Starting my HR career

If you have been following the posts in order, you know a few things about me now, the reason behind the entire idea of HR mami, but you have no idea about the HR piece yet other than degrees earned by me. There are a few ideas of what HR does depending on the industry and employment which you have held. Human resources should be exactly what it mentions, being the resource to humans working for an organization. I did not see it that way immediately when I started my journey which is quite funny how I landed here. My exact bio is the following for my membership forms, everytime:

Janet is a result-oriented, bilingual HR professional with 8+ years of experience committed towards the growth of people & organization. Expert in developing, recommending, and implementing human resources strategies and policies in support of business objectives. Proficient in all HR aspects including talent management, employee relations, recruitment, benefits, and onboarding.Janet has worked at major businesses including Del Monte Fresh Produce and a few more. The certifications which she holds are an SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) and CSHO (Certified Safety and Health Official). Janet achieved both her Bachelor’s in Business Administration with HR Management and MBA at the University of North Texas at Dallas. When Janet is not working in HR, she is enjoying time with her family or sorority sisters of Kappa Delta Chi, watching comedies, and volunteering at church.

I remember the day I went into the college advisor’s office back in 2014, after realizing that the IT major courses were not my thing! I loved programming but having to work and pay for my own school was not going to work, so I had to switch my major. Rian at UNT Dallas asked me what all did I enjoy doing because a career is similar to marriage, we work for it everyday and most likely will be our partner until death! It is a serious deal to decide what courses and degrees you want to earn. I recall sharing that I enjoy helping others impact their lives positively - he gave me other options like a school teacher, police officer, or HSML (human services management and leadership). It came down to the salary analysis studies he shared with me. I quickly noticed that an HR leader could make the same amount of money as a CEO/Executive Director for a non-profit so my younger self prioritized the income!

I do not regret it at all, the courses were super intriguing from recruitment to operations management. After changing it on my resume, I received a few callbacks for interviews and ultimately accepted the opportunity to join Del Monte Fresh Produce.

I know most HR professionals have the hardest time landing their first gig even with internships and all. Well, this is the part where I share about my faith - I relied heavily on praying a novena for work to St. Joseph.

It was 9 whole days after getting off work or after homework assignments to pray devotedly. Once I began the projects with this organization while going through my Bachelor’s degree, I wholeheartedly fell in love with the ability to assist employees with their performance, payroll, and all their concerns each day! A downfall I had not realized until after a week of working in HR was the fact that most people do not like the department. We are viewed as the principal’s office or prosecutor because we ultimately make decisions that could negatively affect an individual such as terminations of employment.

That is not the favorite part of my job, unless it is acceptable because of their actions or lack of! Terminations are a reason why it takes a special character to be an HR professional, it is more than just fun committees and offer letters. So please be kind to your local human resources team members, we make tough decisions every day.

And there are professionals like myself dedicated to transforming the HR industry to a resource instead of intimidating departments for you all!