Tammy Salla was a 1992 SUNY Geneseo graduate who received BA in Communication while attending.  She really enjoyed her Public Speaking and Organizational Communications classes she took at Geneseo.  While at Geneseo she was involved in many activities, including Alpha Omega Pi Sorority.  After Geneseo she then attend the University at Buffalo where she earned her MBA in Human Resources while working a paid internship in the Human Resources Department at the University.  She is now currently the Vice-President of Human Resources at First Data.

What Benefitted Tammy at School

Many things Tammy was involved in at SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Buffalo really helped her in her career after school.  She had some really great advice as to how one can best use their college years to prepare them for their chosen career.

• Internships. Tammy heavily stressed how important internships are when landing a job.  "I actually did an internship in the HR deptarment at the college. This was invaluable experience at the time".

• She also said it was important to join many clubs and organizations on campus and take on leadership roles. She said that the ability to take control and lead an organization is something that is important to those looking to hire grads.  "Companies are going to want to see that you can balance multiple priorities - and that you have a have already demonstrated some success with that" she said.

Advice for Grads

Tammy also had some really great advice to impart on students about to graduate from college.  She let me know the the things thhat helped her along in the process.

• First and foremost Tammy stated that it is important to be willing to take a temporary position as most likely our first job will not be you last and it will give you valuable expirience for the next step.  In fact her first job in fact was originally supposed to be short term but she was consequently offered a full time position.

• Secondly she stressed the importance of networking. "Relationship building will always be a keyskill that you will need to be successful in your career - and this is the best time to start to learn that skill".  She said that using career partners was a very useful tool to help a college student network and more Geneseo students and Alumni should use it.

• Thirdly she said that students should consider going to graduate school, although shhe realizes it is not for everyone.  She said that the MBA program she was enrolled in at Buffalo really prepared her for her first job because she really got to work closely with a professor in her chosen field.

What she Wishes she had Known upon Entering the Workforce

Tammy said that the one thing she wished she knew at her first job was it was important to take interest in your first company a really throw yourself into the work.  She said most employers will be very receptive to this, as everyone likes to talk about their jobs and are pleased when a new hire takes interest in them. 

     "Ask a ton of questions about what everyone in the company does. People love to talk about what they do - trust me! Spending time upfront learning about what others do, will not only help you network but also teach about the business. In HR, it is critical that you understand the business needs and what value you bring to table".

Thanks to Tammy Salla for all her great advice on entering the workforce after college and what it takes to make it in the feild of Human Resources!