SHRM Young Professional Spotlight: Mario Martinucci

SHRM is shining a spotlight on some amazing young HR professionals!  Meet SHRM Young Professional Mario Martinucci.

Q. What inspires you as an HR professional?

A. What inspires me as an  HR professional is the opportunity to work with a lot of different and talented people at all levels of the organization. At the end of the day, if I know I made a difference for someone I can go home happy. 
 

Q. What book are you reading right now?

A. I'm reading several at the moment. First, I am reading "Taking People With You by David Novak" with the HR department that I work in. We are working on some big goals and trying to redefine some of our culture. I'm also reading "The Servant Leader: How to Build A Creative Team, Develop Great Morale and Improve Bottom-Line Performance" by James A. Autry. Both books have been very insightful and have given great ideas on how to improve company culture and overall performance. 
 

Q. What is the best method for engaging employees?

A. I believe that the best method for engaging employees is simply talking to them and getting to know them. People want to feel like they are appreciated at work and by talking to them and interacting with them on a daily basis they feel like they're included and that you truly care about them. 
 

Q.  What do you love most about your job?

A. What I love most about my job is interacting with the people on a daily basis, and learning. Not a day goes by where I don't learn something new about the HR function, the company I work for, or the industry that I work in. Everyday helps me continue to grow and help me achieve my long-term career goals.
 

Q. What advice would you give to people who would like to work in the HR profession?

A. My advice to someone that would like to get into the HR profession is Network, network, and network. So many job leads are based off of connections and having a big network can only help you out in the future. Talk to newer HR professionals and see how they got into the profession- most that I have met with are more than happy to share their experience and possibly lend a helping hand if they can. If you can, find an internship to gain more experience this can only help you when you apply for full time positions. 
 

Mario Martinucci is an HR Generalist with Cargill in Fresno, CA.  He graduated from Luther College in Decorah, IA in May 2013 and started his HR Career with Cargill right after graduation.   You can find him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more information on the SHRM Young Professionals Group please click here.