HR on Your Terms: A 4-Part Series on Betting on Yourself

Julie Turney
May 1
2 min read

Part 1: My Backstory – Figuring Out What You Love (and Don’t) in HR

If you’ve ever found yourself sitting at your desk wondering, “Is this really it?" you’re not alone. I’ve been there too. After two rounds of HR burnout and years of trying to fight for “human-centric leadership” in the workplace, I reached a breaking point.

What followed was not the end of my HR career, but the start of doing HR on my terms.

This blog is the first in a four-part series where I share how I bet on myself as an HR professional and built a career I love. If you’re standing at the edge of burnout, frustration, or indecision, this is for you. There is a better way. And I’m here to show you how I found mine.

Let’s Go Back in Time...

In 2018, after a particularly raw therapy session, my therapist challenged me to write a pros and cons list about my HR career. It sounds simple, but that exercise was life-changing.

When I sat down with that list, the truth hit me hard: I didn’t hate HR. I just didn’t love everything about it, and that’s OK.

For example:

Industrial Relations? Not for me. I avoided unionized environments on purpose.
Recruitment? I couldn’t let a strong but poorly written resume go. I spent hours giving candidates free advice, bless my bleeding HR heart.
Compensation & Benchmarking? The maths gave me migraines.

But you know what I did love?

Coaching HR professionals and helping them get “unstuck.”
Building employee engagement and wellbeing strategies that actually showed companies cared for people.
Designing and facilitating learning experiences that sparked growth.

That pros and cons list became my compass.

Four Lessons I Learned Along the Way

Here are a few things I now encourage every HR professional to do before they consider quitting the field altogether:

1. Audit Your HR Career

Write it down. What do you love? What drains your energy? Be brutally honest—no judgment—just awareness.

2. Spot the Patterns

Notice what excites you and what people naturally come to you for. That’s a clue to your purpose.

3. Experiment in Your Current Role

Before you make a big leap, explore your interests where you are. Ask to lead a project, join a task force, or pilot a new initiative in the area that lights you up.

4. Trust That There’s a Lane for You

HR is broad. You don’t have to be the “everything” person. You just need to find your lane and learn to own it.

Before You Take the Leap...

Take a moment to reflect. HR isn’t a one-size-fits-all, and your career doesn’t have to be either.

If you’re not sure where to begin, I’ve created a free HR Love/Hate Audit Template to help you get started. It’s the same exercise that changed everything for me.

This is just the beginning. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll share how I began testing my HR business idea long before I left my job, and how you can do the same.

You’re not stuck in your HR career, you just haven’t seen all the options yet.

Until next time.

Your HR Coach ❤️