#100: Rooted in Purpose, Ready to Grow

Hey there, I'm Melanie Reed, and I am so thrilled to welcome you to episode 100 of the HR Mentor podcast. I am also extremely grateful that I get to record this episode from my home, which is on the traditional, unceded, and ancestral territories of the Tecumlips to Shaquemec within Shaquemeculu. And I'm thankful that I've been able to record all 100 of these episodes from these beautiful lands that have been protected by the Shaquemec people since time immemorial. I can't quite believe that we are here.

Episode 100. It feels like such a huge milestone. And of course, I want to start off this episode by saying thank you. Whether you've been listening since the very beginning or this is your very first episode, I am truly grateful that you're here.

Without you, I would not be. So thank you very much. Today's episode is going to be a little bit different. I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect a little bit on this whole podcasting journey and talk a little bit about how it all started, some of the things that I've learned along the way, some key moments and highlights.

And also, I want to share with you a little bit about where I see the podcast heading in the future. So whether you're walking your dog, commuting to work, or you're in between job applications, I hope this episode feels like a warm conversation between a mentor who truly believes in you and an aspiring HR professional. Let's get started. Welcome to the HR Mentor Podcast, the podcast dedicated to guiding early career HR professionals towards an amazing and fulfilling HR career.

I'm your host, Melanie Reed. I'm a seasoned HR professional and university professor who has been right where you are on the break of an amazing HR career. Through this podcast, we will explore actionable career strategies that will help you build organizational credibility and propel your career forward. Whether you're on your commute, taking a break, or just seeking some inspiration, you're in the right place to create a career and life that you love.

When I began the HR Mentor, I was watching so many smart, motivated HR grads struggle to find that first role. not because they weren't capable, but because they weren't sure how to show what they were capable of and they didn't know how to approach a professional job search. I had worked with students, seen their potential, and I really wanted to create a way to provide them with the kind of advice, clarity, and encouragement I really wish I had when I was graduating from university.

And this is really why I started this podcast. When I graduated, I started looking for an HR job right away. And I have to tell you, I made all the mistakes and I basically learned how to overcome them the hard way. But it wasn't easy.

I didn't have a mentor to tell me what I was doing wrong or a podcast. In fact, we barely had regular access to online job boards at that time. Now, when I started my role as a university professor and students would come to me looking for job search advice, I could instantly see them making the exact same mistakes. It was surprising to me that not a lot had changed over the years.

Students were hyper-focused on their resume. They were applying for any and all jobs with HR in the title. and they had no idea what they had to offer an employer or how to communicate it to them. And so I would try and help as many students as possible, but it was not feasible to meet with everyone one-on-one.

Plus, I figured there were probably lots of HR grads out there having the same challenges, but who weren't asking for help. Maybe they were even from other schools. So I had started listening to podcasts at the time, and I thought, you know, this really seems like a natural way to scale the advice that I wanted to share. And I'm happy to say it has scaled.

I'm so proud to say that people in over 80 countries have downloaded episodes of this show. And while the numbers are small in the world of podcasts, I feel so incredibly grateful to have helped so many HR grads, especially since I thought the only person who was gonna listen to this show was my mom, who never listens to this show, by the way. Mom, if you're listening to this one, thank you. But also, she never listens to this show.

So I wanna thank all of you who have let me know that the podcast has helped you tweak something in your job search or completely adjust your strategy. This truly has been the most rewarding experience of my career so far. And again, if you weren't here, that wouldn't be happening. I also want to assure you that this whole purpose of starting this podcast hasn't changed.

I'm still here and I will still be here to help early career HR professionals find meaningful roles. finding jobs that align with their values and their strengths. And while the industry keeps evolving, and the HR field is changing every day, my commitment is not going to change. I'm still going to be here helping you find that first HR job.

And I want to help you make an impact once you get there. So that all remains just as strong today as it did in February 2020, when I hit published on episode one of this show called Why You Need an HR Mentor. If you haven't listened to it, go back and give that a try. Now, I want to also highlight a few favorite moments and express a bit of gratitude to some specific people.

There have been so many moments on this journey that I will always treasure One of the things that I find so gratifying is getting messages from listeners who say I got my first HR job Thank you for your advice Or even just I got my first HR job I love seeing those announcements. I also love the guest episodes where experienced professionals open up about the challenges they faced early in their careers and how they made decisions about their next opportunity. I found that so helpful over the course of my career when someone who is more experienced than me would say, you know, what you're experiencing, what you're going through is normal.

And so for those experienced professionals out there listening, keep doing that for the people who are coming up behind you in the HR field, because I think that is so helpful. We can really get caught in a narrow focus. And when you're new to your career, you can have a lot of self-doubt. So hearing from others that they're experiencing the same challenges can be really beneficial.

Now, all that said, I have to say my favorite episodes of these last five seasons have been with my former students sharing their journey to their first HR role. And the very first episode I did like this was with Dean Lemfers in episodes nine and 10. We talked so much we had to split it up into two episodes. And in our time together, Dean shared the story about meeting his first HR employer at a career fair.

And he met this person just by holding the door for them. Dean chose politeness and courtesy, and it landed him an HR role, or at least the opportunity to get an HR role. After that episode aired, he found his next HR role thanks to networking at a CPHR event. I've talked about that many times on the show that I was also attending and I made the introduction to a former colleague of mine.

He initiated a follow-up and voila, a role came up and he was contacted. Honestly, you guys, I can't make this stuff up. Listen to Dean's story if you don't believe me. But making these connections in the community and just opening yourself up to say hello or good morning or holding the door from someone can really lead to opportunities.

And Dean's story, although it might sound like it's unique, it's not. Now in season two, I talked to two other former students, Hemanji Patel and Nikita Kumar, as they both shared their story of going from being HR students to HR professionals and how they made that transition. And although they use different strategies, and they were employed in vastly different roles, their advice was really helpful to so many people. So if you haven't yet, check out episode 29 and listen to what they have to say.

They were very gracious with the advice that they shared. And I have to applaud them for coming on the show together, because I probably would have found that more intimidating, but they did a fantastic job. In season three, I talked to Justin Hardy about the opportunities that you get by choosing a small town. And since that episode aired, I have had a few former students find amazing job opportunities and develop fulfilling lives in small towns.

As a small town girl, I have an affinity for these opportunities, and I want to take this opportunity to remind students that they can be just as valuable, sometimes even more valuable, than ones in bigger centers. You get the opportunity to stretch yourself on the job since there are often fewer people. And you also get this great opportunity to learn about community and make more meaningful connections because small towns thrive and survive on these connections. Justin shares some of the benefits and what he has learned in episode 47.

So I encourage you to check that one out if you haven't already. Now immediately after Justin, I talked to another former student, Sarah Wade, who did the complete opposite of Justin. She grew up in a small town but wanted to move to the big city. And she did.

She went to Toronto. Here, she found success with a different strategy and has been thriving there ever since. I love following Sarah and seeing what she's up to and where she's going. But you can hear her full story in episode 48 of the podcast.

Now, in season four, I sat down with two fabulous students, now former, Jenny Tran and Patricia DiSacara, and they were the leaders of our Tier UHR club. In this episode, Jenny and Patricia talk about the benefits of participating in student clubs while at university, and they have some great advice about some of the benefits. This is one of the things I didn't do in my university time. I don't even know if we had an HR club, but if we did, I was not part of it.

But it is an incredible opportunity for you to connect with other students who will be part of your network when you graduate and also get connected with HR professionals and the folks with the CPHR Association because they work very closely with student clubs. So in this episode, they talk about some of those benefits. They also talk about their own individual journeys as international students living and studying in Canada. I'm also happy to report that they are both thriving in HR roles now, so you can hear their stories in episode 67.

In the same season, I talked to Suki Carr, who also had a small-town experience that landed her an amazing first HR role. Suki talks about her journey as an international student and the importance of following up and making connections. She is also just the warmest, kindest person and now a new mom. And I just always love talking to Suki.

She just makes me smile and lights up any room that she goes into. You can hear about her success with her HR role in episode 73. I ended season four by having a conversation with Michelle Amaral Michelle was a listener of the podcast and a follower during the pandemic before she arrived in Kamloops and started studying at TRU from New Zealand Now the first time we connected I knew she was going to be an amazing student I was thrilled to have her in my class but she's also now become an incredible contributor to the HR field and will be mentoring others in no time.

Michelle has also been a huge help to me by brainstorming episodes, connecting with guests, and co-hosting a few episodes in season five. Michelle shares her own journey in episode 83 and offers some incredible advice for those of you that are on the brink of your own amazing HR career. It's well worth the listen. Now, each of these moments reminds me why this work matters and how connecting with people is critical to success in an HR career.

I talk about that a lot on this show, but I do that because it's so true. I would not be here without an ability to connect with people. If someone asked me to name one ability or skill that has helped me the most over my career, it would be that, the ability to connect and build relationships with people at school, at work, or in the community. I would not be here if it weren't for the connections I have made, the mentors that I've had, and the people that have supported me.

So think about that as you are just moving about your day. If you're studying still at university and think about sitting in a class, do you talk to the person beside you? Do you join the student club? What about when you're working out and someone smiles at you in the gym?

Do you hide your head or run away to a different piece of equipment or do you smile back and say hello? All of these things can lead to meaningful connections. Of course, we want to do that in a job search, but even when we're not, these connections can lead to great opportunities. So don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone a little bit and think about how you can build more meaningful connections with the people you already know and how you can build or create more connections.

I'm, of course, also very grateful for all the experts who have been guests on the show. Especially, I want to thank my dear friend and colleague, Joel Peterson, who has always been keen to come on the show and talk about recruitment. Other experts have also made meaningful contributions. Guests like Steve Rothberg, who talked about job boards and really gave us that kind of kick in the pants we needed to get going while we're still in university.

Cheryl Brown, who I adore, shared her career journey to HR leadership and shared it with so much grace and vulnerability. I can't wait to invite her to come back on the show. Cheryl, if you're listening, I'm going to be following up with you soon. And of course, most recently, Greg Morley, who talked about why inclusivity still matters and how connection is a critical component.

I attended a webinar that Greg did a week and a half ago after he was on the show and was equally impressed with not only his advice, but also just his presence and way of connecting with others. He's a real gem. You can, of course, access these episodes and many other ones on our hosting platform, Podbean, or wherever you get your podcasts. We're, of course, searchable on all of the main ones.

Finally, I just want to, as I'm thanking people, want to thank Michelle Morrow, who has also been offering a lot of support early on in the podcast, helping with the LinkedIn, HR Career Cafe, and also helping me with some social media work and just being generally a great supporter of the podcast. And I'm really proud of all the success she has had as well. So what have I learned through this journey? Because I'm always learning.

Every time I hit record, I learned something. But there's a couple things that I've reflected on that I think have been pretty powerful for me. The first one is really about clarity. And I know I talk about clarity in your job search, understanding who you are, what you offer, figuring out how to communicate that.

But clarity about why I'm doing this, and how this connects to my own career, and creating a sense of meaning has been sort of the fuel that has kept me going. So I think, you know, really knowing what your values are and what you want to accomplish and the impact you want to have in the world can really help guide you over the course of your career. And that's been instrumental for me. I've also learned that confidence comes from doing, not waiting and researching and overthinking.

I'm definitely an overthinker. But the only way that I built up confidence with podcasting or writing these episodes was by just getting down and doing it. And I think that is so important early in your career. It's really easy to talk yourself out of trying things or doing things or asking questions or reaching out to people.

But you're only going to learn to get better at it by actually doing it. I have this quote or part of a quote on my whiteboard from Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, And it says live immediately. And Seneca talks about how we only have today to do the things that need doing. That procrastination is in some ways selfish because it assumes that you have a tomorrow and tomorrow's not promised to anyone.

So Seneca really encourages us to all take action today And one of the things that I learned in you know reading about this quote from Ryan Holiday work he has the podcast called The Daily Stoic that I highly recommend is that action actually helps increase our motivation That procrastination actually derails motivation So by taking action you going to build confidence but it also going to motivate you to do more. So I really encourage you to hang on to that as you're kind of in the throes of a job search or you're transitioning to a new role.

We can sometimes stop ourselves from trying things because of fear, because we don't know how to do it. But really, confidence and motivation come from actually doing things not waiting around. Now, most importantly, one of the things I've learned is that to have a career and a life that you love, you have to be a little bit brave. In order to be successful at anything, you will have to take risks, you will have to get out of your comfort zone.

I learned how to podcast by pushing through that fear, learning as I went, and trusting myself. So I want to encourage you to do the same. When the opportunity comes, and you'll know something's an opportunity because it will excite you or scare you a little bit, I want you to take that risk, push record, and don't worry too much about what anyone else is doing or thinking. One of the things I've learned in my 50 years is that generally people aren't thinking about you at all.

So don't worry that they might judge you or they might laugh at you. They're probably not even thinking about you. And this lesson was a key factor for me in creating the online course that I created, the HR Career Accelerator. It took a tremendous amount of effort to build it, but I would say that that paled in comparison to the courage it took to share it.

I was a little bit worried that I might be judged, but mostly that I would miss something or it wouldn't resonate with people. But the feedback that I got couldn't be further from the truth. Everyone that's enrolled in the course has had positive feedback, and most people have already landed their first HR role, which is just so exciting for me. At the start of the new season, you're going to hear from someone who signed up last year and while still working through the materials, landed an amazing HR role.

I also just got off the phone literally two hours ago with a current participant who's heading into their second interview for an incredible HR coordinator role. They graduated in April and could soon be signing an offer for a job with a multinational corporation that is going to give them some amazing experience. My point is, I doubted myself and I shouldn't have. So take the advice from me as someone who overthinks and can be really hard on themselves.

Just take the leap. Go all in on whatever your dreams are, whatever your passions are. And as Seneca says, live immediately. And if you're ready to stop struggling with your job search, check out the HR Career Accelerator program.

There's a link in the show notes. And if you have questions, don't be afraid to email me. It's melanie at the HRmentor.ca.

And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. All right, I want to move into kind of the final little bit I wanted to talk about today, which is what's next for the podcast. What is the future of the HR Mentor? Well, as I said, the core of this show is about helping new grads and early career HR professionals, and that is staying the same.

But I am ready to kind of grow the vision a little bit. And I want to start shifting the topics of the pod in a way that helps you learn, but still supports you. I want to take you a little bit deeper into the HR role experience. So in season six, we will not just talk about how to get a job, but how to thrive in that job.

And of course, experts will help us along the way. So that means some future episodes will include how to support managers when you're new to HR, navigating workplace conflict and building influence, understanding AI and digital tools shaping the HR space. This is changing every day and I think it's important that we start talking about skill building and what that space looks like. I also want to talk a little bit about how to take your HR knowledge and turn it into making an impact in the workplace and providing some more specific guidance around that.

And of course, I'll continue to follow HR trends that matter to early career professionals and talk about that. The podcast will continue to focus on your career, but we'll also talk about how to use your voice and your skills to make workplaces better. Because in reality, that's what HR leadership is all about. And I am really excited about bringing you along for the ride and looking into the future.

Now, if there's something you're facing in your job search or in the workplace, send me a message or a voice memo and let me know what you want to hear about on this show and help shape the next 100 episodes of the HR Mentor. You can always email me or send me a DM on any of the social media apps that you are on. Now, let's wrap this up. I just want to say to every listener, student, guest, or colleague who supported this show, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I started this show to be a resource, but it has really become something much more. And it's continued a lot longer than I thought it would. It's become a community, and I think it's an ever-evolving mentorship space that I'm really proud to be able to share with so many people. Thank you for being such an important part of these first 100 episodes.

I can't wait to see what we build together next. This episode will conclude season five of the HR Mentor, but I will be back in September with fresh new episodes, already lining up some guests and will be recording these in August. So enjoy your summer. I will be taking some much, much needed time to recharge.

And in the meantime, you've got 100 episodes to listen to and to explore. As always, thank you for being here. Take care. Bye for now.