also brought me several blog collaborations, I loved working with Lee Lam and Laura the Comeback Girl. In 2019 I’ll be working with many more people after my exams in January so if you’re interested in collaborating on my blog, please do get in touch!

2019 will be another busy but I’m aiming to take a slower pace and enjoy more time with my family, friends, husband and dog as they have really missed me this year so they will be my priority next year as they’ve been relentlessly supportive of me and my career so I need to have more Sunday lunches with my mum, friends and cinema trips with my best friend. Additionally I’ll be doing more yoga and Parkrunning as I’ve been a bit lacking when it comes to my running; generally more stuff that makes me feel good!

I will also be travelling to Copenhagen which has always been a dream destination for me, the home of happiness and Hygge! I’ll be heading there in June with my friend Ceri and I can’t wait for a relaxed girly weekend away.

Career wise, I’ll be completing my masters degree in January with ICS Learn and I hope to continue working with this wonderful group of people, I honestly cannot believe the faith they’ve put in me and I hope to continue as a brand ambassador for them even after my degree is finished (watch this space!)

There’s also a small matter of finding out the results of the public vote of the UK Blog Awards so I’ll keep you posted, hopefully I will get some good news soon!

I will also be speaking at the CIPD Student Conference in March at Aston University, I may also be speaking at Leicester DeMontford University and there’s the small matter of co-hosting the Natural HR Un-Conference at Monkey World in Dorset! I’ll be working with the incredible Garry Turner and I hope to see many of you there so make sure you book your ticket soon as they will go quickly in the new year! Perry Timms and the amazing Shakil Butt (one of my HR Heroes) is speaking at the event so it’s going to be bringing HR back to nature and get to grips with what our profession is really all about.

Finally, may I wish you all my very best wishes for the new year, may your year be filled with positivity, your favourite things and most of all the opportunity to achieve your goals!

Thank you to all my followers for your amazing support, I wouldn’t be here without you!

To my mum, dad, sister, brother, best friend Michelle, my husband Mark and Bron (dog) thank you for putting up with all my crazy HR stories, rushed excitable conversations and for sticking by me with the blog, social media and generally being permanently attached to my laptop! I look forward to our adventures in 2019.