Her Story
About Wanda
I'm a retired Navy veteran who spent my entire career in information technology and leadership roles. I was responsible for about 65 sailors, which meant writing performance evaluations, handling discipline, and managing all those HR-related responsibilities. After retiring, I realized I wanted to do something different and transition fully into human resources because my job had already encompassed that role. I've been in HR since 2018 and have been consulting for 3 years now. My biggest achievement recently was graduating in December with my Bachelor's of Science in Human Resource Management, which I completed online at Indiana Wesleyan. I also hold my certification as an Associate of Professional Human Resources through the Human Resource Certification Institute. Right now, my main areas of expertise are employee relations, recruitment, and staffing. I work with clients to source candidates for hard-to-fill positions, like nursing roles, and I make sure people are a good fit for the company by diving into their qualifications and ensuring their goals align with the business goals. What inspires me is being that individual who can be the glue that brings leadership and employees together. I want people to be able to work in an environment where they feel they're treated fairly and everyone is working toward the same goal. I also believe in coaching leaders who might be new to their positions and helping them develop their employees. Throughout my naval career, I was highly decorated, receiving awards like Sailor of the Year for 4 years straight and 4 Navy Achievement Medals. I'm a member of the Society of Human Resource Management, which gives me great resources and support. Outside of work, I love working out and have run 3 marathons. I also enjoy spending time with my family, especially watching my son play football at Florida State after transferring from Notre Dame.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Wanda
01What do you attribute your success to?
I've had some good leaders throughout my career, and I will say that is what has gotten me to where I am right now. I mean, I've had good leaders. I had people that led by example. And to be a good leader, I feel you have to lead by example. And that is what motivates people. They see good leadership, then they want to do more, and they want to perform better. Productivity is better. Because the pay will come. But again, just being in position to do as I say, not as I do, I guess, or whatever that thing is, but you definitely want to set the example.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Oh my gosh, this man used to tell me always work yourself out of a job, which means, and I always took that as an offense, like you said, work yourself out of your job. And it took me a minute to realize what he really meant. Be that good at your job that you work yourself out of that role and you're on to another one. You know, continue to excel, which means, you know, you got this job, so now it's time for you to move on. You've mastered that skill level, so now it's time to move on to something else.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be consistent and whatever rules and whatever policies and procedures are there, make sure that you are in line with those. And accountability. Hold everyone accountable to those. That's leadership, employees. Everyone should be held to the same standards. That's the advice. You know, sometimes I think we want to straddle the fence, but no. We should stick to what the policies and procedures are, and hold everyone accountable to that, to those same standards.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say some of the biggest challenges are having leadership working, just because you're a leader doesn't necessarily mean that you're right, so I think the biggest challenge is to know that, to know your employees, right? As a leader, you need to know your employees. And then, if they have those, if they're not performing, being able to coach them and train them, you know, in that role, but I think a lot of times people may be hired into roles they're not necessarily qualified for. And at that point, you have to develop them, and I feel like leadership, when they bring you into a new organization, they expect you to know. But no, every company is different, right? So you have to learn how that company functions. And just having the patience, and that's where I feel the opportunity is in going into an organization and just kind of mentoring and telling, you know, working with leadership so they can develop their employees to align with their business goals.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith. I do believe I have a strong faith. And with that comes respect, discipline, and honesty. I mean, those values are very important to me. Integrity. I want to be respected so much so that, you know, you treat people the way you want to be treated. That's one of the things that I always practice, the golden rule. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. So I like the fairness, you know, equality, impartiality in being an HR, you have to have that impartial, you know, perception, that persona, the impartiality. So, but at the same time, you have those, those traits, those values of being honest, integrity, dedicated, discipline, and trust, more importantly.
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