What advice would you offer prospective candidates on
transitioning from school to the workplace?
Being humble is key when transitioning from school to the
workplace. You always hear stories about how new graduates think
they’ve learned everything there is to learn in school and feel
that they have the answer to all of the company’s problems.
I believe that one of the true signs of intelligence is being wise
enough to know that you don’t and will never know everything. If
you don’t know how to do something - don’t be afraid to ask help
from a more experienced colleague. People at Citi are very willing
to help - you will definitely save yourself the anguish of trying
to reinvent the wheel!
If asked about your career at a dinner
party, how would you describe it?
Whenever I tell people at dinner parties that I work in HR, they
almost always assume that I chose this career path because I am a
“people person.” Although I do enjoy working with people, I
inevitably have to tell everyone that there is much more to
building a successful career in HR.
I talk about all the number crunching I used to do in my job as a
compensation and benefits manager. I describe how I used marketing
concepts to develop effective sourcing strategies when I worked in
recruiting. I talk about how I employed project management
techniques when I led cross-functional work teams. Don’t get me
wrong, being around people is definitely a plus - but it’s not the
only thing that you will need to be a good HR professional.
Describe the most memorable experience
you've ever had at Citi.
One of the more interesting projects I worked on was when I was
asked to design a career management training program for
senior-level women in the Corporate Center Women’s Organization. I
was scared of doing this at first because I did not have any formal
experience designing training programs. But what I was more worried
about was whether I could realistically provide any useful insights
/ added value to the target audience - because unfortunately I am
neither a senior-level employee nor a woman! However, the fact that
this project was so out of my comfort zone was partly what made it
so appealing. I viewed it as a challenge and a great opportunity to
expand my skill set to learn something new.
After doing tons of research and working closely with my manager (a
senior-level woman), we were able to come up with a comprehensive
program that addressed our audience’s needs. The presentation was
so well received that we were asked to deliver the same module to
an even larger audience at the CCWO Annual Conference later in the
year!
What non-work related activities do
you get involved in through Citi (community, mentoring,
charity)?
One of my prouder moments as a Citi employee was when I took
part in Global Community Day. I was one of 45,000 employees across
80 countries who spent the day trying to make a positive impact in
local communities.
I signed up to spend time with children at a shelter in my
neighborhood. I had a blast reading to and doing crafts projects
with the kids! But I also enjoyed seeing a side of my co-workers
that I hadn’t seen before. I saw them channel the same passion and
energy that they devote to work into trying to make some
underprivileged kids happy - awesome!
How did your summer internship help
you make the decision to pursue a career at Citi?
The biggest reason why I came back to Citi was because of the
tremendous access we had to senior HR leaders over the summer. My
group of associates was given a project to create a Talent metrics
report for all of Citi. Even though we were at Citi for the summer,
we were able to speak with dozens and dozens of senior HR managers
and get their views on the best way to quantitatively measure how
well talent is managed at Citi. The highlight though was getting
time to speak with the head of HR for the Global Consumer Group and
the head of HR for the Markets and Banking about our project.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
With so much going on in Manhattan, making sure I am taking
advantage of all that the city has to offer has become my “second
career”. My wife and I love to eat, so we are always on the lookout
for new places to try. We also love going to the theater and made
it our goal to see a new musical or play every month. Don’t think
that it’s all about “Nights out on the town” in New York City. I
also play in a basketball league once a week and run along the
parks close to the West Side Highway on the weekends. Just name
your hobby or interest, and I’m sure you can find it in NYC!