October 7 is Women in HR Day.
HR is a field that runs primarily on the energy and ingenuity of women. Women make up 70–75% of HR professionals in the U.S. (depending on who you ask) and 76% of SSR's community. So we asked some women we know a simple question: Based on your experience, what advice would you share with those starting a journey in HR?
The feedback consisted of hard-won lessons about influence, honest notes on what they'd learned, and a few things they wish they'd stopped apologizing for sooner.
Here's what they told us.
"HR is a great industry. Learn as much as you can and never stop. Connect with other HR professionals so that you don't feel alone. Confidence grows in time, and always keep in mind the importance of employee relations - people make HR."
Donnella Tilery — Recruiting and Onboarding Manager, Human Resources, Somerset County Library System of New Jersey
"HR can feel like a lot at first, but you’re stepping into a role that truly matters — you’ll help people feel supported, informed, and confident in their benefits and workplace experience. You’re not expected to know everything on day one. What matters most is your willingness to ask questions, stay organized, and care about the people you’re helping."
Paula Wood — HR Consultant, HRwood Consulting
"Learn the business, not just HR. Understand how the organization makes money, serves customers, and measures success.
Listen before you fix. Early in your career, it’s tempting to prove yourself by immediately proposing solutions. Ask questions, understand the history, and first learn why something works the way it does.
Don't become the policy police or individually become known as the person behind the HR policies....they are supposed to be organizational policies.
Build relationships with everyone... You need allies and partnerships from everyone, not just leadership."
Anna Welland — Founder & CEO, Welland & Co.
"Be intellectually curious about the business you're supporting. Understand everything from the growth strategy to customer pain points, the competitive landscape and everything in between. The more you know about the business, the better you will be as a strategic business partner. Get deliberate and thoughtful about building your HR peer network. So many of the challenges you will face have been solved by or are being solved by others. Rely on the knowledge and expertise of others in the profession. You don't have to go it alone."
Malvika Jethmalani — Founder, Atvis Group
"Learn the business, not just the policy book. The fastest way to lose credibility in HR is to operate strictly as an administrative rule-enforcer. Spend your first 90 days understanding how the organization actually makes money, survives, and serves its community. Shadow people on the frontline. Understand their daily operational friction before you try to optimize their processes. Practice forensic listening. People rarely bring you the root problem on the first attempt; they bring you the symptom. Listen for what isn’t being said, pay attention to systemic patterns rather than isolated complaints, and remember that behind every policy dispute is a human being navigating stress, survival, or ambition. Balance empathy with accountability. HR gets a bad reputation when it acts either as a cold shield for executive leadership or an ineffective buffer that promises things it can’t deliver. Your job is to build trust through radical transparency, being fair, holding firm boundaries, and treating people with dignity even when delivering difficult news."
LaShante Boyd — Senior Fund Developer, Focused on Growth Academy
"HR is so much more than people management and enforcing policies. Be intentional about serving your team, not just managing them. Take the time to build genuine relationships, listen, and understand the people you support. When employees trust that you care about them as people—not just their performance—you create stronger teams, better engagement, and ultimately, better results!"
Aleisia Summers — Ambulatory Ops Manager - Scheduling, University of Mississippi Medical Center
"Don't take it personally and keep a sense of humor. Learn as much as you can and create your own circle of HR peers to share, vent, advise."
Rebecca Taylor — HR Manager, Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center Inc
"Learn, unlearn, and relearn, continuous learning, HR is constantly growing and there is always a better and smarter way of doing the Job."
Oreoluwa Racheal Popoola — Human Resources Assistant, Metro Apartments Limited
Have a quote, a thought, or career advice to contribute to this page? Send it to philstrazzulla@selectsoftwarereviews.com and we'd be happy to cite you.
