<p>Callie and Mando talk getting a master's with the help of your employer. Callie's advice: find a path that works for you, own it and live it.</p>
Callie and Mando talk getting a master's with the help of your employer. Callie's advice: find a path that works for you, own it and live it.
Callie:
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Honest HR. My name is Callie and I am your host back with another episode for you all. If you haven't been here, thanks for stopping by and we hope you stick around. For those who keep coming back, you rock and we love you for it. Don't forget that we're here to have honest and authentic conversations about #HR topics and we bring on guests because I can't have conversations with myself. Since we change things up every episode, we hope that you're able to find something on this podcast that speaks to you and that you'll keep coming back for more.
Today, I'm joined by Mondo Lara out of New Mexico and we'll be talking about the question that many of you have probably asked yourselves. I know I have at one point or another. To get a master's degree or not to get a master's degree? That is the question, so Mondo, welcome and thanks for being here. Before we jump into the topic, why don't you take a little bit of time to tell us about yourself. Start with your journey through HR and then end with where you're currently at and what you're currently doing.
Mondo Lara:
Certainly. Callie, thank you so much for having me on. Just to begin, I've been with T-Mobile for 11 years. 10 of those years actually spent working as a frontline representative helping customers. T-Mobile is an awesome company to work for. They helped me pay for school, so I took advantage of the tuition assistance program and I went on and worked on my bachelor's of business administration and then went on to my master's of business administration, both with HR concentrations.
During my time at the University of New Mexico, I was part of the UNM SHRM Student Chapter. I was a member. Then during my last year during the MBA program, that's when I became president. I then graduated and joined the SHRM Mexico State Council. I'm currently the secretary for the state council, and I also joined HRMA of New Mexico, which is one of the local SHRM professional chapters and I'm the VP of communications. Within that, the state council, I had an internship opportunity created by one of the members of the board. Then after graduating, I applied at several places. I had a difficult time finding a job and then a position finally opened up at T-Mobile and I landed my first HR role. Through my involvement in SHRM and also my education, I was able to land my role here at T-Mobile.
Callie:
I could completely derail our conversation and talk only about your experience with SHRM, but I promise that I won't do that for our listeners. As I mentioned, our topic today is the master's degree that you pursued. The reason that this is so important to me is because I've had a number of conversations with people who are new to HR, or who have been in HR for a while about getting a master's degree, either in business or in HR specifically. I'm so excited to have you on here talking about this. Like I said, I've been asking myself this a lot and it's not something that I've completely ruled out, but I would love for you to spend some time on your reasons for choosing a master's degree in business and HR. I know that your reasons will be different from everybody else's, but it's helpful, I think, to hear why people choose to pursue a graduate degree. Spend a little time telling me and our listeners about why you chose to continue on your education.
Mondo Lara:
Going into my bachelor's program, I knew I wanted to be a people manager. That was my ultimate goal. Part of the reason that I went back into... Or continued on to my master's program was that I didn't want to go back to school once I started my family and I also had the momentum, so I just wanted to keep that going. Financially speaking though, I didn't have the... Or the luxury I should say, or I didn't have the luxury of taking on an admin role or an internship full time. With the mortgage and other bills at, that wasn't an option for me.
Also, I had guidance from one of my mentors. She's now my boss. Her name's Amanda. I would check in with her from time to time while I was going to school. She let me know what her experience was going to school, and that included going to school for a bachelor's degree, going on for her MBA, being part of the student chapter at the university. We attended the same university, and then going on to the professional chapter. All that combined affirmed that going on for my MBA was going to be the best decision for me.
Callie:
When you were in your undergrad, you said you studied HR, right?
Mondo Lara:
Correct. Yes.
Callie:
You knew in your undergrad that you wanted to do HR, and so you had that in mind when you chose to go on for your master's degree?
Mondo Lara:
Correct.
Callie:
Okay. As I mentioned before, I still am thinking about whether or not I should go back for my master's degree. I think the reason that I did not go on to my master's degree after my bachelor's is because I did not have the luxury of knowing that I wanted to do HR when I started school. I finished school knowing I wanted to do HR, but I didn't have enough foresight to start with looking at master's programs and continuing schooling after my bachelor's. I have a couple of friends that have chose to leave the workforce and go back to get their master's degree full time. I can't remember and I apologize, did you say that you went back for your master's full time after bachelor's or were you working while you were going to school?
Mondo Lara:
Throughout my bachelor's and master's program, I was working full-time and also going to school full-time.
Callie:
Awesome. You worked for T-Mobile that whole time, right?
Mondo Lara:
That's correct. Yes.
Callie:
You mentioned that you were getting your bachelors and your master's while working at T-Mobile and then they eventually had an opportunity for you to move into once you graduated from your master's. How do you think getting your master's degree changed your career path?
Mondo Lara:
All right. What the MBA program taught me helped me. I walked in understanding terminology and employment law. Also, all the various group projects that we completed in the program really helped me be prepared because working across different business functions is super important in my role, making sure that all the key players are in the conversations they need to have. Also, the decision makers are also part of those conversations. The master's program also helped me see the big picture since you learn a little bit of everything. Future wise, I want to be an executive vice president of HR, so my understanding of business functions like accounting, marketing, and finance really helped make sure that I have a seat at the table and also ensures that I know what's going on.
Callie:
Tell us a little bit about your role right now with T-Mobile. I know you said you took a role with them, but I don't think we know enough about what you're doing. Tell us a little bit about that.
Mondo Lara:
Currently, I'm a generalist in my role. As a generalist, you do a little bit of everything from employment relations, benefits. Anything that comes our way, we help our employees with.
Callie:
You mentioned that you don't think you would've been able to get that HR generalist role without your master's degree, right?
Mondo Lara:
I guess for me, after I landed my role and I spoke to my leadership team, they affirmed the fact that I was going up against candidates that had experience and my experience, my education, or my bachelor's my master's degree, along with my involvement with SHRM my internship opportunity, all that helped me be the top candidate that they chose.
Callie:
That's such a great point. I think it's so important for our listeners to understand, a master's degree and a bachelor's degree is not the same as having actual experience in the field, right? I know that you do a lot of projects and papers and all sorts of different things within your education, but you're right. Hiring managers look at people with education differently than they look at people with experience in the field. I think it's awesome that you went and had a conversation with the hiring manager and your supervisor after you got hired to say, "Hey, what set me apart from other candidates?" Because I think that's so important for us to understand so that we can share that with other people to say this is what got my foot in the door. This is how I came out as the top candidate.
I just appreciate that that's something that you're willing to share. I appreciate also that it's something your supervisors and the hiring manager was willing to share because I don't think we all get that in the hiring process. I appreciate you taking the time to share that and taking the time to actually ask for that information once you landed the role. We've been talking about people who I've been talking to about this decision and about the various things that they consider when they're thinking about their master's degree, but what advice would you give to people who are considering going back to school for their master's degrees?
Mondo Lara:
I went into the mindset that I could finish my MBA program in a year and a half and that's exactly what I did. During that time, I was working full-time and I was taking full course load, usually anywhere from four to five classes a semester. Then just for reference, three courses would actually be considered a full course load. With that in mind, everything I did was dedicated to either work or school. Just to put this out there, I had no social life. I skipped a lot of family events and I didn't have time to watch Netflix or catch up on any of my shows. Just during that time, I just worked really hard because I knew that I wanted to finish school and I just wanted to move into HR.
Callie:
It's so funny that you say that because I feel like that's my current life. I was following a Twitter thread on Saturday about a bunch of people in our #HRtribe who started watching Jack Ryan. It's funny because I've been saying to my husband, "We have to watch Jack Ryan. We have to watch Jack Ryan," and we just haven't done it. It's funny that you mention that when you get so busy, you don't get to follow your shows because that literally happened to me two days ago.
The other thing I think I'll mention too is that I know a lot of people who have tried to go back to school and they realize that keeping a full-time job, going to school full-time, not being able to catch up on their Netflix shows is just not for them and so they haven't been able to finish their program. I just want to take a minute to say to those individuals that it's totally fine. That sort of commitment and that sort of... Well, that sort of commitment just really isn't for everybody and it doesn't fit into every stage of our lives.
If you try it and you don't get through it or you don't succeed at it, that's okay. Find something else that you can use for continuing education, whether it's a seminar in the area or you're a local SHRM chapter. They put on a lot of different educational programs that you can attend and find continuing education in a different way because I do think it's super important for us to not forget that the purpose of going back for a master's degree is to continue our education and continue our learning. I just want to make mention of that. I think I'm making mention to it for our listeners more for me in case I go back and can't commit to it or can't get through a program like that. Just wanted to make that call out for people.
My next question for you, Mondo, is when we're talking about this episode and what our topic would be, you shared an interesting story with me about how it took you a little bit longer than you had anticipated to land the job you wanted after graduating with your degree. You alluded to it a little bit earlier in one of your answers, but can you take a little time to tell us about your time after graduation and why you think getting the HR job you were looking for was so difficult?
Mondo Lara:
After graduation, I was applying for generalist and specialist roles. I graduated thinking that with my education, that in itself would help me land my first job. Once I got close to graduating, that's when I joined the state council and the local HR chapter. It was a connection that created an internship opportunity that I was then able to put on my resume. Eight months into my search, I finally landed a role within those eight months. I only had one job interview. I know a couple of things that played into that though, was my financial situation. As I explained earlier, I wasn't able to take a full on internship. I also wasn't able to take an admin job or any of those roles because pay was definitely something that was important to me.
After landing my role, when I think back on everything that I went through, I recognize that I had a difficult time landing a job, so I like sharing that experience with other people. People within my organization and even outside of the organization will ask to chat with me about my career path. I just like emphasizing to them that my education, the involvement with SHRM, the internship opportunity I had and also networking with other individuals is really what helps you land that first job.
Callie:
My question for you as a follow up to everything you just shared is what sorts of roles were you targeting? You said you were applying for generalist and other sorts of roles. How were you finding those positions? Were you looking on job boards or were you really targeting specific companies to work for?
Mondo Lara:
A couple of things. I first started my search by really thinking about the businesses in town that really had a good reputation, a good name. I would look for jobs there going directly to their websites. I then resorted to job boards. LinkedIn was also a really good resource that gave me a lot of leads. Yeah, I think just overall, just finding the company that I really wanted to work for, going to their websites, reading a little bit about them and then learning about the jobs they had available was one of the approaches that I took.
Callie:
You lucked out, right? Because you said in your bio or introduction that T-Mobile was a great company to work for. You had already had this experience with them and then when you saw this role open, it was what could be better than that. Already knowing that this company practices what they preach and you're not just reading about their values and things on their website, you actually know that T-Mobile is a great place to work. Then you get to continue working there in a job that you were seeking. You really lucked out there, but I want to...
You mentioned that you were searching for jobs based on pay. Finances were really important to you as you were doing your job search because as you mentioned, you have a mortgage and I feel like we all have bills to pay. Pay is a huge part of what we look for in our roles, but turning it back to an educational or tuition conversation, correct me if I'm wrong, but T-Mobile has a wonderful tuition reimbursement or some sort of tuition grant program. Tell us a little bit about that and how you were able to take advantage of that to pursue your masters.
Mondo Lara:
T-Mobile actually offers bachelor's and master's programs paid at 100% at five online universities, but I was dedicated and I wanted to continue going to the University of New Mexico, so I didn't choose to go to one of the five online universities that offer free degrees. What I ended up doing was I received the max, which is the $5,250 you can receive yearly. The really cool thing about that is T-Mobile really wants to make sure that their workforce is educated. Just with that in mind, I knew going into the program that when you're after graduation, if I decided to leave for whatever reason before that one year commitment, I would have to pay back whatever T-Mobile paid for that one year. Outside of that, it was just a amazing opportunity to have a pretty big chunk, a sizeable chunk of my tuition paid for. Then also just looking at grants or even scholarships that the university offered were the avenues that I looked at financing my education.
Callie:
You knew that there was an educational reimbursement program that T-Mobile practiced. Did that weigh into your decision to continue on in getting your master's at all?
Mondo Lara:
It definitely did. I knew I wanted to go for a master's degree, but I also didn't want to pack on a whole bunch of more debt to my student loan balance. Just knowing that I had that assistance available definitely played a role in continuing my education.
Callie:
I think that's something for our listeners to consider. If you are thinking about going back to your masters and you happen to also be in the job market, make sure you're asking those questions about education reimbursement or continuing education opportunities within the organization because if you don't know, you don't... Or if you don't ask, I should say. If you don't ask, you don't know. I think that's an important thing to take away from Mondo's experience with T-Mobile. My last question would be do you have any final advice for HR professionals who want to continue their education and learning, but don't want to or know they can't pursue a master's degree for any sort of reason?
Mondo Lara:
Despite having an MBA under my belt, there was a lot of on-the-job training that took place. I also came into my work office knowing that I had to learn the way that things ran here. A couple things that I want to encourage people to do is joining a local SHRM chapter, attending those luncheons since they help ensure that you stay current in the field and also attending the SHRM conferences, whether they're local, regionally, or even the national conference is also something I encourage. I'll be testing for my SHRM CP at the end of the year, and the local chapter here is a great support network. My chapter's actually hosting study sessions that are going to help me prepare for the exam. Additionally, also follow SHRM on Facebooks and those articles help me stay current in everything HR.
Callie:
I have my SHRM CP, but I actually built into my development plan sitting for the senior level certification, so the SHRM SCP. That's how I am continuing to commit to my education. It's something that makes me nervous every day when I think about it, but I think right now I just don't have the bandwidth to go back for a master's degree, but studying for that next level certification or any certification in general, I think is a great way, to your point, to continue learning and continuing to stay on top of things and stay current with things. I really appreciate you sharing that as well. We've entered the portion of the podcast where I ask my guest for their mic drop or their final thought ending on a high note, so to speak. What sort of final thoughts do you have to share with our listeners?
Mondo Lara:
I'd really like to take a moment to credit the individuals who've taken time to help and mentor me. Those include Denise Montoya. She is the MAC representative for our area. Also, Barbara Marcus. She's the New Mexico council director and also the individual I mentioned earlier that helped create an internship opportunity and Amanda Armenta. She's my boss. She's been awesome to go and talk to and just pick her brain about anything HR. We geek out over SHRM, so I think that's really awesome and really just building those strong connections. That network is essential because you're able to reach into that network, or reach out to that network I should say, if you ever have any questions or need anything. Then also if you decide to go on for your MBA or certification or whatever that looks like, so you never give up those long days, long nights. You stay up doing homework, studying, skipping family gatherings. Just know that at the end of whatever you're working on, it's only going to be for the better.
Callie:
I think the thing that I will share as my mic drop or my final thought for people is just find a path that works for you. It's okay if it's not the same path as other people that you look up to or have in your network. Find whatever works for you and then just own it and live it, and make sure that it's exactly what you want it to be and what it can be for you. Mondo, I appreciate, again, you coming out on this episode. If people want to continue the conversation and learn a little bit more about your path and your experience, getting your master's degree, how can they reach out to you?
Mondo Lara:
People can reach out to me through LinkedIn at Mondo Lara. That's M-A-N-D-O L-A-R-A or on Twitter, it's Mondo_Lara86.
Callie:
Awesome. Well, great. Thanks again for being here with us, Mondo, and I hope our listeners do continue the conversation with you. I think you have a lot to offer. If you want to connect with me directly, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn and don't forget about our SHRM Young Professionals page out there. I'm also on Twitter and Instagram at SHRM Callie Z. We post updates about the podcast, including new episodes at sherm.org/honesthr. You can also find us on iTunes or Spotify or wherever else you listen to your podcasts. If you like it, feel free to leave us a rating. We would appreciate it greatly. Thanks again for coming out and we will see you next time for a new episode of Honest HR.