CIPD Learner Stories: Jo Harris

What were your goals at the start of the course?

My goals initially were to learn to study, as it has been many years since I had. Once I got my head round it and how the course worked, it was pretty straight forward. I am quite headstrong and decided to follow the course guide which meant I would complete it in a year, which I successful did.

What would you say to anyone thinking of starting the program with DPG?

As I was told by my friend, ‘just do it!’ DPG are there for you as much or as little as you want them to be.

What would be your top tips for someone actually starting this course?

Plan your study time and stick with it. I found with the later modules the work load increased and therefore so did the time I needed to commit. Towards the end I was averaging 18-20 hours each week on top of a very full on full time job. But I loved every minute of it.

Use the resources available to you via DPG. Gary is extremely approachable and supportive, even if you just need to use him as a sounding board. Attend the webinars, you can pick up so much. And finally the assessors are great. As I got close to submitting and my head was spinning with making sure I had met all the criteria, they helped with a reality check.

Lots of people on various other groups I am part of talk about reading books, I found the internet answered all my questions along with CIPD membership. I am fortunate to be working in HR and therefore used my current knowledge and experience throughout my assessments and real life case studies. Also, don’t forget to sign up to ‘cite this for me’ – the best £6.99 spent a month. Oh and also an online thesaurus really helps!

Most importantly enjoy it! However you are doing the course, it truly is an eye opener and I am grateful to have had the opportunity.