Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Repost Series: Attracting Top Talent: Career Development Tips with Abriana Allen
22 Plays5 months ago
In this episode of The Goode Guide, Abriana Allen joins Shanarra in an exciting discussion about career development and workplace success strategies. Abriana is a trailblazing talent acquisition leader helping companies build diverse teams. With over four years of experience recruiting for top tech companies, she understands what it takes to attract top, diverse talents. Today, Abriana and Shanarra offer valuable insights gleaned from their extensive career transitions and advancements, along with practical tips on leadership, diversity, and more. Stay tuned for an enriching discussion!
The Meeting
[1:54]
Shanarra first met Abriana in 2015 while working at the same company, with Abriana being the only other black woman on their team.
Career Pivot
[5:59]
Abriana reflects on her career journey, highlighting her intentionality in transitioning roles and prioritizing the team member experience. She pivoted from Excel grids to talent acquisition after realizing that her purpose was driving impact for people, not just the business.
Compensation Strategies
[11:13]
Abriana discusses the challenges of transitioning between functions, especially during end-of-year reviews, and emphasizes the importance of having compensation conversations throughout the year rather than waiting until review time.
Equity in the Workplace
[16:50]
Abriana always requests a compensation review to ensure her pay reflects her impact and experience, rather than just asking for more money.
Opportunities for Improvement
[20:26]
Surrounding yourself with people who are driven, insightful, and focused on both short-term and long-term goals, as well as those who advocate for themselves in terms of career and compensation, is very important.
Accountability, Transparency, and Attracting Talent in Recruitment
[26:32]
Abriana provides practical tips for college students and recent graduates to showcase their skills and impact in the job market.
Job Market Strategies
[29:49]
Abriana suggests leveraging Google and AI to research and craft a LinkedIn summary that aligns with your purpose and passion, utilizing technology to stand out in the competitive job market.
Follow Abriana on:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Career Beginnings
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there, welcome to The Good Guide, your ultimate career companion. I'm Shannara Good, and I've been on quite the career roller coaster. From the trenches of entry-level positions to the boardrooms as a now more seasoned professional. Believe me when I say i have been there and know that I've acquired some wisdom over the years that I cannot wait to share with
Career Challenges and Leadership Insights
00:00:22
Speaker
you. Ever felt like you're on your career journey solo?
00:00:26
Speaker
Or maybe you're curious about conquering career plateaus, overcoming imposter syndrome, or leading with unwavering confidence. Well, I promise you are in the right place.
00:00:38
Speaker
Every week, my guests and I will share our own challenges and successes. We'll talk about everything from career development to leadership to even work-life balance. Expect a healthy dose of authenticity and of course, our tips and tricks that will have you navigating your career with a newfound confidence.
00:00:58
Speaker
Don't miss out on the knowledge drop, y'all.
Milestone Celebration and First Guest
00:01:01
Speaker
Hit that like, subscribe, and follow button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Trust me, you won't want to miss an episode. Because this is the good guide, where we're not just chasing success, we're defining it.
00:01:19
Speaker
Are you ready to elevate your career game? Let's dive in. So I am beyond excited because I feel like I am hitting a major milestone in the podcast, and that is having my very first guest.
00:01:39
Speaker
Today, i am sitting down with a dear friend of mine, Brianna Allen. So Abrianna and i go back, oh gosh, over six, seven years, which is insane.
00:01:53
Speaker
We talk about it a little bit in the episode, but Abrianna is currently a lead executive recruiter at Target.
Brianna Allen's Career Journey
00:02:00
Speaker
She also has her MBA in business administration from Hampton University and all around just a trailblazer in her space.
00:02:11
Speaker
I feel like she has been so intentional with her career movements and I am beyond proud of where she's landed today. So I really wanted to bring her on the podcast this week to talk about her career journey, but also provide some insights from a talent acquisition standpoint.
00:02:31
Speaker
standpoint We also spend some time discussing review season and what goes into comp conversations and the importance of surrounding he yourself with people who really challenge you to elevate who you are, how you present yourself and how you show up in the workplace, but then also personally as well.
00:02:57
Speaker
Hello, Abrianna. How are you doing? Hi, I'm doing well. How are you? I'm good. Happy, I guess, what's today? Sunday that we're recording. So happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. We were just talking right before i hit record that it's six degrees, you said?
00:03:15
Speaker
i think so. Six degrees. And you're in Nebraska. For the time being. Yes, I am. And for reference, I'm in l LA, so I'm very sorry.
00:03:27
Speaker
I'm sorry, too, because I previously lived in Minnesota, as did you. And Minnesota apparently is having better weather than we are. So I know like they had like a quote unquote heat wave, which was like 20 degrees after they're like 30 degree or negative 10 degree weekend. So apparently I need to do winter vacation in Minnesota.
Career Transitions and Purpose Alignment
00:03:47
Speaker
now I know snowbird snowbird from Nebraska to Minnesota. Go for a good figure.
00:03:54
Speaker
I want to catch everyone up on kind of how we know each other before we do ah delve into questions. i can't even believe at this point, what are we 2024? We probably first met in 2015. 2015. Yeah.
00:04:07
Speaker
fifteen twenty fifteen yeah So background on how Abrianna and I know each other. We were both at the same company.
00:04:18
Speaker
She started probably like two years after i started and we were on the same exact team. We were the only two black girls on said team, right? Like it would have just been us. And at the time you had just graduated your master's program, right?
00:04:32
Speaker
Yep. So homegirl has a whole master's. And so we met and she was training on, wait no, actually, maybe your memory serves. Was I placed on the team when you were already on there? or did you start after I was on the team?
00:04:45
Speaker
So I think because you were a boomerang, right? Right. Exactly. hello her Exactly. I was, I'm a two-time boomerang. Yeah.
00:04:55
Speaker
yeah so I know exactly. yes So I started and like June and then I think you probably came back in what July or August. Something like yes it was definitely the summertime.
00:05:07
Speaker
Okay which is like crazy that feels like an entire lifetime ago. I still can't even wrap my head around that in March it'll be four years since COVID but anyway. I digress. So pre-COVID times, everybody, Abrianna and I were on the same team.
00:05:22
Speaker
And like i said, we were only two Black girls. This was, again, because it was pre-COVID time, this was like we were in the office. We were sitting in cubes. So I think our cubes were also right next to each other.
00:05:33
Speaker
We were both in like um the intimates department. So very fun, cat like, what is it called? Subject matter? No, product category. We were on the same team.
00:05:46
Speaker
And then I'd say we were overlapping in certain clubs, like our ERGs, I'll call them, doing a lot of kind of, ah we had like the African-American Business Council, i think Connect, right? to You would have been a part of the Connect program. In Stride. Yeah, In Stride, exactly.
00:06:03
Speaker
All in all, we were very synced and i feel like we connected right away. Then eye up and left. was like, oh crap.
00:06:16
Speaker
Then i left. after my first two years, I left for three months. I came back and was on this team for two years. And so her and I were on the same team for two years.
00:06:27
Speaker
And then i left, I moved to New York. I was gone from the company for five years. And then I just came back about, it'll be two years this fall.
00:06:38
Speaker
That's how we at least know each other. But in the time that I left, Abrianna went on a whole other career journey. So take me through basically the five years that I was gone. I leave the team.
00:06:52
Speaker
Where did your career kind of take you? I'll say it took me in a direction i actually did not see coming at all. Right. I graduated with an undergrad and a master's in business administration. And as you mentioned, i was on the team basically doing a supply chain focus role for two years.
00:07:12
Speaker
And let's all laugh at that because I hated supply chain in school. I was like, absolutely not. The fact that that was my first job out of school is comical. After doing that, I decided I wanted to understand kind of how the other half of the business works because we spent time in supply chain, getting inventory to stores. But I'm like, so how do we choose the assortment?
00:07:31
Speaker
So I went over and spent a couple years in merchandising and beauty, which was a really cool time to be there because it was right after Fenty had launched, which means shade inclusion was like... we better figure it out or get left behind.
00:07:45
Speaker
so oh it was a really good time to honestly be a Black woman in beauty. You were really good. I remember you, even before I left, you were like gunning for that space. Like that was a very intentional move. It was.
00:07:56
Speaker
but I think that's one thing I've kept in mind. Anytime I've transitioned roles is making sure that there's intentionality, but and intentionality behind it. And it makes a lot of sense for me. So I did that merchandising role for two years. And then through that time, um as you mentioned, I was still super involved in a number of our different employee resource groups and also doing, you know, helping prepare training for new enroll folks and just a million different things. And I was stretched paper thin.
00:08:24
Speaker
Yeah. And really had to kind of take a minute to think about why I was doing so much, for lack of a better term, extracurriculars. And it was because I was getting more energy from that work I was doing away from my desk than what I was doing actually at my desk.
00:08:39
Speaker
So started thinking about how do I bring some of those elements into my core function as opposed to doing it as a side, how your extracurricular, whatever you want to call it. And one of my coaches at the time was kind of like, have you ever thought about HR?
00:08:53
Speaker
That's, you know, a place obviously where DE&I is really weaved into the fabric of, you know, the dayto day to day. and yeah, there were elements of that in merchandising, right? Like with the shade inclusion and thinking about how we bring that to life online and things like that. But driving the business in that way didn't resonate with me.
00:09:12
Speaker
And I had to really get comfortable with that because, you know, the girl with two business degrees, I'm like, I'm supposed to be in the business. I'm supposed to be like, you know, take the next CEO. What? And then I realized like that is not it's not doing it for me.
00:09:26
Speaker
So the time I met with a mentor of mine who was a part of a new team that was focused solely on team member experience and had a really good talk with her about what the focus was. And I like the focus on experience of the people that we work with. Like that's what I was doing through all those different employee resource groups.
00:09:43
Speaker
It's focused on how do we make sure people have a sense of belonging? How do we elevate diverse and underrepresented voices in the workplace so our leaders know what we need to be successful and to feel like we belong here?
00:09:55
Speaker
Fast forward, I did not go for a role on that team for a number of different reasons, but I made some really positive relationships there and started thinking about how else could I get over to human resources. And then again, someone said, well, have you ever thought about talent acquisition?
00:10:10
Speaker
and I was like, no. And he was like, why? And I was like, I don't know. was like, I just, it didn't, that's not. Well, it's also a far leap.
00:10:22
Speaker
When you're in the business, like it's a really far leap to go from like being in an Excel grid to like acquiring new talent for a company. So like, and even internally, like like mindset wise, like you wouldn't naturally think to move in that direction.
00:10:37
Speaker
No, I wouldn't. And again, like I, I guess even in school didn't put much thought into human resources as a current, like as a possible career function. Right. But as I started thinking about it and doing my, you know, networking and getting to know a lot of people in the area, I'm like, oh, this actually makes a ton of sense.
00:10:56
Speaker
Like I'm way to the game in terms of what is actually fitting for me.
Compensation Conversations and Strategies
00:11:00
Speaker
And I guess the last check or straw, broke the camel's back, whatever you want to call it is I did something, uh, with a group called imperative.
00:11:10
Speaker
Um, and it was purpose project that kind of helped you identify what your purpose drivers are. oh The pilot group that was a part of it, there were leaders in it, like people who are at the highest levels of the company now.
00:11:21
Speaker
And I remember their purpose driver was impacting the organization. And I'm like, that makes sense. Mine was impacting the individual. And when I think about where they were sitting at the top of their, you know, leadership yeah hierarchies and all that other stuff, they were driven by driving the business.
00:11:38
Speaker
And was driven by impacting people. was like, okay, got it. need to make a pivot. And through those conversations um and a passion that I also had for event planning, I met with someone in talent acquisition who was looking for someone to help with a project that we were trying on campus, a new event initiative.
00:11:57
Speaker
So I did that for the better part of, i would say four weeks. And then all of a sudden role opened talent acquisition team. And i went for it. i told my story and I got it.
00:12:10
Speaker
i love that. I know that was a very long-winded way to say I've been in talent acquisition for, I guess, four and a half years now, which is, like you said, crazy. I've moved over there in 2019, have supported our tech business, our merchandising and marketing business, some of our MBA space, and now back supporting the tech business. But I thought it was important to give all of that context because that's probably been one of my biggest learnings to date is pivot when you need to in the pursuit of just things that feel right to you and actually align to your purpose.
00:12:43
Speaker
That's kind of how I got here. You know, I don't think I've ever actually... heard that story verbatim. Like, you know what I mean like heard it in that way or like heard that. Because even when I left, like I said, the last thing that I remember about what you were thinking about was beauty. So even when you made that first jump out of supply chain into like merchandising,
00:13:07
Speaker
what people don't realize, like when you are in a corporate space and you're so subject matter focused, it's really hard sometimes to go from like one function to another function. So like even that pivot from apparel and accessories,
00:13:22
Speaker
supply chain to beauty merchandising is insane, at least in the space that we were in. And then for you to do that once again, from merchandising to talent acquisition, that's another like, really tough jump. But I think that what I heard is like kind of your key through line was the fact that you really utilized your network.
00:13:47
Speaker
And also that kind of like internal voice of like, what makes me personally happy? And like, how can I sync that up professionally? Yeah. Chasing the bag is not all that is correct. On the day to day. And please believe I still chase the bag. However, I do it in alignment with things that are actually going to give me energy.
00:14:08
Speaker
ah hundred percent. hundred percent. pivoting a little bit because what I really wanted to focus on today was kind of, you know, we're in this time of year and especially with you being now in the HR space, we're in the time of year, at least in a lot of corporations where Jan Feb tends to be very big or the very end of one year and the beginning of a new year. So what that means looks like is typically there are reviews for the previous year, but then also like comp conversations for the next year and how maybe you're
00:14:40
Speaker
previous performance from the prior year impacts your next year. So i think, question for you, in the context of internal and end of the year timing, would you or how did you go about handling a situation, especially when you made that pivot from merchandising to h r around connecting maybe some of your wins and opportunities from one role, right? Because what time of year did you ch transition?
00:15:08
Speaker
ah September. Okay. So September. So then you had basically the majority of one year in a completely different function. And then you moved into a brand new function towards the end of the year. yeah so come your your next review period, like how did you go about having that conversation with an HR hiring manager, right? yourre Whoever your manager was in HR.
00:15:31
Speaker
Like how did you have those conversations? I would imagine they were kind of tough to kind of connect some of those dots. Yeah. Yep. I think, and it was definitely something that I had to get more comfortable with. And that's something that's come honestly in more recent years as, you know, things have continued to grow. Like I got married and, you know, we just have gone through life changes personally and things like that.
00:15:51
Speaker
My drive for compensation has grown. So I would say when I first started, and this has been the same throughout my whole, you know, career in terms of what I focus on, I make sure that I can show the impact of what I've done.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. And I remember that first year I was careful to write my results in a way that resonated with my new HR manager, knowing that she didn't necessarily have the kind the business context to understand, you know, margin growth or margin improvement or skew reduction, whatever the case may be.
00:16:23
Speaker
right So really wrote my review in a way that spoke to like, you know, I was running a I don't know, i'm making it up $15 million dollars business. And no, I stood up our kids assortment. So, and she had little girls at the time. So I'm like, do they like lip smackers? That was great.
00:16:41
Speaker
I did that. But in a general sense, you know, I had to work a lot, I would say, with mentors and, you know, even like peer mentors to get comfortable having the compensation conversation, because, you know, for a lot of people, it's not necessarily something that's intuitive, so to speak.
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's not necessarily comfortable, especially in your younger years. But it's something that I developed. Over time. So at this point, I would say what I do is I make sure that that's a conversation throughout the year.
00:17:11
Speaker
i don't think it's in... our best interest to wait until review time to bring it up. I have actually already started that conversation for 2024 with my manager, which is I want the work and the projects that are going to you know warrant me staying competitive in the pay space.
00:17:30
Speaker
When I introduce myself to new mentors or managers and I talk about how I like to be recognized, compensation is the first bullet. I love that. I follow that up with like leadership exposure and development opportunities.
00:17:44
Speaker
But basically what I'm saying is like, don't pay it. Don't say it, pay it. Like thank you are lovely, but I love seeing those thank yous on my check. I think that's one thing that kind of helps the year end conversation is they already know how I'm coming.
00:18:00
Speaker
I'm coming with a focus on results. Like I drive impact and I do it in ways above like what you asked me to do. I don't focus on impact within my role. How do I impact broader, whether it's broader team, broader enterprise.
00:18:14
Speaker
And then always within my goals for the next year, it says something about elevation or movement or continuing competitive compensation growth. Wow. I mean, even listening to you say that, because I'm to honest, like I didn't even like throughout this year myself, now I'm in a space where I'm like, I know compensation is something that like I want to talk about in my review. But like, I'm to honest, I haven't talked about that throughout the year. i've i've I've at least expressed like if I feel like I'm paying e equitably here and there, but I've never said like the number one way to acknowledge me is pay.
00:18:50
Speaker
And I think that's actually a really strong statement, again, in the corporate space, because it's such a sticky and kind of like a conversation that leaves you feeling, but at least before you have it, like, I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or I don't want to overstep or feel like I'm unappreciative.
00:19:11
Speaker
So like, how did you kind of maybe talk yourself up a little bit, like going into those conversations of like, look at here, this is what I want. And how I asked that question and in still a respectable way but without being off-putting or did, or was that even a thought to you?
00:19:25
Speaker
Oh, it was definitely a thought to me. I would consider myself often humbled to a fault. So getting to a point where I was able to advocate for my work and my impact and what I needed is and still like a practice for me in terms of being comfortable with that.
00:19:43
Speaker
I was comfortable having the conversation with my direct leader. But when I meet with my skip level leader in my skip skip level leader in a few weeks, I'm probably still going to get very awkward again. Right. Right.
00:19:54
Speaker
In terms of how we continue to have that conversation. So, yeah, it's always a thought. But that's why I phrase it in a way where like I'm not asking for more money based on, you know, just optics.
00:20:06
Speaker
I'm not asking for more money for the sake of more money. i'm asking, do does it look like my compensation reflects my impact? work. Yeah. Does that reflect, you know, my potential here? Does that reflect the number of years of experience that I have? Like agnostic of whether it was in HR or another area of the business, you know, I'm like almost nine years into my professional career and I have an MBA and I tend to go the extra mile in whatever I do.
00:20:34
Speaker
When you look across the group in terms of that equity, do I reflect that? And if not, that is a conversation I want to continue to have. Like, what do you need from me? for us to get there.
00:20:46
Speaker
i think that's kind of one thing that makes it more comfortable is like, I'm not just going like, give me more money. I'm saying, what do you need see from me to give me more money? I mean, that's a really good point because I think it's easy to do the work, like, for example, and we'll we'll kind of touch on this in a little bit, but like, I think it's really easy when you externally are doing research about role or something like that, if you're going for a role external to the current company you are in.
00:21:13
Speaker
There are a lot of resources that you can kind of compare things compensation against, but like internally, feel like it's almost harder to have those comparison points because not only is it harder because it's more tangible, but you also have people that you know, you're talking about a peer set that like you can put a name to.
00:21:36
Speaker
So it's really hard to maybe go into a conversation and say, Oh, I feel like I want this bump or whatever because all this stuff I've done without feeling like you're then dinging, you know, Joe Schmo, who you sit and eat lunch with every day.
00:21:51
Speaker
Even that conversation is kind of new when I think about oh, I don't want to throw anybody kind of what you're saying about being humble. i'm Like, I don't want to throw anyone um under the bus, but like I've been put it in the works. So. The proof is in the pudding kind of thing.
00:22:02
Speaker
Like you said, like Joe, whoever could be doing a fantastic job within their
Performance and Growth Strategies
00:22:07
Speaker
scope. Right. But have they also, you know, invested in enterprise initiatives such as DE&I? Have they also over delivered? Have they also mentored people? Are they also ah peer leader on the team that everyone like that's no knock. It's just are those the same?
00:22:25
Speaker
Just the reality. Yeah. You're just stating facts and you're doing it and in a way that I feel like the people who make it far in their careers have probably advocated for themselves as well.
00:22:38
Speaker
So I love that. And that's probably another thing. I surround myself with people who aren't afraid to go for more money either. And that's probably one thing that's grown my confidence with it is like my closest friend group.
00:22:50
Speaker
Oh, they're going to get their money always. A hundred percent. Like ah actually building that tribe of people that when you have a conversation around compensation or when you have, you know, just tough conversations, they are going to be, I think you need that devil's advocate, but you also need that supporter, right? They're going to keep honest with like the work that you're doing, but they're also going to let you know when like, Hey, something, the sniff test is not passing here. Like something isn't really feeling right. Right.
00:23:20
Speaker
I think one thing, and it's not certainly not how I chose my friends, but very interesting the way the pieces have kind of fallen years and years ago. I remember a motivational speaker said something to the effect of like your income is probably going to be the average of like your four or five closest friends or something like that.
00:23:39
Speaker
So when I think about who I'm surrounded with now, it's people who are also driven and insightful and mature and focused on short term and long term goals. And yeah, and also people who, regardless of the amount, are serious about advocating for themselves in terms of both career and compensation. So something else to always keep in mind in terms of who you hang around.
00:24:03
Speaker
I love that. I mean, Hey, it's all, again, it's that, um, bleeding effect of like what rubs off on you, what behaves off on you. So love that. Taking it back to kind of some self-review and like that end of year. So we're talking internal to ah company that you're in.
00:24:21
Speaker
And obviously you've gone through a plethora of degrees, or not degrees, um reviews at this point. But how have you approached evaluating both positive and negative or like opportunities that you've had within your performance when it comes to those conversations? Yeah.
00:24:38
Speaker
I'll start with the positive because obviously people have a lot easier time talking about the positive, and the opportunities or shortcomings or whatever you want to call it. It took me a few years to like remember to do this diligently, but I have a brag box within my inbox. It's literally called my brag box.
00:24:54
Speaker
yeah And it serves two purposes. Number one, to gas myself up when I start, you know, feeling that imposter syndrome or whatever the case may be. um kind of go there and be like, oh yeah, was that girl.
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:08
Speaker
i Like, oh, okay, yeah, I do some things sometimes. But, and then also to make review time easier. Like I wrote my review, our reviews are due ah the end of this month. And I wrote mine at the beginning of December, because I literally just went through my brag box, some things. And then on top of that, i update my I basically kind of update my review quarterly.
00:25:33
Speaker
Right. So whenever I have a development status with my leader, i look at my goals and I update with my accomplishments so far. So the time it took to write my review this year was probably one of the easier years.
00:25:49
Speaker
Oh, I think what's also important pivoting to the opportunities is yeah the storytelling that goes with it. So in my case this year, my hiring numbers were lower, but that was not a result of my performance. It was a result of business need and just the environment.
00:26:06
Speaker
Right. You know, the core function of my role is to hire people. And I hired like 20 ish people total in a year or you know, in years past, I've hired upwards of 40 50.
00:26:18
Speaker
Okay. okay It did not necessarily feel the same, but there were a couple of things that helped with that. Number one, it was no reflection of anything I did. It's, you know, the business.
00:26:29
Speaker
But number two, I took every opportunity to like lean into other areas to still drive that impact. You know, I may have had a smaller group of hires this year, but I bet they're happy and informed. ah you Right. Those are the best 20 hires. Right. Right.
00:26:46
Speaker
Like the representation is there. They know who their recruiter is. They know they can come to me. They know I don't mess around when it comes to negotiating, like all the things. But broader is being able to twist that into what your goals are for next year.
00:27:02
Speaker
Now, I can't really say I'm to hire more people next year because that's up to the business. But what I can say or what anyone should be able to say when they look at their opportunities, what's kind of the story that goes with that?
00:27:12
Speaker
Like, you know, if you're in a space like mine and your representation didn't land quite where you want it to, Why? I hope it wasn't a lack of focus on that because if so, you have a different conversation. But like, you know, maybe the talent pool just wasn't giving what you know, what other factors were a part of that. And it's not necessarily something that needs to be written into every bullet point.
00:27:34
Speaker
But as you're having that conversation with your leader, like tell the story of what it was and then offer your ideas for how to pivot for next year. Talk about where you need support, because I think one thing about gaps in performance or opportunities for improvement, accountability goes a long way.
00:27:53
Speaker
Take accountability and make a plan for, you know, this. ah We didn't land where we wanted to this year, but here's where I'm thinking of pivoting for next year so kind of recover there.
00:28:04
Speaker
And I find to that point of accountability, I find that my ability to be honest about like my shortcomings, whether it be kind of to your point, intentional because the business is down or whatever, or it's truly something that I've vaulted on.
00:28:21
Speaker
It creates that trust between you and your leaders that like this person is not only ever going to give me the good stuff. They're going to be honest with me, but they're also more importantly going to be honest with themselves.
00:28:34
Speaker
That's the harder thing to do to like truly look yourself or look at your, you know, your, your performance and be honest and say, could I have done better? And I think that part actually like creates this like really great partnership between you, your leaders, your mentors, people that will advocate for you having that understanding of like this person is going to be honest about their wins, but also where maybe they've fallen short.
00:29:00
Speaker
And I honestly didn't even think of it that way because that's been how I am for so long. But that I think that's something that I kind of carry is that. I don't even know if I would call it a skill, but a trait that I keep very close to me is transparency and accountability.
00:29:14
Speaker
Good, bad or ugly. Like I'm going to give you the truth, the good and the ugly. I mean, hiding it doesn't do anything. Everything done in the dark comes to, it's a business. They going to find it.
00:29:25
Speaker
Right. so Right, exactly. We're also going to talk about it. Like, let's not be, you know, silly. Like people, especially the higher you go up, like, let's be real, the amazing things about you, the wins, sure, people are going acknowledge that.
00:29:42
Speaker
But the shortcomings and how you actually take accountability for them, I feel like become more of something that people talk about.
Job Seeking and Technology
00:29:50
Speaker
So I think that's really important to like know your shortcomings as well. Like you can't just have people be the only one who like know the things that you should have done, but didn't pivoting again, a little bit to you being within talent acquisition and you are acquiring talent, not to just basically restate phrase, but you are acquiring talent. So like how can people make themselves attractive to companies that are seeking new talent, especially around this time of year that this is happening a lot, like people's budgets are opening up and things like that.
00:30:24
Speaker
How do you look for people that are attractive in terms of the the pool that's out there? So i'm going to talk about it in two ways because all of my time has been in campus. So I'm very used to recruiting college students, but I've also done a lot of work personally from a professional standpoint on how I show up so I can talk about both.
00:30:47
Speaker
If I'm talking about it from how I've recruited in the past, I need to be able to see what you've done, where you've done it, and kind of those skills that really rise to the top. So even know when I'm talking to talent that's newer to the workforce, I'll say,
00:31:01
Speaker
the way you speak to your accomplishments should be very like focused on driving impact. So don't tell me that during your internship, you learned Excel. Congratulations. Yeah. What did you do with it? You leveraged Excel to do what? Like, you know, you manage social media pages. OK, how many followers do those pages have? How many new posts of content did you create and things like that?
00:31:26
Speaker
As you're thinking about getting into the job market, whether it's for the first time or for the second time or for the 10th time, it really doesn't. Whatever. Like, make sure that the work you put out there reflects what you want people to know about you.
00:31:41
Speaker
I'm in the process of rewriting my own LinkedIn summary right now to be very specific in terms of what I bring to the table and what I'm looking for. That's the other thing is like not just what I've done, but when you come to me, here's what I want to like. I need work that aligns to my purpose and my passion and make sure you can pay me. But I might not put that in writing on my LinkedIn.
00:32:02
Speaker
minimum salary. I'm like, I might not put that in writing, but like, I know what I bring. Right. But on all of that, Google and honestly, even ai are going to be our friends in the job market. Like, i vote and yes, like Google keywords related to the industry or the job that you're trying to get into.
00:32:25
Speaker
And then honestly, you can take that straight to chat GPT and tell them to create a LinkedIn summary that use these keywords. Mm hmm. You know, do your research and use technology to your benefit in that realm, because that is how like you're asking how to stand out and how to get how do you pepper those words into your resume, into your LinkedIn.
00:32:44
Speaker
So they pop when people are looking for people with those skill sets. And then also that network like, you know, LinkedIn, search your school, find alum who are in the industry that you want to be in.
00:32:55
Speaker
And then talk to them about it. Like I've seen so many people making, you know, career pivots and what I did get in these Facebook groups and say, I'm thinking of a pivot from HR to tech. Like, can someone talk to me about that? Like, there's so much we really do live in the age of information and technology. It's out there.
00:33:12
Speaker
you just got to go. Right. and Someone had asked me to write like a bio about myself and you better believe I got on chat GBT. ah The thing about it is like, to me, I'm like, it's a, at the end of the day, it's a tool. And I could probably ramble on for five minutes and tell you about myself, but like, is that going to be the most attractive way to say it? Like, or the most concise way to say it or the most but way to say it?
00:33:37
Speaker
ChatGBT will do that for you. Okay. And it's free. So. Quite literally in the blink of an eye. It is crazy. Yes. I'm like, hello, use your, don't pretend to be something you're not.
00:33:49
Speaker
I am not writer, right? Like I can put some sentences together, but I would never call myself a writer, but you know it is? ChatGBT. Yeah. And they'll at least get you start, like to say you don't like, I want to just copy paste said GPT and all.
00:34:04
Speaker
I mean, i don't know why not. But OK, that's cool. Like you wanted to have your personal flair. Like let's work smarter, not harder here. It can give you a skeleton or it can give you thought starters. And then you take that and you make it your own voice.
Advice to Younger Self and Career Reflections
00:34:17
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. And I agree more. So one more question that I've got for you, and this is a question that I want to ask all of my guests because I think it's a really important one. But what professional advice would you give your 23-year-old self?
00:34:35
Speaker
I'm going to answer differently and say, here's what I would tell my 22-year-old self, because that's when I started. at Yes. I was 22 when I started full-time corporate employment.
00:34:47
Speaker
a functional thing and then a personal thing, a functional thing, girl, make a budget, make a budget. And like, it took me way too long to start contributing to my savings the way I should and things like that.
00:35:01
Speaker
Make the daggone budget and stick to it early. Cause it only gets harder once you start making more money and you like, wait, ah but I don't want put that away. Like, I'm having to,
00:35:13
Speaker
make the budget, please. And just get into the habit of saving early because yes once you're used to it, it doesn't quite suck as much. But I would say on a personal point, oh my goodness, give yourself grace.
00:35:26
Speaker
And I think that is an overused or I consider it an overused expression in my company life because it's always, it's, it always comes up, but I am definitely type A. I was the study and then get a good grade kind of girl. And it knocked me on my butt when I got to corporate and realized I couldn't just study and get, you know, there was no grade to get.
00:35:49
Speaker
I had to get there. And one of my very close friends who I talked to all the time, I remember probably two months into role, he was like, you feel like really dumb. And I was like, yes, oh my God. Like, oh my God, like I'm taking my computer home, trying to like study the onboarding training and figure out why this is not like, like you have to give yourself grace and be prepared to not know everything and know no one actually expects you to know everything.
00:36:18
Speaker
And it took me even a couple of years after being new to realize that I was so afraid of not knowing the answer. i wasn't able to advocate for what I needed to actually help me get better.
00:36:31
Speaker
And that's probably one of the reasons I advocate for myself a lot more and a lot differently now is because those first couple of years, I struggled because I was so scared. I thought I had to know it. I thought I had to figure it out. And it took me a long time to get comfortable being like, I don't get this. I need help.
00:36:48
Speaker
I have a vivid memory ah you and I, yeah yeah a real tough talk about like, you are not about to know every single thing.
00:37:00
Speaker
i could pluck that memory and like play it on a screen right now. That's how like vividly I think about it. But you're so right. I think that first year, year and a half out of, out of college, like You've got to really have a strong stomach and good people in your corner because it rocks your socks. Like it's very tough.
00:37:23
Speaker
I think that's so true. Like having that grace just, or just knowing like it's going to be hard. It's going to be tough, but that's all a part of the ride. And in years from now, you're going to look back and be like, wow, things feel so easy now. Like sure. Not every single day feels easy.
00:37:41
Speaker
the time is just so, so different. So. And you're less alarmed when you transition to a new role and you feel like you're jumping into, what does that meme say? You're jumping into season nine of a show that you just started watching.
Career Growth and Personal Changes
00:37:54
Speaker
Yeah. Season like two right now. Okay. It's okay. You don't know what's going on. You'll figure it out. Just hang on. Exactly. Exactly. Epi. Well, thank you so much for your this week.
00:38:08
Speaker
this Lovely cold afternoon for you. i really appreciate you taking the time and and speaking with us. And, you know, I can't say enough. Again, and and know we kind of sprinkled a little bit in in terms of like how we know each other, but it's so crazy to be able to like have watched your career journey.
00:38:28
Speaker
change and ebb and flow and how it's like coupled also to, like you said, with like your personal moments, you getting married, you moving from here and there. Like, it's just been really cool to like watch you um transform over the years. So just, you know, really proud to see where you you've grown and and all of that, but also just excited now that we can kind of look at each other across the table and know like there's been, you know, all of these years that have really created us into the professionals that we are. So.
00:38:59
Speaker
Well, Shay, I have to say thank you. And I have to give you your flowers publicly too, because after my onboarding mentor left for my first role, was sick.
00:39:10
Speaker
Um, I was like still only like three months, three or four months in role. And I was like, uh, this is, um, okay. And I remember Shay was like, are you okay?
00:39:21
Speaker
I was like, not quite. I don't know what I'm going to do. I think I'm in trouble. And you were really one of the first people to talk me through, like, you know, once your mentor leaves or your first mentor leaves, that's when you figure out what you know.
00:39:37
Speaker
and now you actually have the space to figure out how to do things in a way that makes sense to you. and I think that that was like, OK, OK, OK, I'm going be OK. And then that's when I started developing my own processes and methods for doing my job and feeling better. And then also, by the way, not being the only person that looked like me on my team was you know you
Conclusion and Gratitude
00:39:59
Speaker
You needed that. And i didn't know i needed it I didn't know I needed that as much as I did. But yeah, Shay definitely coached me through some of the harder earlier moments. And it's been very fun to watch her even like, I'm like this girl, like one minute she's here.
00:40:14
Speaker
Now she's over there in New York. Now she's over there in California. What? She's She doing what now? Oh, she got a podcast? Like, let Shay be a lesson to you that like you can pivot and do whatever the F you want to do that brings you joy in the moment. So it's always been fun to watch you too. i appreciate that. Thank you. Yes, I am. That is one thing. i Talk about a brag.
00:40:38
Speaker
a brag, my brag inbox. Like i know how to pivot. Like I know how to land. So that's, yeah. She does it in a way that looks so fearless. Like I know you probably have hesitation and you think about it a lot. Girl, she afraid.
00:40:52
Speaker
I lived on both coasts in the last, like, what, five years? like Yeah, so literally, yes. You're literally the example of be scared and then do it anyway. Right, correct. Yeah. Well, thank you. i appreciate that.
00:41:04
Speaker
Yes, ma'am. um Well, I will be sure that people can find you on LinkedIn. especially to get, you know, I think, again, you have a lot of valuable career experience and like also just educational background and all that as well. So I make sure people have your LinkedIn and that they spell your name correctly as well, because that's a whole other story for a whole different day. LinkedIn has a pronunciation function so you can let folks know how to say it. Yes, I love that. love that.
00:41:33
Speaker
So... ah I just love listening to that episode. Thank you so much, Adriana, for being my very first guest on the podcast. It's been such a long journey for us both. I'm literally smiling from earer ear to ear.
00:41:47
Speaker
was really special to be able to listen to that and and hear more about your journey while I was away doing my own thing. So really hope you guys enjoyed that as much as I enjoy listening back to it.
00:41:59
Speaker
And I can't wait to have more guests on the pod. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Good Guide, the podcast dedicated to guiding you through every twist and turn in your career journey. If you loved this episode, make sure to leave those five-star reviews and share this podcast with a friend, loved one, or hey, even a colleague.
00:42:20
Speaker
If you have a topic that you'd like for me to tackle, check out this week's show notes for links to where you can submit your question. It might even be featured during the Q&A segment of the next episode.
00:42:31
Speaker
But first, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a beat. Take care, y'all.