Greenhouse Open: Google’s Jennifer Turner shares HR advice

2 mins, 18 secs read time

This March in honor of Women’s History Month, the Greenhouse blog is exclusively written by female writers (like this blog on our GDPR readiness plan and a behind-the-scenes look at how Greenhouse’s own team optimizes the relationship between its recruiters and recruiting coordinators). And as it turns out, we’re also showcasing some prominent women in the Talent space.

This article is no exception, as we share a career credo and some amazing advice from Jennifer Turner, HR Strategy Consultant for Alphabet Companies at Google. You can catch Jennifer on the OPEN 2018 stage next month when she joins the panel discussion, “Elevating the Game: People Teams as Strategic Business Drivers.”

Working for a company as famous for its innovation as it is for its People practices, Jennifer shares her biggest learnings from working within the Google business, and much more.

Greenhouse: You've seen and worked within many different parts of the Google organization. What's one of the biggest learnings you've taken away from the experiences you’ve had?

Jennifer Turner: I am continually humbled by the incredible caliber of talent in all parts of the organization. No matter what the subject area, department, or moment in time, we have committed problem solvers who genuinely want to do what is right. We have rigorous talent acquisition practices that have evolved a great deal over time, but the result has stayed true to what we are trying to achieve. This is a critical success factor for us.

GH: We're so inspired by your career path. What is the career motto or mantra you live by?

JT: I am pretty opportunistic when it comes to my own career. I don't have a 5 year plan and I never would have predicted I would have had the journey I have had. My career motto has three prongs, as I want to always ensure:

• I’m in a role where I am continually challenged/still learning and growing
• I’m surrounded by people I like and respect
• And that I know the work I am doing is having great impact.

As long as these three elements are true, I know I still have room where I am to thrive. If not, it’s time to look for a new opportunity.

GH: What's one piece of advice around HR and learning you received recently and want to share with readers?

JT: It's critical that you have a user centered, or systems approach to HR. The sum is much larger than the parts and without thinking strategically about how it all fits together, you will be much slower to reach your business goals - maybe never getting there.

We’re mere weeks away from OPEN, but there’s still time to reserve your spot! Buy your ticket today as we’re fast approaching selling out.

See you in April!