The University of Oregon Journalism School helped me set a foundation and learn the importance of professional practice. The classes were challenging yet engaging, and allowed me to acquire a multitude of skills that I carried on with me outside of academia. My degree prepared me for the evolution and changing paradigms that a growing number of professionals face every day in work life.

To establish myself within HR required me to do extensive research initially to understand what HR was and how it impacted the business. It is difficult to get into the HR field without having directly-related education or experience in an HR-specific role. I did a lot of self-educating by reading books, attending trainings and using Internet resources daily. I familiarized myself with HR law, HRIS systems, the company’s polices and I continued to seek information regularly.

After graduating college, I landed my first full-time job at Wells Fargo Bank. I worked there for four years, progressing from a teller, to lead teller and, ultimately, to Service Manager. I worked from the ground up, which gave me an advantage since I knew every aspect of the jobs for which I was holding my team responsible. It made me a respected, more relatable leader and fostered teamwork within. Thus, working at Wells Fargo was instrumental in my career growth and professional development.

It’s always difficult taking a chance on changing your career path and going toward the unknown. I decided it was time to take a risk that would fuel my ambitions, so I left my job in Oregon, moved across the country and accepted a job in a completely different field. That’s part of the excitement in life; take chances and push yourself into an uncomfortable zone because those can be the most fruitful times when you learn and grow the most.

I have always had a passion for business, and an important aspect of it is understanding the inner workings of the company. I believe that a company’s competitive advantage is their people. HR plays a large part in building a cohesive team and rich company culture. This, along with the ability to influence an organization’s function and strategy, is what galvanized my interest in HR.

I wanted to work for a purpose-driven company where I felt I was contributing in some way to making the world a better place.

After exploring the KIND website and learning about the KIND Movement, which is the company’s social mission to make the world a little kinder, it was apparent that the philosophies behind the brand really resonated with me, both personally and professionally.

The most important part of preparing for an interview is understanding your strengths and being confident in your abilities. Yes, I never had worked in HR before, but that didn’t mean I had nothing to offer. When I met with the KIND team, I highlighted the fact that I had gained a variety of skills through my management position and prior work experience that were directly transferable to the position for which I was applying. I provided solid examples of these skills and showed my passion for the company and position.

In my experience, I would say learning the ins and outs of HR is 50% HR education and 50% real life work experience. You must have a working knowledge of all the legal and ethical aspects of HR, as well as knowing how to apply it to the people and communicate effectively to the organization.

Daily responsibilities in my role are onboarding new team members, processing payroll, performance management, team member relations, legal compliance, organizational development and much more. As a generalist, I get to work in all parts of HR, which makes each day different.

I decided to change my career path and started in an entry-level position within HR. Although much of my knowledge and skills from my previous roles were transferable, there is still a large learning curve when transitioning into a new career. I learned about the business and educated myself thoroughly on all that was HR to become an expert in my role as a coordinator so I could advance into my next role. Also, I was fortunate to have joined KIND at a time when the company was growing very quickly, which afforded me a great deal of responsibility and the ability to learn a lot in a short amount of time.

KIND invests in each team member’s growth. An example of this is our practice of hiring from within (which we do more than most companies). To keep team members motivated and empowered, it’s important to continuously train them to foster new skills and prepare them for roles that will advance them within the company. As KIND has grown rapidly, it has become increasingly important to ensure our core values remain intact as we grow the family. In his upcoming book, Do the KIND Thing, our founder, Daniel Lubetzky, describes it best:"[we] do our utmost to create a culture where a sense of ownership puts everyone on a shared path, where merit and good ideas trump seniority.” Our Human Resources department aims to create a high performance culture that not only empowers team members, but also ensures they are engaged in their work and feel ownership in the company.

I value a strong work/life balance and have come to understand how necessary a well-balanced life is. I find that proper nutrition, exercising and making a conscious effort to focus on the many positive things in your life—as opposed to the negatives—are key to helping alleviate stress. It’s important to invest in yourself, so I love attending developmental seminars and reading motivational books. Although I am an extremely hard worker, I like to unplug and focus on my life outside of work, which includes socializing, exploring and (being that I’m a bit of a foodie) trying as many of the phenomenal restaurants that I am lucky to be surrounded by here in NYC!

We look for people who are collaborative, have a strong work ethic and fit our unique KIND culture. This can take time, but it’s worth it in the long run as people who fit the culture end up staying with the company for a long time. 

Transparency is extremely important as we live by an “open door policy.” Encouraging open communication helps us avoid conflict by addressing issues as they unfold (rather than after the fact) and continually coaching team members to help them improve and excel. If a position ends up not being right for someone, we first look for another role within the company that might suit them better.

Of course, there are times when KIND is just not the right fit for someone at that point in their lives. When that happens, we do our best to help them transition smoothly to ensure the relationship ends on amiable terms. This general philosophy stems from our founder’s dislike of the term “firing,” and today’s corporate culture of the swift, cold departures that go with it. Similarly, we uphold an honor code where team members do not search for jobs under the radar—instead they are encouraged to share their intent to do so with their manager, which goes back to our commitment to open communication.

In HR you must have a dual focus on being an advocate for the team while also enforcing the policies of the organization. Through transparency and establishing trusting relationships with team members, I believe we have helped change the standard characterization of HR as “Rule Makers.” We maintain professionalism by remaining compliant with the necessary rules and regulations, but we also instil the human element practice of avoiding bureaucracy as much as possible. KIND aims to have open and honest dialogue with all team members, no matter the department or position in which they work. 

We also make sure our team members have the support they need to get their job done so that no one is sacrificing their work/life balance. Everyone is reminded that they should give 100% but no more, because when they exceed that, there is a risk of burn out. Our culture is rooted in empathy and kindness, and we do our best to uphold these values by taking personal approaches in all that we do for our team.

I look forward to helping and learning from the coworkers I have around me every day. I am fortunate to be surrounded by extremely bright, inspiring and genuinely kind people. As I move forward in my career trajectory, I see myself becoming more of an expert in my field and moving toward a more strategic-based role within KIND. The culture here will definitely allow for me to continually understand my own professional strengths and passions, as well as develop other important skills alongside a supportive team.