Her Story
About Aja
Aja Castillo serves as Human Resource Director with over two and a half years in the role and 21 years total in human resources, focusing primarily on employee relations. Based in Pico Rivera, California, she is self-taught in the field after starting by managing HR functions for a staffing agency she co-owned. She holds ADP certifications for HR and payroll management and is awaiting enrollment in the SHRM program to obtain that certification by the end of the year. Throughout her career, Castillo has emphasized being accessible to employees, drawing from her own experiences where HR support was lacking. She credits a mentor's advice that experience outweighs formal knowledge for her advancement from coordinator to director positions. As a mother of three with children in college, she attributes her success and drive to her family, maintaining integrity, leadership, accountability, and empowerment as core values. Castillo advises young women entering the field to pursue their passions without giving up and to continuously learn through research, reading, podcasts, and books.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Aja
01What do you attribute your success to?
My children make me who I am. They push me just as much as I push them. As a mom of three with children in college, monkey see monkey do. Mom does good, they do good. I've always let them know that they come first, and they are the reason why I'm in positions that I'm in.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It's not the knowledge you bring, it's the experience you bring. A mentor took a chance on me despite lacking formal education, allowing me to rise from coordinator to director level based on experience and knowledge.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If it's something that you really strive for and you're passionate about, that's one thing you never want to do, is give up on your passion. Keep learning. Every day is a new day. I'm always researching, I'm always reading, I'm always listening to podcasts and reading books, so the more knowledge you have, the better.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Having to come to the executives, the corporates, the higher-ups, and kind of letting them know what's going on, giving feedback and advice, but a lot of times they don't take it and then find themselves in a pickle. The communication where executive levels don't emphasize the experience and knowledge from previous organizations.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity. I fall deep with integrity and being able to have leadership, even with my children, just being there involved, collaborations, accountability, in any organization or even at home, holding accountability, just being empowered. I'm very empowered, especially with women who run businesses and who are in high executive levels.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.