Let’s Get Personnel: Cynthia Carrasco-Hernandez
Location: New York, New York
Current Role: Head of Talent Acquisition
MH: Michelle Hernandez / CC: Cynthia Carrasco
CC: I love that you are taking this on and kind of bringing to light what’s happening with HR. We’re not robots and we’re not, you know, working for “the man.” You know we are working for Corporate America, of course, and trying to maintain integrity within the business, operations and all of that. But, everyone and anyone that I have ever met or has had an intention of moving into HR has already done so because they love working with people. At the heart of everything, they love working with people, helping to elevate people. That’s always been the core interest or proponent of anybody going into an HR role.
I took a wayward turn into recruitment which got me to an HR department, but, again, I think there was always this underlying current of I love working with people. There’s a certain aspect of nurturing that comes into the role. With any role, you become desensitized over time, and some people might lose sight of why they got originally into it. Because they get burned by some employees that aren’t 100% above board with things, and you start to assume the worst sometimes, and before you know it, you become one of those HR reps. There are so many other people that are still working for the elevation of talent, working to get people recognized, working to make sure we attract and hire good people here, working to make sure that we’re keeping and retaining them, that we’re growing them and doing right by the company as well as the people.
I feel like you have always had a very transparent love of what you do and love of people, so I think that this is an amazing project for you to have initiated and run with. So, kudos to you!
MH: Thank you, thank you! That means so much. ❤️
So, kicking this off officially…
How long have you been in human resources and have you always wanted to pursue a career in HR?
CC: I have been in HR officially for about 10 years tied to recruiting, and from an external standpoint, an additional eight years to that. And, no, I did not have any intention of going into HR at all.
MH: Did you encounter a eureka moment as in…this is exactly what I would like to do?
CC: I am definitely a creature of adaptation, and how it initiated was I took a part-time role in a staffing agency to really elicit internship applications to architectural firms that they had as clients. It was about 3–4 months on a part-time freelance basis that a full-time role became available and I said, “Wait, I think I kind of like what I am doing here and I think there is something to this.” And, six years later, I made a move from the staffing firm I had originally started with and started consulting. I realized I could do staffing again, but with the second time around it would have to be with an actual client, like in-house. I felt like I wanted to be more assimilated into a brand and you know bite into that aspect of growing people.
MH: Ok, awesome. So, I know I am going to ask you this again — do you have a specific concentration within human resources, or do you consider yourself a generalist?
CC: I am a recruiter. Recruitin’ all day!
MH: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
CC: The most is providing solutions, and my solutions just happen to be humans. Like providing solutions to a problem in the sense of finding the right talent to either augment and elevate a team and see that come to fruition.
MH: Are you learning anything new at the moment?
CC: Always! I think human behaviors shift. There are some things that stay the same and other things that just change. I think you know with more heightened awareness, emotional intelligence, technological advancements, I think there is so much opportunity to grow the space and grow within this space. So, yeah, learning all the time.
MH: When you think about your career overall, what do you feel the most proud of?
CC: I think candidate advocacy. Really pushing for the non-traditional person trying to either make a career change and break into the industry, or that entry-level college grad who maybe is not able to make the right connections or right impressions, and help coach them along to really prime and express themselves in the best way possible.
…This is fun!
MH: I know! You’re taking a break because you’re usually on the other side, and now you’re the interviewee!
I’m sure you are probably hearing a lot of noise around what the workplace is going to look like post-pandemic. That’s just the million-dollar question right now. Do you have any specific thoughts as to how you see the workforce changing post-pandemic?
CC: I think hybrid is definitely the model that most, if not all, companies will be adapting. Personally, I think it should be voluntary and flexible as much as possible. Specifically to an industry like advertising, or healthcare advertising if we want to get that niche, we really have proven to be as productive if not more without the demanding commutes or in-person interactions. But, you know, I say keep it voluntary because there are folks that are craving that interaction and if they are apt to do it, empower them. Let them. I think for the people who have done just as well, if not better, let them work in their element and succeed that way.
MH: For those that are interested in pursuing a career in HR — and if you want to talk about recruitment specifically that’s cool — what advice would you give them to break into the field?
CC: I think humility in terms of accepting an internship earlier on is the best way. Obviously paid. I would advise anyone not to take any unpaid internships. Just ’cause it’s wrong! Take advantage of the internship if you’re in your early stages of your career and trying to break in. It’s an opportunity to see it as a working interview and you know get a sense of the company. Also, entertain those freelance opportunities to join. And, similarly, for career shifters, if this is something that you’re really passionate about and haven’t discovered the opportunity to join until later in life, it’s very much a cha-cha right? Take a couple steps back to take a couple steps forward. Making yourself slightly vulnerable to find the right opportunity is not going to hurt you in the long run.
MH: Ok! Question eight. Again, you can speak from a recruiting perspective if you like, but what do you think are the most important qualities and/or characteristics when it comes to being a successful HR practitioner?
CC: I want to be careful about this and not just jump into it. It sounds cheesy but…keep the human in human resources. If you’re getting into it it’s probably because you love working with people. With that comes good and bad. On the HR side of things, you really have to look at both sides. If there’s some kind of unpleasant discourse that comes up, really looking at all sides of the story and keeping in mind that this is a human-driven role; there’s going to be those aspects of an editorial spin on everyone recounting their story. Try to stay to the facts and stay objective as possible, but stay human.
MH: I love that. Stay objective but stay human. It’s not cheesy at all.
CC: I am the Queen of Cheesy! I’m terrible with it.
MH: Don’t change CC! Alright, there are still millions of people who are looking to change jobs or looking to secure a new role. What would be your advice to job seekers when it comes to standing out to prospective employers?
CC: Standing out…I think, and this is hard because it’s so easy to get discouraged and get to a dark place and stay there for a bit, you have to allow yourself to get frustrated if you’re not moving forward. But, give yourself a cut off there and know that you have to reignite your enthusiasm and positivity. Not in a toxic positive way, but remain cautiously optimistic and keep that mindset. Because that does come through. You know if you’re in a negative zone and typing up emails in that negative zone, it’s gonna come through. If you’re interviewing in a negative zone, it’s gonna come through. So, prep yourself as best as possible for the interviews and for the email communications. Don’t take any of those things for granted because you know you’re reaching out to a human on the other side, and they might interpret it in some shape or form.
MH: So, getting to the other aspects of you, what do you like to do outside of work? Do you have any hobbies?
CC: I used to be a craft queen. I love all things photo and memorabilia related. I used to love all the scrap book type things. You know, getting creative on Shutterfly. Just to have those physical, tangible photos off of the phone and computer and on the walls. So, I think some homecrafts are in there. Since we have become more suburban-ish, taking up a very, very slight tilt to gardening. This is my first year, so I’m very excited about that! Haven’t done much of it. I think pre-kids and something I’d like to incorporate back into my life is yoga. I really miss yoga and travel. I think we’ll want to up the yoga and travel a bit.
MH: Awesome. Who would you say has played an influential role in your life and has shaped the person that you are today?
CC: I would say it’s an even split — my mom and my sister. I think their approach to diplomacy and always remaining kind and respectful has played a big part. Those are values that I use on a daily basis. Just being kind to people. Because we work with people and everybody needs that.
MH: Do you have a personal mantra that you live by?
CC: I feel I have gone through a couple.
MH: Yeah, what are those two?!
CC: I guess it’s probably closer to “Get through this day as best as you can.”
MH: Do you want to mention your original mantra? You totally can.
CC: It kind of plays on that also, but a good friend got me one of those little signs, like a phrase sign for the house and I’m actually looking at it today because it’s on my computer monitor. It reads: “Today only happens once…make it amazing.” And, in true millennial fashion, it’s got the ellipses there. “Today only happens once dot, dot, dot, make it amazing.”
MH: Love it! I feel like I am the same way. I love the memorabilia, the touchy-feely and the cheesy stuff.
And my last question…is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself? Anything you want to share at all.
CC: I think it’s important that I share only because I know in a former life, I didn’t realize how common and almost standard it is, but everyone’s got challenges. I have had a tremendous amount of challenges, and working through them you have to find different ways to do that in different phases of your life. You make plans and life throws other things at you that sometimes delay or change them totally. The sooner you accept that, the easier it gets to get through some of these challenges.
