How Our Team Achieves Their Goals Beyond the Office

At Mission North, professional development extends far beyond the office. Our team enjoys pursuing their passions and learning about new subjects, and encouraging this curiosity is important to us. That’s why we offer a professional development stipend of up to $500 a year for each employee.

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From creative writing to personal finance, our colleagues have used this benefit to grow in new areas and bring what they’ve learned back to their teams. I chatted with a few Batemanites about how they’ve used their stipend and what it meant to them.

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Forging a Career Path Through HR Certification

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Stephanie Leal, HR & operations manager, Brooklyn

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“I was really interested in furthering my expertise in Human Resources and wanted to make sure I had the right tools to succeed. I used my stipend to take a course at Pace University to help prepare me for my Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) certification test. It was awesome to meet more HR professionals with completely different experiences than mine and learn about the SHRM body of competencies. Without the stipend, I would have probably delayed taking the course. The support of the company and their confidence solidified my decision to move into HR completely. Ultimately, it helped me pass the test and become a SHRM Certified Professional.

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I’m excited to apply some of my new knowledge to Mission North as we scale, especially around great hiring and retention practices that attract and keep amazing talent. The course also validated a lot of the ways in which we already make the organization among the best places to work.”

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Balancing Mind, Body and Career

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Jordyn Lee, account director, Brooklyn

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“I used my stipend to help cover part of my 200-hour yoga teacher training. Yoga is a personal hobby that has become an important part of my daily routine and has made a big impact on how I ‘show up’ to work. Having the stipend and the support from my manager to use it for this opportunity was a huge help.

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The course was three months long and involved long hours at the studio. It was an intense process, learning everything from the physical postures (asanas) to breathing practices (pranayama) and the philosophy of yoga.

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On a more practical level, this training helped me to embrace new and scary things, get more comfortable with failure and manage my own stress better. It also reminded me how exciting and humbling it is to be a beginner and fumble through new challenges. I’m incredibly grateful that Mission North supported an unorthodox use of the pro dev stipend.”

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Staying Up-to-Date with the Industry

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Alex Mroz, talent acquisition manager, San Francisco

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“This year was my first time using the stipend. I bought a three-day pass to a recruiting conference, called Recruiter Nation Live. I chose this opportunity to get myself out into the recruiting community and to expand my understanding of new practices. I wouldn’t have been able to go to the conference without the support of Mission North— the price would have been too steep for my own wallet.

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The conference is a few months away. I want to meet people who are also passionate about recruiting, learn new tips and tricks for hiring, and overall put myself in a different situation to learn. ”

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Learn more about our professional development opportunities, perks and benefits and peruse our job openings at https://missionnorth.wpengine.com/careers.

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Header photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash