HR Generalist, Sophia Burris, SHRM-SCP, joins hosts Demetrius Norman and Kevin Abbed for the latest episode of Career Compass. Tune in to learn about Sophia’s unique journey into the world of HR and how her experience, MBA from Morgan State University, and certification helped her establish herself as an HR practitioner.
HR generalist, Sophia Burris, SHRM-SCP, joins hosts Demetrius Norman and Kevin Abbed for the latest episode of Career Compass. Tune in to learn about Sophia’s unique journey into the world of HR and how her experience, MBA from Morgan State University, and certification helped her establish herself as an HR practitioner.
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Demetrius Norman:
Welcome to season seven of Career Compass, a podcast from SHRM and the SHRM Foundation. Career Compass prepares the future leaders today for better workplaces tomorrow.
Kevin Abbed:
Thank you for joining us for this episode. My name is Kevin Abbed.
Demetrius Norman:
And my name is Demetrius Norman, and I will also be your co-host during this episode.
Kevin Abbed:
We are extremely excited about today's conversation, and with that, Career Compass would like to warmly welcome Sophia Burris, executive assistant HR coordinator at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and a recent MBA graduate for Morgan State University's Earl Graves School of Business and Management.
Sophia Burris:
Thank you for the invitation. It's my pleasure to join you all.
Demetrius Norman:
Sophia, I am so happy that you agreed to talk to us today, and with that, we're just going to get started. So we got a bunch of questions that we want to ask you, and hopefully we'll get them in, in the amount of time that we have. So, you have an extensive background, including your current work with the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Can you just share a little bit about how your career led you to HR?
Sophia Burris:
Okay. Funny enough, HR was not a career I had been interested in prior to my promotion several years ago to the position of HR coordinator at Alpha. My background is actually in psychology, and I have worked for close to two decades as an administrative professional where I did perform HR functions and responsibilities.
Once I assumed the position, however, I quickly realized that this was the best way for me to marry my psychology background with my administrative skills that I had acquired over time and my love for being of service to others and helping others out. So, I fully embraced the new role and took the necessary steps to gain as much education and experience in the HR realm.
I've always been passionate about helping people and being a sounding board and providing resources and information. I used to be a student orientation counselor and undergrad at Wayne State University, and I also was a mentor and I received the Mentor of the Year Award in 2007 for the Metro Detroit Mentor Collaboration.
Demetrius Norman:
That's awesome, that's awesome. It is interesting about the connection from psychology to HR. I know this isn't one of the questions that I share, but was there a close correlation between the psychology background when you got into HR? Did you put some of those skills to use, so you found that they were interchangeable? How did that work?
Sophia Burris:
I felt like my background in psychology helped me to be a better listener and understanding the needs of the employees and being able to communicate and move between the space. I did a lot of work as an admin, so I didn't interact always with the employees, but more so with the executive that I was serving. But once I moved over to that HR role, I felt like this was something that I got more opportunity to use those skills from my psychology background, definitely.
So, my overall goal is to become an HR director or CHRO at an organization whose mission I can truly support. So, I would like to make an impact on the employee work culture to improve the footprint, productivity, and highlight how employees are strategic partners in the overall mission and goal of an organization. Eventually, I want to own my own consulting firm. This is a field where you never have to retire.
Demetrius Norman:
Yeah, yeah. No, that's true, that's true. The umbrella of HR is so large and vast that you could either pick a specialty or you can stay broad and assist and consult on many levels. So no, that's all good stuff.
Kevin Abbed:
Yeah, and you've taken one of those big steps to director or starting your own consulting firm, and that is with your MBA from Morgan State University. Can you talk about your experience as a non-traditional student seeking that post-grad degree?
Sophia Burris:
Before I do that, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff and faculty at Graves School of Business and Management. Go, big Graves. They truly assisted me with transitioning into the role as a non-traditional graduate student. I had graduated 20 years prior before I started the grad program, and it was a different experience. It was a little bit difficult adjusting. I had never done an online class. It was the middle of the pandemic and processing everything remotely took a little bit of time to adjust to, so it was a little bit more nerve-wracking, but entering into a full-time, two year graduate program while working a full-time job, 40 plus hours a week, it wasn't an easy task, but it is doable. There are times when I questioned my decision, but drawing from my Clifton strengths of being an achiever, learner, input responsibility, I was able to stay the course and succeed and graduate within that two-year frame. I enjoyed my experience.
Kevin Abbed:
One of the big things we're starting to see now is people going back to school after they've already entered the workforce. So, what advice would you give a current HR professional who's considering a return to school?
Sophia Burris:
I would say go for it. The field of HR, as we well know, is an ever evolving one, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, the future of AI, data analytics, hybrid versus onsite. These are hot button topics today that we weren't focusing on several years ago. So, I would say go back to school. Yes, get the necessary education and skills to become a subject matter expert and be a well-rounded HR professional.
While in school though, I would also encourage that HR professional, even though it might be very time-consuming, participate in activities outside the classroom, become a member of the SHRM Club. I was the vice president at the SHRM Club at Morgan State, explore internship and externship opportunities, join the case competition teams and something that you could never do enough of, network, network, network, build your community.
Demetrius Norman:
And it is interesting when you talk about community and as you were going over just all of the things to motivate individuals who are considering returning to school, I thought about the community that supported you. Can you just share a little bit about how your professional community or your personal community aided in your overall success in completing your master's and pushing you forward? Because we talked a little bit about this offline and you were talking about some of the stressors and some of the other things. How did your community show up for you in a major way?
Sophia Burris:
So definitely, I have a group, a core group of people who, for lack of a better word, I call them my A Team who I can draw on and get sage advice on a variety of topics. So, before I even decided to take the plunge and go back to grad school, I had a conversation with a former supervisor who has a PhD in psychology and also has a background in education, and we discussed the possibilities. He has always been a sounding board. I can call him and ask him questions. He provided me a reference. As a matter of fact, I used some of his research in one of my case competitions that I participated in.
And so, throughout the time that I was in the graduate program, I could draw on these core group of people if I needed help with reviewing my assignment to give me their thoughts, encouraging words to help me through. I remember there was one particular moment where we talked about when I told you, that I had a finance class, an accounting class, and a entrepreneurship class all at the same time. And that first assignment, I had not had a finance class ever. My background was psychology, I was a science major. I took mainly science classes. I'd never had to take a maths class-
Demetrius Norman:
Wow.
Sophia Burris:
... or a business finance class, ever. And I just remember one of the people in my core group sitting with me, helping me submit my assignment because I was like, "I don't know what I'm doing. I haven't been in school in 20 years. This is all new to me." And she instructed online classes at different universities previously. So, she talked me through the process, helped me to understand what I needed to be doing, and it helps having that community to support. Another key part of support was that my core group of friends who I developed in my cohort, that's also necessary.
Demetrius Norman:
I love that. And I agree, I agree. For those that are listening and you're considering making that leap, make sure you have a group of people behind you who can support your next move. So Sophia, I categorize you as this lifelong learner. And for this season seven of Career Compass, we've been focusing on the HR career path, starting from internship all the way up to CHRO. And so, we had the opportunity to speak with Bryce, who is a student at Rutgers University, and then Duncan, who is currently in his beginning phases of his HR career and now you. And so, with that, we've reached these levels. So, I want to say congratulations, one, on obtaining your SHRM certification most recently, the SHRM SCP. So, kudos to you.
Sophia Burris:
Thank you. Thank you.
Demetrius Norman:
I know we talked about the preparation behind that. Can you talk a little bit about, we talked about the education piece. We talked about how your career path was a nonconventional one, but it led you down this path by you going after those opportunities. When we talk about the SHRM certification, what motivated you to earn your SHRM certification?
Sophia Burris:
So, specifically with my SHRM certification, that was a goal I had set for myself even before I decided to return to grad school. So, when I was promoted to the HR coordinator position, I took several online courses through prior ... to familiarize myself with the HR field, and I researched the endless possibilities for a career within HR.
One of the things that stood out to me was the fact that many successful HR professionals, CHROs, business partners and directors, they had taken the time to obtain their professional certifications and had all these letters behind their names, and I wanted that for myself. And also, while reviewing job descriptions on different sites, I was able to recognize that earning my certification would be beneficial, taking me to the next level in advancing in a career in HR. So, that was one of the biggest motivating factors.
Demetrius Norman:
I love that, I love that, I love that. And so I know, of course recently, you got your credential. Tell me how it's either started to impact your career or it's going to begin to impact your career. I know there was some stuff we were waiting on, so I'm hoping that you'll have ...
Sophia Burris:
So really, you're right. I feel like my certification credentials have increased my visibility to potential recruiters, and it has opened up myself for promotion opportunities at my current organization. So, keep your fingers crossed for me. But yeah, I've been getting calls and I've been getting messages in my LinkedIn box from different people, so it definitely has increased my visibility.
Demetrius Norman:
That's good, all good stuff. All good stuff.
Kevin Abbed:
So Sophia, if you were in a room filled with HR professionals considering taking the exam, returning to school, basically doing all the things you did to give you to this point in your career, what would you tell them?
Sophia Burris:
Good question. I would tell them, do the research. Find a program that is the right fit for you and your current lifestyle. Finding your tribe is key within your cohort because you need to develop that support system, other like-minded people who are also pursuing their graduate degree.
When you find your tribe, you instantly have that person who you can call on if you've missed an assignment, if you need some notes, if you need a study partner, someone who can work with you. That was key for me, I can say I have a core group. It was a core group of nine of us who, when we took classes together, we studied together, we made sure that we were doing the work together. One of my favorite lines and some of the other students adopted, it was no points left behind. We're all graduating together. We started together. We're going to finish together, invest in yourself and your future. That's something else that we should all be doing.
Get the SHRM Learning Management system. Take that prep course. Once you put that effort in investing in yourself, it's going to pay off for years to come, in great dividends. And then lastly, I would say believe in yourself. This journey is setting you up for greater accomplishments and an exciting career where you have a direct impact on the top resource that businesses and companies have, and that's human capital.
Demetrius Norman:
That is good. And I like that, I love the whole find your tribe. And I remember when I was in grad school, it was a cohort of, we had about 30 students in the program, but there were four of us that organically got together and we adopted the same model. No points left behind. It was the projects we worked on, we worked on together, we made a commitment. So that is so crucial and key to everyone's success, making sure that you have that support. So, that's good to hear.
We have reached one of those important moments in our episode where we want to take a quick commercial break, and we're just going to pause for a second to take care of a couple of our housekeeping items. First, to those of you who are listening to this podcast who are seeking professional development credit, just so you know, this program is valid for 0.5 PDCs toward the SHRM CP or the SHRM SCP. The code to redeem your PDCs is 24-Z as in zebra, 5VMK. Again, that code is 24-Z5VMK. And please note that this code will expire October 18th, 2024.
Now, let's get back to the podcast. We have a few more questions and then we're going to wrap up. Sophia, you and I had talked about mentorship and it continues to be an important element of the emerging professionals market as well as to our overall student population. Can you just talk a little bit about how ... or talk about the importance of a mentor and maybe share how your mentor helped to shape your career and your life journey?
Sophia Burris:
I would say that having a mentor is key to being successful in the emerging professionals market. In fact, while at Graves, we had an assignment in our professional development course where we were instructed to design in our life where you need to build a team.
I don't just have a mentor. I have a team of professionals who I can connect with and seek advice from. This past summer, while networking at the SHRM Conference in Las Vegas, I met a couple wonderful individuals and one of whom said to me in conversation, "I'm going to take you under my wing and be your mentor as you navigate your HR career." That to me, was one of the best things that could have happened to me at the conference. Someone taking an interest in me and saying, "Hey, I want to be your mentor and I want to help guide you as you make your decisions and you move forward in this HR career because I can pour into you what I've learned along the way." So, mentoring is key.
My core team, when I initially made the decision to go back to school, I had separate conversations with each and every one of them, and they influenced my decision. They helped me as part of when I was in the case competition, providing their expertise. When we were practicing for the case competition, two of my mentors joined a Zoom call and reviewed and were able to provide feedback on areas where myself and other members of the team could improve. We didn't win the case competition, however, we made it to the semi-final. And I think all of those contributions helped to shape myself as a student and prepare me as an HR professional. And they were there for me in the times that I was discouraged, and they were there also when there were great wins and they celebrated with me. So, having that mentorship is very key and it's very helpful.
Kevin Abbed:
Yeah, I think you make a great point. I think mentorship is one of those things that flies under the radar as important because it does give you that sounding board to discuss things in your career that you might not discuss with someone at work, or if you feel discouraged in your performance or if you feel discouraged and, "I don't know where I'm in my career." I find it to be helpful to have someone who has been there before and knows what you're going through and can give you the advice that either they utilized or things that they would've done differently.
And on that note, things that we would've done differently. Just to close as our last question, if you had the opportunity to do anything differently in your career thus far, what would it be?
Sophia Burris:
That's an easy question for me. I would consider a career in HR at an earlier stage. There's so many possibilities in the HR ... No, I'm serious. If I had known what I know now, I would've jumped into the HR arena years ago because there's different industries that you could be involved in. You gotta think about it, no matter where you go, you're going to need HR. There is a need in every industry for an HR professional.
So, you could be working in the engineering industry today, or you could be in aviation, you can be in healthcare, nonprofit. I have many years of experience working within the nonprofit arena, but I don't have to stay in the nonprofit arena as an HR professional. I can work for a corporation. I can work internationally. So, I feel like if I had done one thing differently in my career, I would have definitely decided to become an HR professional years ago.
Demetrius Norman:
I love that. Y'all heard it, if you're deciding or trying to figure out what the next phase is, come on over to the side of HR. Listen, Sophia, this has been so insightful and I'm so appreciative of the time you blocked out of your schedule for us to do this recording. So, thank you again. Thank you again for taking time to come speak with us, and I'm looking forward to watching your career and looking at your journey as you continue to move forward.
Sophia Burris:
Why, thank you so much, Demetrius, it's been a pleasure meeting both you. Kevin, I appreciate the opportunity that you have given me to share just a little piece of my journey in the HR spectrum, and I look forward to seeing you at many more conferences and interacting because we had a great time in Vegas in June, definitely.
And if I can help in any way in the future, you can always give me a call. I'm always willing to help. Learning is something that I have-
Demetrius Norman:
Absolutely.
Sophia Burris:
... I'm a lifelong learner, lifelong achiever. So, this is something that I believe in my heart that I can definitely retire with, but I don't plan on retiring.
Kevin Abbed:
Love to hear that. And with that, we're going to bring this episode of Career Compass to a close. Thank you all for joining us, and we hope you stay with us throughout the season as we discuss more topics like this episode.
Demetrius Norman:
And if you are looking for more exclusive content, resources, and tools to help you succeed in your career, consider joining SHRM as a student member. You can do so by visiting us at SHRM.org/students to learn more.
Kevin Abbed:
Lastly, are you looking for more work and career-related podcasts? Check out all things work in Honest HR at shrm.org/podcast. Thank you again for listening, and we'll catch you on the next episode of Career Compass.