Her Story
About Jhadira
I discovered my passion for HR and recruiting almost by accident, but looking back, I think I always knew this was going to be my career - I just didn't know it was an option yet. I originally went to college for pre-med medicine, but when COVID hit in 2020, I quickly realized it wasn't for me. I transferred from Iowa to Loyola University and took my first project management and human resources class that August, and I fell in love with the material. As a first-generation Latina, I didn't really know what HR was - my parents always said you're either going to become a doctor or a lawyer, those were the two career paths they knew. I wanted to gain experience before taking on more student loans, so I moved back to Iowa and applied for a receptionist position through a temp agency. When I came in for my first interview, they asked me if I would be interested in working for the agency itself - they really liked my personality, my ambition, and my goals. At the time, I was so scared of COVID that I just wanted a job where I could have a coffee and be away from people, and they said 'perfect, we'll teach you the industry.' I loved it there and learned all about recruitment, building really great relationships with different companies. I've always believed in the importance of education, and I tell all my friends and family that if you're given the opportunity to get more education, take it - the more you learn, the better. I started working with companies that would help fund my education, and I was able to earn my bachelor's degree in business with an HR focus from St. Ambrose University with a 3.78 GPA. Now I'm graduating this December with my Master's in Business Administration and my Master's in Organizational Leadership with a 4.0 GPA, and everything has been fully funded by myself or the companies I've worked with. This is coming from someone who struggled in school initially because I had undiagnosed ADHD that I didn't know how to control - it was really hard for me to pay attention. After seeking treatment, I've been able to excel. Companies like Novellus in Iowa really helped me grow from being a recruiter to helping with actual HR initiatives, and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have gotten the HR exposure that now allows me to master those skills and use them in my current corporate-level position at Vistera Landscaping Group. Currently, I work in-office at their headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois, where I focus on corporate recruiting, staffing, and talent acquisition.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jhadira
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say trying to build teams where people want to work remote versus being in office - that's a constant struggle. It's hard to find ways to develop a team while working remotely. I think that's something that, in general, in the industry, it's hard to navigate because you want people to feel fulfilled, but sometimes it's hard for somebody to feel fulfilled within their role when they haven't had an interaction with their coworker in person. I feel like that's a big thing, especially if your role is to create initiatives and create programs. I work in office with my current position and with my past position, but a lot of my colleagues in the industry work fully remote. So it's interesting to find that difference in their satisfaction with their position versus the satisfaction that I've had. But also the reality is that it's easier to just work remote, it's easier to be able to do that, but how much are you actually getting done? I feel like trying to find that balance is a big thing in the industry, and trying to understand it, because there's no technical solution - it depends on your group, your team, and what the overall goal would be.
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