HR professional prepares to grow career through formal training
Sometimes your future career turns out to be one you鈥檝e never even thought about. For Vancouver鈥檚 Shaista Kara, who recently completed the Human Resources Management Certificate program, becoming an HR professional had never been on her radar. 鈥淚t sort of fell into my lap,鈥� she recalls. Today, as a people coordinator, she鈥檚 involved in workforce planning and scheduling for some 3,000 part-time staff.
When Shaista graduated from 911吃瓜 with a degree in gender studies and a minor in communications, it was the early days of the pandemic. Like many new graduates at the time, she found herself in limbo. With limited options, she applied for an internship with Canucks Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates teams and venues including the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena. Luckily, Shaista鈥檚 internship evolved into a part-time role, then to her current full-time role in HR.
鈥淲hen I first started, I didn't really know much about HR,鈥� she admits. But she soon discovered how rewarding it can be: 鈥淚 really like the idea of helping others and being able to support them through the full employee life cycle. From doing an interview to onboarding someone, and then seeing them progress in their role and then maybe offboarding them when their career grows鈥攖hat has been my favourite part of my current role so far.鈥濃��
To continue moving forward, Shaista felt she needed formal training to augment what she鈥檇 learned on the job. She chose 911吃瓜鈥檚 program on the recommendation of a colleague. 鈥淚 also liked how you can just work on the courses in your own time, which works great when you鈥檙e also working full time,鈥� she notes.
The courses she completed have definitely helped to fill in the gaps, she notes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 allowed me to get a better overall understanding of HR.鈥�
In some ways, says Shaista, the program has helped her participate more fully in her organization. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely helped me build my confidence,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏efore taking the program, I felt I wasn鈥檛 able to contribute and participate in meetings, or I would not think that my ideas were worth sharing. And now I feel like I have more confidence in being able to share my ideas and come up with concepts and different processes.鈥�
Shaista adds that her learning also introduced her to areas she hadn鈥檛 considered before: 鈥淚 really enjoyed learning about employee engagement, which was not something I was interested in at all, before the program.鈥� Shaista has now helped to develop a staff blog that includes FAQs to assist new employees during their onboarding.
Now that she鈥檚 graduated with her certificate, Shaista says she鈥檚 ready to grow in her current role and see what more she can do at her organization. After all, she says, things are always in motion at Canucks Sports and Entertainment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely fun,鈥� she laughs. 鈥淲hen you first start with the company, everything鈥檚 really exciting because it鈥檚 like, oh wow, this artist is in the building today. There are hockey players in the elevators sometimes. You never know what will happen next.鈥�
By Kim Mah