Capitalizing on Strengths – Sania Laraib Shujauddin

After learning about her strengths through Meredith’s StrongPoints® program, Sania Laraib Shujauddin, ’19, gained the confidence to pursue leadership and networking opportunities early in her college career. After graduating and becoming a senior human resources assistant for one of the most valuable companies in the world, she reflects on how Meredith helped her get to where she is today.

“At Meredith, I was encouraged to pursue various leadership roles early – allowing me to capture my strengths of creativity, problem solving, and being a self-starter. Specifically, it was the StrongPoints program that allowed me to hone in on how I could apply my professional strengths to the business world following graduation.

After learning about my strengths, I capitalized on networking opportunities and seminars that were hosted by the Office of Career Planning, which incentivized me to develop meaningful connections. I also set up frequent meetings with my professors to discuss goals and they were always happy to support me, inside and outside of the classroom. I’ll never forget how one of my professors in the School of Business helped me with my job search by conducting a mock interview for me my junior year.

The encouragement I was given early on to pursue leadership roles at Meredith led me to one of the most pivotal opportunities of my college experience: serving on the board for the Society of Human Resource Management. In that position, I was able to help the Dress for Success organization by putting together their annual fashion show. From there, I made my connections and networked my way to an internship at Red Hat, Inc. in employee relations. 

Interning at Red Hat was an amazing opportunity that allowed me to work on impactful projects and gain practical experience. I learned about key performance indicators, how to measure the success of a firmwide training rollout, what it takes to be successful in human resources, and more.

Having that experience on my resume helped me land a job with Amazon as a senior human resources assistant. In my role, I provide HR support to more than 2,000 hourly employees and 10+ managers regarding compensation, benefits, career development, and investigations. I also troubleshoot issues surrounding terminations, payroll defects, benefits enrollment, paid time off, as well as I-9 employment verification. No two days are the same at Amazon as we are a forward-thinking, fast-paced company. My role requires me to be open to constant change; from adapting to organizational innovation to solving ad-hoc problems on a frequent basis. 

I also enjoy the privilege to travel and support several offices in the New York Metro region, training fellow HR members and gaining proficiency on Amazon’s platforms and dashboards along the way.

In the near future, I aspire to obtain my MBA degree from an accredited university and see where life takes me.”