Shaw always desired to be in HR although she hadn't gone to college following high school. Therefore, she began her career in an entry level position. Her hard work, dedication, and vocalization promoted her to an administrative assistant. In this role, Shaw advocated for herself.

"I wanted to be in HR. I got up enough nerve to speak about it to a supervisor that I had at the time. When the time came I was lucky enough that the supervisor listened to me and gave me some HR duties. As they say, the rest is history."

Certainly a history which inspires us all as we prepare our own career paths. I love how boldly Shaw spoke up and advocated for herself. She continued to do so in such a way that JuiceLand wanted, researched, and pursued her to take her current C-Suite role.

Shaw advises anyone building their career to consider these five actions:

1. Set your goals from where you are
2. Know your knowledge base
3. Ensure everyone knows who you are
4. Treat people well; they'll remember how you made them feel
5. Create your own opportunities

When creating your career path, do not leave it to chance - you want to be prepared. Create a clear vision, design your roadmap, and celebrate yourself!

"If you need examples, go look at my Linkedin profile. I celebrate myself on a regular basis. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will either. So it always has to start with you believing in yourself first."

The people who are comfortable being vocal, celebrating their own accomplishments, and speak up & out are the people who seem to land opportunities. They are the ones who come to mind when planning projects or preparing new strategies.

In order to come to mind during these meetings, you need to be known and so does your body of work! Shaw's key to building a credible body of work stands on volunteer leadership. Volunteer leadership builds a platform for you while you help others. Offering your skill sets create a prepared body of work that cannot be denied!

"Sometimes in HR you can have the title without the seat at the table. Ask for the seat!"

Be Valued While Seated At The Table

• Get comfortable changing your job duties (and titles!)
• Be up to date, knowledgable, and see the big picture
• Know your HR metrics and how to display them
• Stay responsible for growing yourself and do your own research

Does DEI belong in HR? Are HR professionals responsible for DEI? On Clubhouse, LinkedIn, and even Facebook, people ask and debate these questions.

Here's what Shaw says,

"As we roll out initiatives, HR always has to be involved in that. It is about who you have leading HR and if they have the capability - that great intersection of HR and DEI - then you can absolutely put it there! But if they don't then yes, you want to bring in an outside expert to address it. It needs to be addressed. The debate is less about who or where, but how do we get to the shared understanding, knowledge, and learning in our organization as a whole."

How should DEI be carried out?

"Where there is shared language and understanding, we've learned the expectations. You get to this shared learning knowledge and agreed upon behavior. When people don't meet that, that's accountability. That's when you start uninviting people to the party."

Who should lead DEI?

"I think that the person, regardless of what they look like or identify with, needs a big picture view of DEI. If you can see that in their past work and past history they have not done things that have been harmful, why don't they get an opportunity?"