Study What You Want in College and You Will Excel in HR, Says Zoe Grossman
Entering The HR Field Seems Scary But It’s Not: A One-on-One Interview with Zoe Grossman at Casper
Do you remember being a junior in college? The feelings of “Am I majoring in the right thing?” “Why did I ever decide to take a Russian Literature Class freshman year?” “What have I been DOING these past few years??”
Yeah. That’s about where I am.
I am a college junior, which comes with a lot of uncertainties, so I talked to Zoe Grossman, a Brandeis University alumnae (Go Judges!) and a current Human Resources Generalist at Casper. At Brandeis, Zoe majored in Linguistics and minored in Anthropology. Upon graduating from college, Zoe did not know what she wanted to do, but knew she loved talking to people (as per the Anth degree), and learned throughout college that her topic of study was people.
She decided to apply for a recruitment position at her gap-year program. She enjoyed the HR-related work, but needed a change after seeing the cyclical surges in admissions work. She wanted “A normal amount of work, all the time.”
That’s when she found Casper. She talked to a friend, who talked to a friend, who saw Zoe’s resume for not only her previous experience, but her passion for people. The hiring manager took a chance on Zoe and she began as a People Coordinator, moved into an HR Generalist role, and is currently in Employee Relations and HR Information Systems. On a daily basis, Zoe impacts over 350 people, supporting retail stores, hiring store managers, and making sure the people's side to the business runs smoothly.
All of the initial skills that Zoe needed for her role came from her Linguistics and Anthropology degrees. Understanding how to meet people where they are, appreciate their perspectives (especially store managers), and being reliable and flexible when colleagues needed her to take on new tasks. She went above and beyond what the hiring manager initially asked since she recognized the risk of hiring someone without a “HR Management” major.
Zoe reminded me that much of what you learn at a job, especially at an entry-level role, and especially in HR, is learned “on the job.” Before working at Casper, Zoe did not know how to interview someone, hire someone for a company, or how to work at a hyper growth company.
She learned how to develop these concrete skills…though she did have a lot of moments thinking, “Am I doing this right?” (I guess this second-guessing yourself does not end after college, huh?)
Here is how Zoe took control of her imposter syndrome and came out on top:
1. Zoe built strong relationships with her managers who helped make her work feel fun, collaborative, and inviting.
An enjoyable work environment makes or breaks the confidence an employee feels at a company. As an entry-level HR professional, there’s only so much you can do to seek great managers during the job search process. However, asking for help, looking for guidance, and accepting that not always knowing what to do, even while scary, is something anyone can control. Zoe’s relationships to her higher-ups allow her to enjoy her work everyday, who in turn helps her continue to learn at her job.
2. Zoe is reliable and hardworking, even when the work is intimidating.
When a coworker left the business and someone had to take on the HR Information Systems (the nuts and bolts of HR work), Zoe saw that this project needed to get done, so she took on this new professional territory. Zoe learned how to use this system and help run the HR team by doing it. She couldn’t be afraid to get it wrong (unless she sent out personal information out to the entire company, but that’s about it).
Zoe is proud to have grown in her role as an HR Generalist and finds fulfillment in being able to help someone when they come to her for administrative or more long-term support. She thinks, “Yeah, I know how to do that!”
3. Zoe recognizes the changes that Casper is making to their company, especially in times of hypergrowth. She takes proactive steps to lead as an HR Generalist to adapt to this change.
Casper has gone from processing 100 employees in their hiring process when Zoe started to over 600 people today. Zoe calls this growth. “working with Grown-Up Casper.” Zoe continues to use her interpersonal, organizational, and people skills she learned in college to reflect on new systems for organizing the “grown-up” company and the hiring process. She explains that a lot of her work is “building the car as I drive it,” but she incorporates proactive feedback and voices in her job from the actual store managers who see the client side of the business. She conducts HR effectiveness surveys to know what corporate steps the company wants from her and her HR team. Even when change occurs and next steps feel unclear, Zoe sees the potential for employee empowerment and collaboration.
Zoe did not let her not-explicitly-HR academics deter her from joining the world of HR. Instead, she used her skills and go-getter personality to her advantage. Now when people need to send out an email to clients and want that Casper “pizzaz,” they come to Zoe, who they know will come up with a funny sleep pun (because mattresses)- Thank you Linguistics major!
Zoe’s drive for success and new possibilities allows her to explore other HR avenues. She’s not stopping with HR Generalist work and does not want to be pigeonholed in one role- she wants to explore all of the sides of HR within Casper since she loves and cares for the company’s mission and people. Along the same lines of building relationships with her direct supervisors, Zoe also engages in conversations with supervisors in other HR departments at Casper, whether that be the Recruitment team, DEI, or Benefits. She continues to make connections with people within the company to gain a better perspective of how her HR work can grow inside Casper and where she may want to explore next.
Any path Zoe decides to take on her HR journey, I have no doubt that she will thrive. I am inspired by her tenacity and commitment to learning without always knowing; these are skills that take guts.
She is confident in her work, but wasn’t always. Isn’t that true for most of us?
As I finish my last year and a half of college, and start looking for jobs in the Employee Engagement field, I will remind myself of my conversation with Zoe: I am just as valuable as anyone else with my Anthropology and Sociology degree. I will learn the exact skills on the job, and in the meantime, I will walk into any experience with grit, resilience, and a passion for learning.
👋If anyone reading this needs a college graduate in about a year, please let me know!
If you would like to connect with Zoe, you can reach her on LinkedIn.
