The Career Salon with The HR Twins

THE HR TWINS

By Carla Patton, MBA, PHR, SHRM-CP, C(k)PF and Camille Tate, MBA, PHR, SHRM-CP

CARLA’S STORY: Nineteen years ago, you could find me working in a luxury shoe department store at an upscale mall. It was after college graduation and the job market was at a standstill, post 9/11. I committed to being the very best at selling shoes since I had to have a job. One day, a customer I always assisted when she came in to buy shoes asked me, “Have you ever thought about getting into Human Resources?” I laughed and said, “No I’ve never really thought about it, I’m not sure what a Human Resources department does.” She said, “You would be great at it. You have such a pleasant attitude and great customer service skills. If you are interested, I’m the VP of HR and we have a position open. If you bring your customer service skills, I will teach you the rest.” This story is a classic case of personal branding and what kindness and consistency will introduce to your life.

CAMILLE’S STORY: Nineteen years ago, I was a wandering new graduate with no direction, due to a volatile economy. This left me working in a popular department store selling women’s clothes. The next three years while working in various roles (including selling diabetic testing supplies), someone asked me if I’d ever thought about recruiting, because of my bubbly personality. Of course, I had no clue, but took a chance and interviewed with a global staffing firm and there began my career in recruiting. Over the course of my career, I have worked for amazing brands and blazed a track record of success. Networking has been instrumental in maintaining a longstanding career in recruiting and when you work hard at whatever you do, sometimes the network will organically come to you.

THE CAREER SALON: Our unlikely paths to HR combined with our time growing up in Detroit, Michigan led us to expressing our passion for helping people in a different way.

Our dad was a part-time barber growing up. People young and old came into the barbershop for haircuts and wisdom. It was a melting pot of topics where you could even take a chance on dominoes or checkers. In the barbershop, there were seasoned people giving soapbox (sometimes hilarious) speeches, sports rhetoric, and advice from life experiences. We also went to the hair salon with our mom to get the proverbial “tea” on celebrity or neighborhood news, and fashion trends. We decided to create a virtual space similar to the barbershop and salons we grew up in. The place where there is NO filter, and we go behind the scenes of the recruiting and human resources functions for the benefit of our audience. Together we are known as The HR Twins, owners of The Career Salon, LLC with a combined 32+ plus years of HR experience. From that experience we developed, The Career Salon Podcast w/ The HR Twins, a weekly podcast covering issues related to career mobility, diversity, and inclusion, human capital, and leadership. Join us!