Master of Human Resources alumna Julie Martinez French (’14 MHR) attributes her success as a Comcast HR manager to the Moore School’s MHR program.
One unique aspect of Comcast NBC Universal is the various roles HR interacts with and the range of impacts HR is able to make on the overall company, French said.
“On any given day, I’ll be meeting with my leaders, creating action plans to improve team engagement, reviewing our talent and organizational bench strength and developing plans to improve our leaders’ effectiveness,” she said. “Of course, there is so much more, and it really is fun to work so closely with the business providing guidance, resources and support in order to make Comcast a great place to work.”
French, who began with Comcast as an HR professional in 2017 after completing an HR rotational program at CH2M/Jacobs, was promoted to HR Manager for West Division Sales & Marketing in 2019 and was named the HR Manager for Mountain West Region Comcast Business & Corporate Functions in February 2021. In her HR roles with Comcast thus far, she has primarily supported sales and marketing professionals and has ample opportunity to support different organizations in the future.
“In Comcast NBC Universal, my co-workers range from call-center agents, field technicians, sales professionals, corporate executives and even the cast of the This is Us television show,” French said. “Hence, HR must be very agile to adapt to the variety of business partners we support. This can be challenging to implement consistent strategies while also meeting the needs of a specific population. It also provides us with an amazing amount of internal resources to facilitate different changes.”
French points to her time in the Moore School’s MHR program as the catalyst to prepare her for her work with Comcast.
“My time at the Moore School exposed me to so many different areas of HR and so many different potential industries to pursue my career in,” she said. “Without this exposure, I wouldn’t have found the right fit for me individually. Through my classes, I learned that I love variety and have near infinite curiosity, so a generalist path would probably be best for me. I also learned that I was most interested in technology and engineering companies.”
Among the skills she gained while in the MHR program is what she calls the “HR antennae”, which helps her identify risks and solutions to a variety of work situations.
“As trained HR professionals, we know what to look out for,” French said. “We pick up on small comments in conversations that can create risk, we intuitively know how much information is appropriate to communicate and when, and we can help solve problems by sharing our areas of expertise, like for example, change management.”
French said she learned much more than just HR during her time at the Moore School — she received an overall business education that has helped her thrive in a business setting.
Her return on investment for her degree has been very strong, she added.
“Not all programs provide such a launch pad into your career; the MHR program’s strong connections to employers are incredibly valuable alone,” she said. “Having this degree on our resumes will be forever recognized by future and current employers, whether you are looking for the next company or are being considered for internal promotions — the knowledge, skills and credentials from the MHR program make a difference.”
French advises students entering the MHR program to rely on the support and assistance from professors and peers in the program. She said her relationships with faculty and her fellow students helped her navigate tasks and situations that most in the program had never experienced, yet she gained a confidence in her abilities to tackle tough situations that still serves her well in her career.