Suma Vijayakumari

I attribute my success to my ability to connect with people and my personal relationships within organizations. When I volunteered for the Employee Referral Program, my tenure and association with the company really helped - people knew who Suma was and which department I worked for, so a lot of personal connections came in handy. I was able to promote employee referrals and get people to refer their friends and family. I realized through that process that I enjoy talking to people and providing opportunities for them. I liked being around people, and I knew that was my unique skill set. People give me energy, and I enjoy dealing with human behavior and emotional intelligence. I think my success also comes from being ready to take on challenges, being open to ambiguity, and thinking on the spot, especially in startup environments where you need to be ready to take challenges on the go.

I want to influence women who have come from a similar journey to say that the sky is the limit. You don't have to stop at 'this is all I can do.' No, you can do beyond, because I came from nothing. HR was not even my stream - I was merely an insurance processing analyst, and I moved into HR. Pivoting your career is something that anybody can do at any point in time if they have that drive, that thrive to do it. I always wanted a role model, and I took up HR because of one woman that I saw during my volunteering with the recruitment team. I look up to her as my inspiration and my mentor. Being a daughter of a teenage daughter, I want her to also go out in the world and be able to explore things. Some of these tools are not readily available for people. When I started off, it was not readily available - I had to look for it and hunt for it. If I can influence people in any way, especially women, I would be happy to do that in a good way.

Right now I'm in a transition phase where I'm learning and unlearning the culture within the U.S. and Seattle. I've understood that every state, every metro city has its own culture. People are not the issue, and the fundamentals of HR are not the issue - it's the culture that an HR professional needs to learn and unlearn. In public services, it's different from corporate. Everything is structured, there is a bureaucracy in place, and you need to follow it. It's the exact opposite to the culture I've been living with. In corporate and startups, it's more about hustling - you need to be thinking on the spot, on the go, ready to take challenges and be open to ambiguity. But in public services, you have to unlearn that and adapt to a more structured environment. I'm still trying to understand whether I want to explore within public services or move back into corporate.

The most important value to me is being able to do more for the community and make a difference in people's lives. I enjoyed providing opportunities for people and being able to sell the organization in terms of how it makes a difference to the community when people are trying to build a career for themselves. People give me energy - I enjoy being around people and dealing with human behavior and emotional intelligence. I also value being a role model for others, especially women. Growing up, I was kind of an underdog, and I always wanted a role model myself. Now, being a mother to a teenage daughter, I want her to go out in the world and explore things. If I can influence people in any way, especially women, I would be happy to do that in a good way.