Finding A Career You Love

Podcast Transcription

Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cyber security and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.

Maddy: Thanks for joining me on Money Talk today, I’m your host Maddy. For this episode I had a couple of special guests from our HR department here at PFCU, Heather and Brenda. They give some truly valuable insight into how to find the right job. I know it can be difficult to find, not just a job that’s a good fit, but also a company. There are so many factors to consider, some that you may not have even thought about to really be happy in where you are. They really dive in to everything you need to know to find the perfect job for you. Here’s my interview with Heather and Brenda.

Heather: My name is Heather Spitzley, I’m the SVP of HR and Training here at PFCU and I’ve been with the credit union now for over six years but in the credit union industry for 19 years.

Brenda: My name is Brenda Paulson, I’m the HR Manager here at PFCU. I started with the credit union in May of 2014 but I’ve been in the industry for 25 years.

Maddy: Great. Well thank you for joining me and I guess we’ll just kind of jump in on your views on what makes a job perfect. And I say perfect loosely because I don’t think any job is completely perfect for anyone but just finding that right fit for someone. So Heather could you talk a little bit about what kinds of factors you should look for when you’re looking for a job? I mean, I think a lot of people think pay is important, benefits are important and they are, but are there other things that maybe we should be on the lookout for?

Heather: Absolutely, I think you really need to tune into what you find passion in and where your happiness lies. So as an example, if you know that you really would be one of those people that are passionate about helping others, making sure that you’re finding a position in which you’re able to do that and fulfill that passion. Now if you’re an individual that is, you know, you work very well by yourself and you enjoy that type of work, maybe you wouldn’t be as happy working with the public or working as a team. If you’re an individual that, you want to be able to use your creative talents, maybe more of an artistic type of position, a marketing type of position where you can really tap into that creative talent versus a position that maybe comes with very specific parameters and doesn’t leave room for you to really focus on your creative talents. So really it’s about what makes you happy and how are you going to ensure that you’re looking for a job or a career that really speaks volumes to where your happiness lies.

Maddy: Yeah, I think a lot of times people get caught up in, like I said, not that pay isn’t important but are you really going to be happy in that position that might pay more but like you said, maybe you want to be more creative and this is a position where you would sit at a desk all day and work with data so where do your values lie when it comes to what you’re actually going to be doing in the day to day. Brenda did you want to add anything?

Brenda: The perfect job for someone is defined by that person and explore those opportunities with what every job has to offer and what’s important to them. So I totally agree with Heather and like I said that it’s going to be different for everybody. And of course, pay and benefits, and all the things that go with it are important too and if you can find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life, right? So I think that’s very important.

Maddy: Yeah, you had mentioned exploring jobs and kind of finding what works for you. Do you guys have any suggestions on how someone could explore jobs? Are there ways, I mean aside from just looking at a job description? I’m thinking things like, like I did a few internships in college. What kinds of things would you guys suggest people do as they want to explore?

Heather: Absolutely. So there are plenty of different tools and resources that can be found through different job placement organizations as well as just on your own such as personality profiles, there is a specific assessment that you can take that speaks to what you, based on your personality, what jobs might fit that personality and what you’re looking for. So tools and resources such as that, the other thing that I strongly encourage anyone that is looking for a specific what makes me happy or where should I go or what does my long-term objective look like, speak to people in industries that speak to you. So if you know that, hey I might have some interest in, you know, in a position in training. Speak to somebody that maybe is a trainer. What do they do every day? Does that truly align with what you envision that position to be? Because sometimes what happens is you have this vision of what this position does and then, you know, you put all y our energy and your focus and your time into getting this position or career pathing toward that particular position but then you find out, oh I didn’t realize that that’s only a very small part of what that position does. Really 90% of the job is this and so maybe that isn’t what I envisioned it to be so really looking at different individuals and speaking with individuals that maybe hold those positions and get their insight as well. Like you had mentioned Maddy, internships. Internships are a fantastic opportunity to really get a pulse on what a position does day in and day out versus just what you think it may do day in and day out.

Brenda: I was actually going to say the same thing. That you should reach out to individuals if those career positions that think might interest you to see what those positions are like. You can put out there, you know, you’re interested in this, can people of this profession please reach out to me and connect and we can talk about that position or that career? I think that also, your passion, you might not know what your passions are and for me, I started as a part-time teller in 1997, never knowing that one day in 2022 I’d be sitting here with you as the HR Manager of a credit union. I found my passion by going through my career so that could happen to you as well. You know, we have a lot of individuals working here that have degrees in other things that have found their passion here at the credit union without realizing that that would be something that they would interested in until they were here so that’s a really interesting way to go about it as well. You just never know where life will take you.

Heather: Yeah, I also wanted to note too, I think you bring up a great point of long-term goals. So really speaking to, maybe your long-term objective is to be a CEO but in order to be that CEO, you’re going to start in a position where you can start to build your foundation and I think that’s important too, is you might not be able to just, you know, graduate school or you take courses, college courses, you know, whatever your path is and then think that graduation, okay, I’m going to walk into a CEO position. So it’s really finding those positions that help you build that foundation to whatever your long-term career objective is.

Maddy: I like that and I like that both of you were talking about just reaching out to people at a job that you think might be interesting or even a company that might want to get into because I guarantee a lot of those people that you reach out to are going to be more than happy to talk with you, let you job shadow for even a couple hours or half a day so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and talk to people in that industry for sure. So we talked about specific to jobs, let’s talk about more looking for a company that’s right for you. So Heather, you mentioned building yourself up to the position you might want to be at. So not necessarily starting right away at a CEO but maybe there’s a company that you want to start at the ground floor and work your way up. What should be people be looking for in a company or an organization?

Heather: So I think a lot of companies right now, we are in a very competitive labor market and so a lot of companies are going to offer, you know, the benefits that you’re looking for, maybe it’s medical benefits or dental, vision, maybe it’s tuition reimbursement, those types of benefits. A lot of companies are offering those today so really it’s about what specifically as far as environment goes, so what environment do you want to work in? So if you prefer something that’s a hybrid work environment versus in-person so looking for the work arrangement opportunities as an example. The other thing I think is really, really important is the company culture. So does the company culture align with your interpersonal aspirations and beliefs and everything that you stand for. So does the culture speak to that when you’re doing that research of that company? So if you’re an individual that finds passion in helping your community, do you find that that company does a lot of community outreach projects? So really looking at the company culture and what it can provide to ensure that it aligns with your personal values as well.

Maddy: Is there anything that you would like to add to that Brenda?

Brenda: If you’re interested in working for a company, see if you can reach out to individuals that work at that company to check the culture and the environment and what that company has to offer. I think that is very important, especially in small towns like the credit union. There are tons of people who work here who know everybody in the community so you can definitely find people that work in those companies that you’re interested in to see if you might be a good fit or the company might be a good fit for because that’s really what it is, you have to fit the position but the company also has to fit your moral standards, values and goals as well so it goes both ways. 

Maddy: I think that’s a great point. So let’s shift a little bit to the credit union or a credit union in general. We obviously all work for PFCU and feel that credit unions are a great place to work. Can you guys share a little bit as to why maybe a credit union would be a good place to work or what they can offer?

Heather: So when we were discussing just credit unions overall and really thinking specifically about PFCU but other credit unions that Brenda and I have had the opportunity to work for in the past, one common theme was that a lot of the individuals don’t think, okay so where are my long-term goals, oh I want to work for a credit union and we were joking as we were chatting and we really think credit unions are the best kept secret because there are so many opportunities from public service to finance to training to human resources to marketing. There’s so many different opportunities and so many different facets that make a credit union unique and how all of those different departments or avenues need to work together to make sure we’re serving our membership to the best of our abilities. When you think about a credit union, you’re helping others, you’re teaching others, you’re helping them with their long-term financial goals, you’re giving them financial education. And in addition to that, from an employee standpoint, there’s so much room for growth, learning and just career pathing in the credit union industry. Like Brenda mentioned, she started out as a part-time teller, I also started out as a part-time teller and so through my career I’ve been able to have the great opportunity to work from the loan member service side, to the training function to just overall operations, learning about how you can effectively educate someone with their financial, setting them up for financial success. So we really think, the credit union is really an industry that’s the best kept secret. In addition to that, the ample support that you have is just, it just makes you feel really good. The credit unions have a special community of peers and we’re not afraid to share secrets and what makes us successful in our own respective ways and everyone is more than willing to congratulate you and help you along your path and really just support you so that makes us very unique from my personal opinion.

Maddy: I think it’s so interesting in my position, I’ve had the opportunity to work with people in similar positions as me at other credit unions and everyone is so open about sharing things that have worked well for them. And we’re all doing the same, like similar things and they’re just so willing to say hey, this is what I did that worked for me, this is maybe what didn’t work so well. I’ve been able to ask questions and everyone is very willing to reach back out and talk through different things so that’s been really awesome. Brenda, can you share a little bit from your perspective. I know we talked about how you started as a part-time teller and where you are today. I think that’s a really great career path so can you share a little bit about that?

Brenda: I started in 1997 at a community bank and then I applied to a credit union in 1999 and I have to tell you, I’m very grateful for my time at a bank but a credit union, the environment is just very family oriented, it’s very learning and growth oriented. I always say the CEO knows your name and knows who you are, you know, you’re not just an employee. He knows who you’re married to, that you have pets or kids or what you’re pursuing in life. It’s so amazing to me that the environment is so different as far as that aspect, you know. And there’s a great work-life balance. I have another saying, that I quote Dolly Parton, that says, don’t be so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. And that very important to us here at PFCU and all credit unions so that’s a credit thing about credit unions as well. I’m not saying other companies don’t have that same feeling but it’s definitely very, very, very evident at a credit union.

Maddy: So yay to credit unions! And is there anything else that either of you would like to share?  

Brenda: You just never know what opportunities are going to come available and what you might find to be your passion is different from what you originally thought. So it’s been a great career, I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I can’t wait for the next 20.

Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU. PFCU offers many products and services to fit your needs, from our various loan and account options to our team of financial coaches to help you reach your goals. Make sure to take advantage of the many conveniences PFCU offers such as the mobile app, mobile wallets, bill pay and more. Visit our website at pfcu the number four me dot com to learn more. PFCU is an equal housing lender and is federally insured by the NCUA.