People often ask me how I got started working in Human Resources or Social Media or in the nonprofit sector. I kind of “fell into” both fields but I made a conscious decision to work with nonprofits. Since I get some version of this question almost weekly, I figured I’d share my story here. 

THE PAST

HUMAN RESOURCES
The first job I had after having my second daughter was as a temp in the EEOC’s Office of Human Rights. It was a great learning experience and my supervisor there became a mentor. When he decided to take a job with another agency, he said he would find a job for me there. I appreciated the sentiment but I wasn’t going to hold him to it.  But lo and behold, a few months later (my temp assignment had ended but we’d kept in touch) he called me about a vacancy in what was then called Personnel. I applied, got hired, and such was my entry into the wonderful world of human resources.

NONPROFITS
After about two years in my “good, government job” I was overcome by a strong desire to do work that made a difference. So I started applying to jobs with nonprofit organizations and landed one in the development department of an organization with a great mission. So now, I was with an organization that was doing great work but it was apparent to me that development wasn’t the right path. At all. So I started applying for jobs in other nonprofit organizations but this time I decided to parlay my government ‘personnel’ experience into a job in ‘human resources.’

SOCIAL MEDIA
I was a bit of a late adopter to social media, outside of the chat rooms I frequented when I was on bed rest. But when I got into it, I REALLY got into it. So much so that people started asking me for assistance because they thought it was actually my job. Next thing you know, I had clients. Then I was giving workshops for small business owners. Then I was being contracted for projects and working pro bono for organizations of my choosing. It was lovely.

Fast Forward..

THE PRESENT

I’m currently working as an HR Generalist for a nonprofit organization (no surprise there) but I’m also taking consulting clients for both HR and social media.Consulting allows me to utilize a larger knowledge base and skill set than what I get to use in my day job.

THE FUTURE

Where do I see myself in five-10 years? Optimally, I will transition from a Generalist role to a Specialist role, focusing on Organizational Culture and Training & Development. I will also continue to consult for nonprofit organizations as well as for-profit businesses. In 10-15 years, I hope to transition to consulting full-time and living the coveted location-independent lifestyle.

Need an HR or social media consultant? CONTACT ME!