Growing Pains

Yesterday an amazing opportunity presented itself to me. I was asked by a college student, who is studying human resources, if I would be this student's mentor. For someone to ask this of me is quite an honor, and it made me think about who my mentors have been. Although I never asked for a mentor, I was truly blessed to be put in a situation to have one (actually several).

When I began my journey into HR, it was by chance. I was working at America Online (AOL/ Time Warner), and I had started out in an entry level position which really left me feeling that I was not challenged enough and that I was not meeting my potential. However, I was still very happy in that position because AOL took good care of their employees with awesome benefits and employee appreciation. However, an internal job posting went out and my supervisor brought it to my attention. Although in reading through the job description I didn't meet all of their preferred requirements, I did feel that it was a good fit for me based on my past employment experiences and skills; so I applied.

In the interview I experienced my first behavioral interview, which seemed completely foreign to me at the time. I remember when they were asking me for an example of a time that I walked into a situation, saw a problem and resolved it, and I tried with all my might to think of a shining bright example with which to dazzle and impress them from my prior work experience... but I drew a blank. No doubt seeing my glazed over expression, one of the interviewers said, "It doesn't have to be a work related example. You can just tell us about a personal example that would answer the question." So, I did. I told them about a PARTY that I had gone to at a friend's house! (After the interview I really thought I had blown it here.) I explained that I had walked in and there was an area cleared for a dance floor, but that I noticed the positioning of the snack table looked like an accident waiting to happen. I moved the table to a better position because I didn't want anyone to trip and fall.

Thinking back on it, I had just shown a "natural talent" for looking at safety, which is an important function that typically falls under the HR umbrella. However, at the time I thought to myself, "Well I just blew it. Who brings up a PARTY at an interview? They will never take me seriously after that." Of course, they asked many other questions which I had better answers for, and as it turned out I was selected for the position.

When I moved into the HR Specialist role I quickly learned that the person who had the job before me was basically a glorified receptionist (nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I wanted). As I began to better understand the needs of the HR department I quickly found areas where I could make improvements and where I could do more. I did so without really sitting down and having a conversation about what I thought my role should be, but then one opportunity came up that I didn't even think to tackle... this is where I gained my mentor...

Another person in our department unexpectedly left and her work obviously still needed to get done in the interim as a replacement was found. I honestly didn't know much about what she did, and I never thought to jump in, raise my hand, and volunteer to learn it and do it. This is when the HR department head said to me, "That train drove right past you and you never jumped on board." I had one of those "ah ha" moments after that and realized, that if you want to grow, you have to jump in and do it at every opportunity because your boss may never think to ask you if you're interested if you don't speak up.

From that day forward, I went out of my way to communicate more with my department heads and to volunteer at every opportunity. Yes, it was a lot of work and was challenging, but it helped me to grow and learn more about HR which had turned out to be my career passion. Thinking back to past positions, I have really had a few great mentors whose advise I still use today. There are times when there was tough criticism about personal attributes (like my tendency to be stubborn and hard-headed) where I felt knocked down and had to brush myself off and keep moving. However, as I progressed I learned to take those criticisms constructively understanding the motives behind them were as they should be, just to help me improve. I only hope that I can be as good a mentor to others in the future as what I have been fortunate enough to receive.