Maria’s development journey

As we continue to focus on our development throughout the year we thought we’d bring you another example of how one of our colleagues focuses on theirs. Here’s Maria Soneira Perez’s story…

Ever since I started working in HR I knew I wanted to be a HR Business Partner (HRBP). Even when I made horizontal job moves, I never lost sight of my ambition and this helped me to keep my goals clear.

On my journey, I tried to understand what skills the role required, where I was, and how I could get there. I knew that HRBPs had a lot of involvement in employee relations (ER) cases, so my first step was to ensure I had that Employment Law knowledge and ER experience. As soon as I got a role as ER Advisor, and gained some experience, I started to explore the other skills I needed to become a HRBP.

I’ve always been a believer in school learning and am one of those weird ones that likes to study! But with time, I have realised that with the right support, you can learn a lot more ‘on the job’ than you can do in a classroom.

I discussed my aspirations with my manager and asked to be put forward for projects, tasks and cases that would give me the skills I needed. This gave me exposure to the business and I developed skills in stakeholder management, influencing and strategic thinking. I’ve never shied away from a challenge! I also learned from others. I had the opportunity to be supported, coached and mentored by my manager, peers and different people across the HR profession. I also shadowed a Senior HRBP to understand how the various skills are applied to the role.

I did some formal learning too, like my MA in Human Resources Management in 2017/18, and had the opportunity to be part of the CUK Springboard development programme in 2019.

My top tips are…

• Never lose sight of where you want to get to, even if the path to get there looks complex. It’s really easy to feel discouraged when your goal feels far away but every step counts! I’ve had a few failures, but have always tried to learn from them and take them as a new experience that will help me get better next time.
• Speak, listen and learn from people from all levels, in and outside the organisation. Never underestimate the doors that networking and building relationships can open.
• You’re not a tree – if you don’t like where you are, move! Look for opportunities to develop.
• Try to get past your limiting beliefs. My main limiting belief has always been that English is not my first language, and that sometimes I might not express myself the best I can or in the way I would like (including my accent!). But once someone told me two tips: Firstly, think before you speak and take a breath. I know it sounds obvious but we don’t consciously do it that often and I speak really fast. And also, not to underestimate myself because I can speak four languages. That’s a skill in its own right!

Having become a HRBP a year ago, I’m now focusing on continuing to learn my role and define my next career step and the skills I’ll need to become Senior HRBP in the future.

Thanks Maria!

Maria had a strong ambition to become a HRBP, so she undertook lots of development activities to help her get there. If you’re also thinking about your next move, download the 5 step development plan for some inspiration on the types of activities that will get you ahead.

As Maria mentions, building a solid network can give you opportunities you might not expect and open new doors. Read this article to help you make the most of internal networking.

Maria also talks about limiting beliefs, which is something that can really hold yourself back. Recognise when your inner critic kicks in and shut it down with this article.

If you haven’t already, you can read these articles by signing up with your Carnival UK email address.