What Did You Do Before HR?
Celeste Blackburn SPHR
248 Posts
The Facebook thread in the main forum got me wondering about your past professional incarnations. As I mentioned in that thread, I was a reporter before I came to the M. Lee Smith family. Before that, I was going to teach college, but the time and debt that went into getting my master's convinced me it was time to stop with the higher ed and get a job.
All in all, it's probably better than my poor father thought I was going to do when I majored in English and Philosophy in undergrad. I remember him saying, "You know you're going to need to get a job one day, right?" Such a prophetic man.
So forumites, what did you do before you were an HR hero? Or did you always dream of one day navigating the waters of FMLA, PTO, and bickering employees?
All in all, it's probably better than my poor father thought I was going to do when I majored in English and Philosophy in undergrad. I remember him saying, "You know you're going to need to get a job one day, right?" Such a prophetic man.
So forumites, what did you do before you were an HR hero? Or did you always dream of one day navigating the waters of FMLA, PTO, and bickering employees?
Comments
I originally planned on teaching, but life got in the way and I went back to get my degree in my 30's. I figured I would make more money faster in accounting (I also mistakenly believed things would be more black and white so easier.) I never imagined HR would fall into the picture. Turns out I like it. Thank Goodness!
After experiencing the joys of working 70 hours a week running a newspaper for the right to maintain my ramen noodle and mac-n-cheese diet, I decided I might as well own my business and opened an insurance agency. I enjoyed the sales side, but hated dealing with underwriting and claims. I then put my two careers together and landed a position creating sales training programs for a fairly large international company (4,000 EEs, 70 locations). I reported to the Org Dev Director, and my HR transformation began.
During my earlier HR days, I also moonlighted in a psych unit ([I]okay, believe me, I've heard every joke that's running through your head right now[/I]) and as a stadium beer vendor for the KC Royals and KC Chiefs.
Somehow drifted from the medical field and ended up in a magazine publishing firm doing all the finance, taxes, and general accounting and HR. Still am learning about HR as the laws can change often and takes a lot of refreshing unlike accounting which is mainly dealing with numbers.
Okay, I guess tax laws can change often but still a lot to learn about HR.
After experiencing the joys of working 70 hours a week running a newspaper for the right to maintain my ramen noodle and mac-n-cheese diet, I decided I might as well own my business and opened an insurance agency. I enjoyed the sales side, but hated dealing with underwriting and claims. I then put my two careers together and landed a position creating sales training programs for a fairly large international company (4,000 EEs, 70 locations). I reported to the Org Dev Director, and my HR transformation began.
During my earlier HR days, I also moonlighted in a psych unit ([I]okay, believe me, I've heard every joke that's running through your head right now[/I]) and as a stadium beer vendor for the KC Royals and KC Chiefs.[/QUOTE]
Frank, you've had a lot of interesting jobs, but I have to admit the most interesting to me is the stadium beer vendor. Do you still know anyone there? Someone I might approach and drop your name and get better seats (without additional costs..lol)? Or would I be better off pretending I've never heard of you?
There was an interesting moment during the game, though... I had my wife, my son, and my FES (foreign exchange student) with me. Keep in mind, I've lived a few hundred miles from KC for ten years... Anyway, after about the 10th vendor stopped by to say 'Hi', FES turns to me and asks "So why are you so famous to all the beer sellers?"
Sure, I could have told him the story of how I worked there with those guys and all that, but it was a lot more fun to shrug and answer "People just know me".
I have a degree in Management and I took two years of Psychology classes because I enjoyed trying to understand human behavior. I always wanted to go into HR but was talked out of it by older siblings (quote "HR is always the first area to lose people in a downsizing"). Glad I had the opportunity to try this out for the last 6 years. I've been given the chance to go back into the retail side as Branch Manager for our newest location. But then I would have to deal with those pesky customers again.... decisions, decisions
I found that the people I disliked dealing with were customers...I actually like dealing with employees which is probably why I enjoy HR. I also enjoy problem-solving, and there's always plenty of that in HR!
After moving to Texas, I decided to try my hand at law, took the LSATs, got accepted, and in the meantime started working at a law firm. At said law firm I quickly realized I did NOT want to be a lawyer...I love the profession, the research, and the adrenaline, but I did not want to pull the 70 hr weeks. Never enrolled in law school, but I worked as a paralegal for several years, which was fun, and specialized in employment law, contracts, and corporate litigation.
I got an offer to go into HR due to the legal background, and I've been there ever since! :ball and chain:
Lightbulb.
Lightbulb.[/quote]
Don't know - but maybe it is your use of generalizations that can cause misunderstandings? I have a degree in MANAGEMENT!
Lightbulb.[/quote]
Paul,
If it's any consolation, I started out as a graphic designer, dallied with retail, placed temps all over the greater Nashville area, did time in bookkeeping, bounced around in print production, slogged through facilities management, cruised through HR, and am now a technical writer. (Love the creative side of anything.)
I'm also back in college trying to get a degree because the first time around I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do.
Sharon
"dallied"
"did time"
"bounced around"
"slogged"
"cruised"
My favorite is "did time in bookkeeping" because that is what it would feel like to me.
Have a friend who did the same thing with Sam's - he retired right before our 20th HS Reunion :-/ Guess he missed the thrill of Sam's though - so he became a white water rafting guide.
Which do you enjoy more - working for a smaller company (community bank) or a larger one (Wally-World)?
The time in Personnel and Training was also great. I had to opportunity to meet many world renowned speakers and cooperate executives – not to mention all sorts of celeb’s from sports, music, movies, etc… I had always promised my wife that when we started having kiddos I would get off the road and there weren’t many positions then that did not require traveling out to the stores most every week. I had too many good friends say that one day they turned around and their kids were grown – they missed them growing up. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with them during that time period
"dallied"
"did time"
"bounced around"
"slogged"
"cruised"
My favorite is "did time in bookkeeping" because that is what it would feel like to me.[/quote]
Paul,
It felt like doing time to me. I don't have a numbers kind of brain and though I'm functional in accounting, it's torture to balance figures, etc. Of course it might not be so bad now that so much of it is computerized. The last bookkeeping work I did was for a company that had three companies in one location and three different sets of books, all manual ledgers. No fun at all!
Sharon