Kashif Raza
Degree: Bachelor of Human Resources ManagementGraduated: 2008
Current Position: Human Resources Business Partner
Current Career: Human Resources Business Partner - I currently work has a Human Resources Business Partner at Voysus Group Inc. I am engaged in a variety of HR projects (i.e. talent acquisition, total rewards, employee engagement, training and development, health and safety, workforce planning and, more importantly, business support).
Why I think I'm living a great life: I feel like I am living a great life because whatever I am doing is aligned with my long term goals. I wanted to be a lawyer, an accountant, psychologist, analyst, public speaker, teacher, mentor, business savvy, technologist, recruiter, negotiator, counselor, journalist, pubic relation officer and the list goes on. As Human Resources Manager, I truly get to be all of the above. Eventually, I would like to teach in HR and win a seat in the parliament of my home country. I want to create the HRDC program under the ministry of labour that would mirror the Canadian program, which is truly world class in my opinion.
How I got here: After graduation, I worked at contract positions at York University, worked at Rogers Communications for about a year, did 2 months of HR consulting and now currently at Voysus.
What I did when I felt unsure/lost about my career direction: Right after graduation I was a bit lost. In terms of finding the 'right opportunity', the recession didn't help at all. But I maintained a positive attitude and started to hunt more aggressively. I used networking as one of my biggest strategies to find a job. I divided my networking into 4 parts:
- Social networking on Linkedin and Facebook
- Networking with HR professionals
- Networking with friends, family and community members, and
- Networking with York Alumni.
Thing that made the biggest difference: Well, there is no single thing that made a big difference, it was a combination of activities, but networking was a huge part of it.
How I'm using my degree in my career: Legal compliance, best practices and analytics.
What I've learned:
- Network as much as possible. Develop a networking plan, develop networking parameters, know when it is working and not working. Leverage every relationship you have and build new ones.
- Get work experience: through internships and/or volunteering opportunities.
- Know exactly what you want, keep an open mind and actively HUNT.
- Enjoy the process.
