Psych major lands sweet HR role at PepsiCo
Little did Zoe Crane know that a period of uncertainty after finishing her undergraduate degree would lead her to a new career in human resources management.
Zoe graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SFU, and like many new grads, didn’t know what her next step would be. Having been part of the university’s dance team as a student, she initially explored positions in sports management and landed an internship with the Vancouver Canucks.
While the role wasn’t HR-specific, she found herself tackling recruitment and administrative tasks for the organization’s hospitality department as part of her daily responsibilities and discovered how natural that work felt for her.
“I didn’t exactly decide to get into HR; it just happened,” Zoe explain. “I was curious about the field and wanted additional education to back up my experience.”
She enrolled in a Human Resources Management course while she was still completing her internship then decided to commit to the full certificate program. Following her internship, Zoe dedicated her summer to finishing the remaining courses in the program, and secured her current position as a talent acquisition coordinator with PepsiCo shortly after.
Zoe now facilitates recruitment processes for PepsiCo’s sales, manufacturing and warehouse roles in Western Canada, but her favourite part of the job is helping the company’s co-op students and interns find a new career direction, just as she once did.
“I love talking to students about what they want to do in the future and any potential career opportunities they can explore. I can definitely relate to what they’re going through,” Zoe says.
Her future in the field also looks bright, as the projects and assignments she completed in the Labour and Employment Relations course sparked her interest in potential labour relations roles in the future. She is also working towards her Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation, since earning the CPHR-accredited certificate at SFU had brought her one step closer to that goal.
While Zoe may not feel qualified to give advice to people who are considering a career in HR, she offers this insight for anyone wanting to give it a shot.
“I’d say that if you’re interested in HR, ask yourself why it would be a good fit for you. At first, I couldn’t answer why I was drawn to the field, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense,” she says. “I love working with people and that led me to the field I’m in now.”
By Bernice Puzon