Her Story
About Krystyna
Krystyna Romano serves as Director of HR in a generalist capacity at a nonprofit organization, managing recruiting, benefits, employee relations, and other HR functions. She entered the field after an internship at Walden Books during her studies, where exposure to HR professionals inspired her career choice, and she has remained in HR ever since. After many years in for-profit roles, including at Gartner Group, she transitioned to the nonprofit sector in 2019. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Sacred Heart University and completed a certification program at Cornell University. An active SHRM member, Romano credits much of her professional growth to networking opportunities and an advisor at Gartner who encouraged attendance at job fairs and HR classes. She secured her current position through a LinkedIn connection made at a job fair event, which led to an opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic after she was furloughed. Teamwork is central to her approach, as she relies on collaboration with her benefits administrator and payroll team to succeed.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Krystyna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my old advisor at Gartner Group who gave me opportunities to attend job fairs, HR classes, and networking events. She sent me on job fairs and to any HR classes to help with my career. By going to these classes and events, I grew professionally. I connected with people on LinkedIn, and that networking led me to my current job when the VP posted an opening during COVID after I was furloughed.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was from my boss at Gartner who emphasized proactive networking. Instead of just emailing a resume to a hiring manager, call them, text them, or go see them because they are busy and might not re-read the email. This made a difference in a candidate's market.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Definitely have a LinkedIn because that's so important. It's like your professional Facebook. Connect with everyone, go to events, and share postings because opportunities can come from people you're not even connected to directly. Your LinkedIn is your business card.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is finding the right candidate because there are so many people looking for work, it's an employer's market. AI is being used to screen resumes which can eliminate good candidates that might otherwise be a fit, so you might miss out on someone good even with hundreds of resumes coming in.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Teamwork is very important to me in my work. I feel like if I'm doing my job well, I'm doing it better because I have my benefits administrator, my payroll. No job is a one-person job; a team helps me succeed in my job.
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