"[My English degree has] helped me a lot when it comes to my HR career; I can be very diplomatic due to a lot of the skills I learned as an English major."
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2014
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I’m a corporate human resources manager. HR is quite a varied field, and I get to do some of everything: hiring and onboarding, recruiting, succession planning, labor and employee relations, and just overall helping the business function better!
Describe the path that you took from your BYU English degree to your current career, highlighting the important realizations and turning points that paved the path for you.
At first, I wanted to be an editor. I moved to NYC and interned at a literary agency, but the editing field seemed outdated to me in that there were very few openings (you basically had to wait for someone to retire for there to be an opening). I decided to go back to school and started on a master’s in folklore at Utah State. I loved the program but learned that I didn’t really want to teach when I had the opportunity to be an instructor for freshman English. I was still looking for a good career direction, and my uncle, who was the director of the Master of Human Resources program at Utah State at the time, cornered me and told me that he thought I worked well with people and would do well in HR. I went for it and completed their dual MHR/MBA program. It changed my life! I really dedicated myself to it and was able to get a position with PepsiCo as an HR representative, which is like a HR manager or HR business partner. I just completed three years with PepsiCo and have accepted a position as a corporate HR manager for a company called Cerrowire. The MHR/MBA and my time at PepsiCo accelerated my HR career a lot—normally you might need 10+ years of experience to jump into an HR Manager role. What excites me moving forward is that I have so many options for HR; I could look at becoming an HR director or chief human relations officer, or I could specialize in labor relations or compensation and benefits. Plus, there is great job security—every company needs HR!
What are the specific skills that you cultivated as an English major that you now use in your professional life? And how do you use those skills in ways that set you apart from your colleagues?
- Critical thinking: I use this often as I’m helping analyze business opportunities from an HR perspective.
- Clear and concise writing/articulating: I use my writing skills often to be as concise and clear in my directions as possible. I find that knowing how to be direct but kind and optimistic is what has set me apart in my field.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your English degree helped you in your life?
It’s helped me a lot when it comes to my HR career; I can be very diplomatic due to a lot of the skills I learned as an English major. It has also brought me a lot of personal joy and fulfillment. I still fancy that maybe I’ll be able to write and publish something cool, and I have a great network of friends and colleagues from my English degree.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you’d like to share with current students?
I wish I had looked more at where English intersects with business, since that’s what I do with HR. I didn’t think I’d be very interested in business, but it has turned out to be quite an interesting field! Plus, there’s a lot that someone interested in becoming a writer may want to learn about business—they are essentially becoming an entrepreneur.
Contact
bethanyhanks@gmail.com