Masters Student to HR Manager

I am the HR Manager for Four Points by Sheraton Auckland. My main responsibility is to head the HR department and to assist all the associates on their employment journey - from recruitment through to their orientation, learning & development and rewards & recognition phase of the journey.

I get to help people fulfil their career goals. It’s been one of my most fulfilling experiences to see someone starting off in an operational role, for example, and progress through the ranks.

I love that Tourism & Hospitality is ever changing. You get to do different things on a daily basis – no day is ever the same. You get to come across a lot of different types of people and the comradery and teamwork you experience working in this field is second to none. Plus, not only can you have amazing career development, working in hotels allows you to fulfil all your travel aspirations.

I always thought I wanted to be a chef! It was through my love of food that I discovered that I love to take care of people and it nudged me into the direction I am in now. In 2017, I completed my Masters degree in International Hospitality Management at AUT. I decided to go down the HR route because that seemed like something I would be good at, and I believed it would be the most transferable when looking at my career in the long-term. I specifically got into hotel human resources through a guest lecturer and she’s still a mentor of mine today.

I don’t believe I would have had the opportunities I received if it wasn’t through studying at AUT. The networks I created there has been one of the most influential parts of my degree and hospitality career. I have been very fortunate in my career, so far, to have been tapped on the shoulder by those that remember me.

Every day is so different. I may have scheduled in a full day of training, or back-to-back interviews, or it could be that I’m working on my usual admin and strategy for the hotel.

I would love to work overseas. I would like to spread my wings, which I think I can do very easily by sticking with hotels because they are all over the world and HR is HR wherever you go. I would like to take my skills and experience to a different environment and culture, to grow as a person and widen my horizons.