Elizabeth
Hadzoglou
"be ready to have a strong
work ethic and be challenged."
As part of the Teenacers’ series on how young professionals and young adults can help teens, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Hadzoglou, formerly with BOWEN Group Inc. Elizabeth Hadzoglou is a Senior Recruitment Consultant with over 10 years of experience in the Human Resources field. She has worked for some recognized companies such as Adecco Canada, BOWEN Group Inc., Suncor Energy Inc. and currently has joined Black Diamond Group Ltd. as a Recruitment Specialist.
She has obtained her Registered Professional Recruitment designation, (RPR) and has completed her Human Resources & Management Certifications with Mount Royal University. She is in the process of obtaining her Bachelor of Management, specializing in Human Resources with Athabasca University. Elizabeth has worked with teens during her teaching career with the Hellenic Greek School for over eight years and young adults when she managed the Early Acquisition program (RPO project) with Suncor Energy Inc. where she experienced first hand the obstacles that young adults are facing when entering the workplace.
From your experience, what would you say are the top 3 challenges teens or young adults face today when they enter the workforce? Can you articulate this from your industry’s / field’s perspective?
From my experience, what young adults face today when they enter the workforce is that they have to work extremely hard in the beginning of their careers in order to gain the respect and trust of their leaders, and prove that they are the subject matter experts. Given how busy workplaces are these days, and with the current market climate, a number of employers have eliminated their staff members, with a result young adults entering the workforce do not have the luxury of long-term training and mentoring. They are literally thrown into the “deep end” and have to learn new policies and procedures on their own in order to assist their teams and leaders.
As part of the adolescent coaching empowering resilient success (ACERS) series, we are interviewing experts, like yourself, in order to help leaders, teachers, parents, teens, and young adults by sharing our expertise. As an expert in your field, how would you articulate some strategies you use in your practice, or organization, to help teens or young adults feel empowered, build resilience, and experience success? Essentially, how do you coach your team of young adults?
Given my experience, when I interact with young adults, I would treat them with respect as the professionals they are, be kind to them and friendly, and give them the impression that I am here and I am listening to what they have to present and say to us, especially during an interview. I would take the opportunity to coach them on their presentation and interviewing skills, as I totally would understand how nervous they would be. Even though this coaching session would only last a few minutes, it would be very beneficial in order to put them at ease and perform very well for their interview with the hiring leaders. After their interview would be completed, I would follow up and I would ask for their feedback, how was their interviewing experience, and how they felt about the organization as a whole. They would open up and share likes and dislikes, which is very beneficial to us in order to make improvements in our process if needed.
As a leader, how would you define leadership, as you have come to understand this term in your field, and why do you think it is important for teens and young adults to develop these characteristics and attributes before they enter the workforce?
The meaning of leadership is very important; when it comes to making a team successful and able to achieve their goals and targets that are set by the business or organization. With that being said, sometimes leaders tend to forget that they are working with people and they matter the most in order for an organization to be successful and profitable. Of course, with that comes the technical, conceptual, and human skills that the role involves. The human skills are one of the most important as it is people that are engaged and willing to be challenged that make an organization from good to great! I have had the pleasure in my 20-year career to have worked with some great leaders that have coached and mentored me throughout my career path and we have maintained a strong relationship until today. As well, I have worked with some not that great, as they seemed to be micromanaging and more focused on the numbers and quotas instead of the people - side of things; leaders that were not willing to empower you and trust you with the work you were completing.
Considering your experience and field of work, what do you think would make the most impact on teens and young adults before they enter the workforce to help them experience success? What skills and attributes would be the most beneficial when they enter the workforce?
In my field (HR), some of the people who have been doing this for a long time are great coaches and mentors. They support young adults from the moment they need to prepare their resume, attend an interview, all the way to the moment they accept an offer letter. I have had the pleasure of working with some strong Human Resources and Recruitment specialists of whom they specialize in promoting success for their candidates and are always willing to give a helping hand. I would encourage young adults to come into an organization with an “open mind” be ready to have a strong work ethic, and be challenged and learn as much as they can in order to become subject matter experts in order to gain the trust and respect they would like to gain.
What 3 tips could you offer teens and young adults as they prepare to make a successful transition from mainstream education into the “real world”?
Keep an open mind and be resilient to change.
Have a strong work ethic and be creative with new ideas, “thinking outside of the box,” and not be afraid to make a change.
Network and learn more about the vision and mission of the company.
I love playing Hi-5 with our guests! Can you please share with us your first thoughts on the ACERS acronym? What do each of these mean to you or what final statements or piece of advice can you leave us with?
Adolescent:
Best thing to do is to stay focused on your goals and achievements.
Coaching:
Love working with people and promoting their success.
Empowering:
Making people feel special and encouraging them to believe in themselves.
Resilient:
One of the most important things that we get to learn in life.
Success:
The one and only thing that everyone would like to achieve and of course it is making a difference in this world.
For the teens and the young adults the one piece of advice that I would leave them with is to make sure you do what you love and it is your passion, once you achieve this you won’t have to work a day in your life!
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
Thank you, Elizabeth, for these fantastic insights.
We wish you only continued success in your great work!