Influential Woman · Human Resources
Elisa Kandic
Human Resources Representative, Land Art America,
Austin, TX
Her Story
About Elisa
I have been in the human resources field for almost 15 to 16 years, working across hospitality, restaurant, and landscaping industries. I actually started as an accountant before transitioning to HR management. Currently, I work as an HR representative with Land Art America, where I've been for about a year. My role involves employee relations, training, benefit enrollment, event coordination, hiring, managing turnover, and performance management. What drew me to HR is my love for helping people - I want people to be happy, to have all the necessary tools to do their jobs, and to feel satisfied in their work environment. I'm also an advocate for the company, balancing both employee and company relations. I'm very goal-oriented and love the challenge of learning something new every day that could better myself, the company, or help an employee be happy. I'm involved with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), both nationally and with my local Austin chapter. I work extensively with the H-2B program, bringing seasonal workers from El Salvador and Mexico, which I'm passionate about because I love helping people from other countries gain work experience. I've also worked with international workers from Turkey and Romania in my previous hospitality roles, and I was a strong advocate for these programs.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elisa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think that my most notable achievement is that every day, I like to learn more and like to focus on education, whether it's something as career coach, coaching for my employees and myself. One of the things that I'm satisfied with is that I love to have that challenge, to be very goal-oriented, and learning every day something that could better myself, or better the company, or better an employee to be happy. I've had mentors throughout my career, including a life coach I've been working with for almost a year now, and previous HR bosses who provided a lot of support and growth opportunities. When it came to anything from educational or if I needed to go to a seminar or a workshop or a conference, there was a lot of support, and also in growing if I wanted to expand in my career.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I actually had this conversation 2 months ago with a colleague's daughter who was studying and interested in HR. I explained to her what the HR career is like - you know, HR career is something that could be difficult, because you're dealing with a lot of people. But one of the things that I told her is that if she really wanted to be in the HR seat, there's a lot of different challenges, but that is an amazing career for her if she wants to be focused on the human resources side. I was very happy that she was fascinated in HR, and I felt very privileged that she wanted to speak with me. Her mother later told me that after our conversation, her daughter decided to go into HR management for her bachelor's, which made me feel great.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In HR, you have to know the laws, and the laws change every year. There's always something different. I keep myself updated through workshops with lawyers and attorneys, especially on immigration law, which is one of the high points right now going through the Trump administration. Immigration keeps changing, especially if you're dealing in Austin where I work a lot with the Hispanic community. I work with the H-2B program, so we bring workers from El Salvador or from Mexico, and I'm trying to keep that program alive and helping them when we meet them on seasonal jobs. I'm a high advocate for that because I help young people come from overseas, and they're learning from what they're studying in their home country.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Texas
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.