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Fourth Time’s the Charm

Getting my dream job and other wonderful things that happened along the way

Having some work experience and with my marketing studies almost done, I realized how important those 9 hours and 5 days a week spent at work are. Good days went by – others not so much – and I thought, “Most people spend half of their lives working… if those working hours aren’t happy ones, we cannot be completely happy.” I felt I had a mission: find the way to make those working hours as cool as they could be!

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I thought about leaving my marketing studies behind and starting over, but it didn’t seem like the best idea. I decided to stay and do my thesis on internal marketing, meaning marketing towards employees and how it benefits organizations. To be honest, that was what I enjoyed the most about my studies. At that time, I thought: “I have the option of getting a second degree in HR, or maybe a postgraduate degree… I can do whatever I want, whatever makes me truly happy!”

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My professional career was focused on product, always in service or technology areas (or both!). In 2006, I started out at a big company. After working there for 3 years, I asked to join the HR team, which at that time was not looking for more people. Anyway, I decided to study and train myself to be ready and well prepared for any HR-related opportunity. I did a postgraduate degree in human resources management and one of the modules was interpersonal communications and coaching. Coaching blew my mind. A few years later, I ended up doing the coaching course and got certified as a professional ontological coach.

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The following years, my work evolved a lot in terms of seniority and I was already taking the first steps in team management. Again, I tried to switch teams, but it wasn’t possible, so I convinced myself to use everything I had learned while studying for the leadership of my own teams. I went from leading 4 people to 60 in five years, always focusing on each person, the team’s environment, everyone’s professional development, and creating good processes.

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Although I enjoyed my work within the team, my role in the company did not fulfill me, did not make me truly happy. I was stuck. The best days were the ones I spent talking with people, having deep heart-to-heart conversations. I enjoyed helping someone see something in a different way, to make people realize how valuable they are. There was no other role, except HR, that motivated me. I tried to move teams a third time, which unfortunately did not happen, so I made the decision to leave.

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At first, it scared me to apply for a business partner role being 38 years old, and with 0 worked in HR, since all the ads I saw asked for many years of experience. Then, it just happened: I came across an ad about an implementation project manager position at Avature. I was no longer scared. Being PM was something I thought I could do.

I did some research on Avature, and next thing I know, I had applied! I began to imagine myself doing a smooth transition, starting out in a role that I had experience in, knowing that I would be inside the HR industry. It was a bridge between my experience and my professional aspirations.

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My journey at Avature began: Coty Vanolli contacted me and we had an amazing interview. She was super warm and said something I will never forget, "I know what it is to have your CV say one thing and you wanting to do something else." Yes! That’s it, you totally get it Coty!

I told her about my master plan: start in a PM role and then go to the HR team, and Coty suggested an interview with Den Dresler, TA director at the time. She opened up two paths for me:

  1. Go to a role I already know, and then try to change teams.
  2. Go straight to a role in Talent Management, starting from the bottom.

The decision was incredibly obvious 😊

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I had three more interviews at Avature, which led me where I am today: a new but natural role for me. I’m having a great time and I love to feel that I’m fulfilling the mission I felt called to so many years ago – to help me and so many others make working hours awesome. The rest is ongoing history!

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