My First Job: Doniree's HR Experience

I hope you are all enjoying the My First Job series. Today, we meet Doniree! If you know a 20-something that would be a good fit for this series, let me know (kristen AT kristenfischer.com)


Name: Doniree Walker
Age: 27
Current Location: Boulder, Colorado
Year Graduated: 2005
Major: Psychology
School: University of MN, Twin Cities
First Job: Target Corporation
Company/Type of Company: HR/Benefits Administration
Current Job Title: Freelance Blogger/Social Media Consultant
How Long at Your First Job: 1 year
Still there? No
Website: http://doniree.com

How did you land your first job after college?
I don't remember all of the details, but I know I scoured job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder.com to do so.

Tell us about the process of getting your first job.
It was totally different than my job-searching process is now. In 2005, when I was searching for my first job, connections and networks on Twitter didn't exist, and there wasn't LinkedIn yet. I sent in a resume to a job posting I'd found online, and went through the typical process of phone interviews, followed by in-person interviews.

What was the most challenging aspect of securing your first job?
Selling yourself as skilled and competent when I hadn't had much corporate or business experience prior to that. I'd worked as a retail manager through college, which gave me some great leadership and experience to draw on, but selling myself up to Target's corporate offices straight out of college was a big challenge.

What was the biggest challenge once you were on the job? How did you overcome that?
Knowing and understanding what everyone else's roles in the company were, and how my role fit that.

What did you wish you did differently when it came to finding, securing and performing on the job?
I think if I could go back and do things differently I'd have asked a LOT of more questions and spent more time understanding how everyone works together.

What was the best thing about your first job?
It was for a major corporation and gave me great experience and credit with regards to leadership and productivity.

What didn't you expect about your first job?
How quickly I'd burn out.

If you're not there anymore, why did you leave--and after how long? How long did you think you'd be at that first job? Do you wish you stayed longer? What was your next job--was it a good move for you, personally and career wise?
I left after about a year because I decided that the career path in that job (HR Benefits expert) wasn't where I ultimately wanted to be. I left to pursue a career in advertising and media buying that kept me for a couple of years and gave great background to what I do now. It was a great career move in that it helped me understand the media and advertising industry, and as online became more and more important, gave me a great place to learn how to be a digital professional.

What is your ultimate career goal? What are your next steps in attaining that goal?
To be completely self-employed as a writer and consultant. I'm on my way, but my next step is to make it official--decide on a business name, set up an LLC, and actually market myself as a professional.