It was just about 8AM on a humid Sunday morning on June 23rd, 2012 and I found myself taking simultaneous gulps of my Starbuck’s hazelnut latte sitting at a table right in front of two social media experts who were preparing to present their first pre-session of the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. I looked up at the big screen and saw the cover slide’s text delivering the session title: Social Media 101. It wasn’t just any Sunday. I was actually filled with excitement it was the start of my first SHRM Annual Conference and I had no idea what to expect.

Seven years earlier, I picked up the house phone staring at a – what looked foreign at the time – 212 phone number on the caller id. On the other end was the Vice President of Human Resources for Hyperion Capital Management offering me a Human Resources internship. It wasn’t any ordinary day. I frankly don’t remember much from that call that day but for the past seven years I have been able to remember exactly how I got to that point – the hard work and dedication through college and a lucky email conversation with an alumna – it was nothing short of a wish on a star for hitting the jackpot at a casino in Atlantic City or Las Vegas.

Through the past seven years, I have been able to shadow a seasoned Human Resources professional who believed in my talent since I was an intern and has helped me gain valuable experience along the way that any HR newbie would be begging for. As a mid-level generalist today, I’ve been able to push myself to my limits and crash through the personal road blocks I set up throughout the years to gain new experiences and realize just how fortunate I am and how the path to the present day has molded me into the person I am today. My boss told me before I left for Atlanta that once I’d walk into the conference center and see all of the other HR professionals, I’d gain a sense of accomplishment and pride for how far I’d have gotten in my career.

She totally underestimated that feeling. During the three and a half days there, I didn’t just walk away with a sense of accomplishment and pride, I walked away with a new found sense of excitement for my career, a rejuvenation that I just could not describe in words. I felt on top of the world and anxiously awaited my return home to put my ideas together on how I could implement what I learned, especially all of the information on how social media and human resources can co-exist in today’s corporate environment with proper training.

After days of thinking and after connecting with so many inspirational HR bloggers on Twitter both during the conference and in the days following, it then hit me – why not start my own human resources and social media blog? I am pretty computer savvy and so I went to work. In just a few days I had my ideas together and was continuing to follow more amazing bloggers, reading through articles on tips, strategies and other various Human Resources and Social Media topics. All of this made me solidify my decision that as more of them started to follow me, I felt more and more encouragement seeping through the email notifications. No matter what I decided to do, I knew it was going to be powerful.

The Human Resources industry isn’t filled with stereotypes that all of HR is made up of nasty old women but rather it’s filled with a ton of positive energy, vibes of encouragement from both men and women of all ages. I was seeing myself joining a team of complete strangers and I was learning one of the most important things about each of them… they all have a passion for the industry and I definitely felt an amazing welcoming to the team and it felt great. A feeling much similar to that of seven years ago when I was welcomed onto an HR team that would provide me the opportunities to get me to be where I am today – in this moment writing for all of you – a way to give back and make a difference.

The journey to today’s launch of The HR Social has definitely been a challenge. My ultimate goal is to share that welcoming feeling with everyone and provide an interactive blog experience that will allow our community to connect, engage, discuss and educate. These four cornerstones of The HR Social will be further discussed in my next post. Until then… stay social my friends!

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