Jenna Eichberg
Chief People Officer
AlertMedia
Episode 276
Transform Your HR Career: Strategic Skill-Building for Impactful Leadership
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMarch 14, 2025 · 18:46
Thesis
“HR leaders can achieve broad and impactful careers by intentionally collecting diverse skills and experiences across various industries and roles, continuously learning, and leveraging their professional network for guidance and growth.”
Show notes
Early Career Insights and Diverse HR Experiences with Jenna Eichberg.
In this episode of the Built by People podcast, sponsored by Previ, host interviews Jenna, an HR executive, who shares her unique career journey and passion for HR.
Jenna discusses how her upbringing and early experiences in different organizations and internships shaped her career path. She emphasizes the importance of understanding business strategy for HR leaders and talks about her education at Cornell, which offered her valuable exposure to diverse HR practices.
Jenna also elaborates on Alert Media's Aspire program, which prepares emerging leaders before they step into managerial roles. She describes herself as a 'skill collector,' advocating for diverse career experiences in HR.
Jenna offers advice on navigating career paths authentically, the significance of mentoring and paying it forward, and leveraging HR networks to solve challenges.
She concludes by encouraging HR professionals to connect and learn from each other to succeed in their careers.
00:00 Introduction to the Built by People Podcast
00:16 Sponsorship Message from Previ
00:45 Jenna's Career Journey in HR
05:20 Early Influences and Career Decisions
08:02 Alert Media's Aspire Program
09:52 The Importance of Diverse HR Experiences1
2:36 Navigating Authentic Career Paths in HR
14:56 Mentoring and Developing Emerging HR Talent
17:35 Parting Advice for the HR Community
18:40 Conclusion and Farewell
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What you'll take away
- 1HR professionals should proactively identify and seek experiences that build diverse skills and capabilities, rather than adhering to a single, narrow career path.
- 2Invest in developing emerging leaders *before* they step into managerial roles to accelerate their success as 'force multipliers' within the organization.
- 3Actively engage with the broader HR community and leverage professional networks for advice, mentorship, and warm introductions to navigate career pivots and solve challenges.
- 4Embrace risk and learning by taking on unfamiliar or scary roles; every experience offers valuable lessons about personal preferences and strengthens professional grit.
- 5The most effective HR leaders are deeply embedded in business strategy, understanding organizational goals to develop human capital strategies that directly enable business success.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Jenna fundamentally believes that HR leaders with good business acumen, a growth mindset, and deep HR expertise can thrive in *any* industry, challenging the conventional wisdom that specific industry experience is a prerequisite.
In Jenna's words
“I always say I'm the unicorn in HR in that I knew from the very beginning going into undergrad that I wanted to have a career in HR.”
Highlights a rare clarity of purpose from the start of her professional journey.
“The best HR leaders are deeply embedded in their businesses. They understand the business strategy, they understand what their leaders are going after, and can really be a true partner and come out with the right kind of human capital strategy or people strategy and vision that really enables that business to achieve those goals.”
This quote defines the strategic and business-centric role of an effective HR leader.
“If you can start your career in manufacturing, There is no better place to learn HR than in supply chain.”
Advocates for a foundational and challenging entry point into HR, emphasizing grit and diverse problem-solving skills learned in a demanding environment.
“Your employee success is how— is contributing— is going to be a reflection of how successful are you as a leader.”
Clearly articulates the 'force multiplier' concept, linking a manager's effectiveness directly to their team's success.
“I fundamentally don't believe that in HR. I believe any HR leader who has a good business, has good business acumen, who has a growth mindset, who wants to learn and understand how businesses work, and has the deep expertise as an HR professional, you can go into any industry and thrive.”
This statement challenges the conventional belief that industry-specific experience is essential for HR leadership, advocating for transferable skills.
“You don't have to be the smartest person in the room. You need to be the smartest person to go ask the smartest person for help.”
Emphasizes the importance of humility, networking, and leveraging collective intelligence for problem-solving and growth.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Organizations often neglect leadership development until individuals are already in managerial roles, hindering their ability to accelerate success (e.g., Aspire program addresses this).
- •HR professionals face pressure to conform to rigid career pathways, limiting their exploration and authentic professional growth.
- •HR leaders frequently attempt to solve complex challenges in isolation, missing opportunities to leverage the vast knowledge and experience within their broader professional networks.
- •Employees' primary financial concern is covering monthly expenses, creating a significant stressor that impacts well-being and productivity (sponsor mention).
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Mills says she knew from the beginning she wanted to work in HR
The Secret to a Career Journey
When you were 18 years old, you knew you wanted to pursue HR
How to Get Out of Your Career Path
AlertMedia's Aspire program prepares leaders before they step into managerial roles
Alert Media's Aspire Program
Jenna says HR professionals should diversify their experiences to build skills
How to Build a Diverse Experience
Many HR professionals feel pressured to follow a certain career pathway
How to Find Your Personal Path
Jenna says paying it forward is being willing to ask for help from others
Paying it Forward to HR Talent
Jenna, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Jenna On Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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