Looking back on it… I did have an interesting career. I worked in a couple of different industries. I moved around the country many times. I traveled extensively and I excelled at what I did.

In college, I studied Spanish Literature. I spent a semester studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. I worked part-time during college at the company where both of my parents worked. I thought I wanted to be a bilingual elementary school teacher. All of this happened in the late ’70’s and early 80’s.

While in high school and college, I lived at home and worked part-time in a small bread baking company in Venice, California. I was 15 when I started and worked there 5 years. I started with filing and moved up to typing the weekly payroll checks. I took typing class in high school and there I was, on a manual typewriter. I moved into Accounting and worked in Accounts Payable as well.

And although it was a good work environment, my heart wasn’t in it. I looked for a job at the Career Placement Office at my university and found a part-time job at a hotel. My parents encouraged me NOT to take the job: a hotel front desk clerk. After moving to the USA, they both worked in hotels. My mother was a maid and my pop was a room service waiter. They took adult evening classes to learn English. And eventually moved to an Executive Housekeeper and Room Service Manager at a large airport hotel in Los Angeles.

They were very familiar with the grueling work hours in hotels and the demands of customer service, and wanted more for me. But at the time, it was just a part-time job to get me through college. And the hours were good (afternoon, evenings & weekends). I never imagined that part-time job in college would turn into a career. But just like my parents who moved on from hotels to careers in Bookkeeping/Credit Management (my mother) and Warehouse Management (my father), I also moved on from front desk to an Executive position.

I spent 23 years in the hotel industry. Working in the front desk, sales, and convention management before finding my passion in human resources. In the hotels I started in human resources (HR) as a Recruiter, hiring employees for all hotel positions. My bililngual skills were instrumental in helping me not only work in HR but also in moving up to positions of greater responsibility. My career in the hotel industry culminated in the position of Vice President, for a large international hotel company.

Over those 23 years, I moved from Southern California, to New York, Florida, Northern California, back to So CAL (Los Angeles area) then to North Carolina, Texas, Connecticut, Michigan, and back to Southern California. I always moved for a promotion and opportunity. I got very good at moving, and always with the help of professional movers (thank you to my employers!). I enjoyed moving, starting a new job, meeting new people and getting to see the country.

I’ll have more specific, interesting and funny stories in upcoming posts. For now, this is a taste of how I got started in my career. Stay tuned for more soon!