Hayley Yamamoto, Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Co-op Degree with Majors in
Human Resource Management/Industrial Relations and Marketing, University of
Manitoba
Human Resources
Specialist, Talent Acquisition, Payworks
In the Asper School of Business at the University of
Manitoba, it is common for students to complete double majors. A major is
created by taking four courses in one area and students often choose to create
a second major from the five optional business courses that they must take.
Hayley Yamamoto chose Marketing as her major because she
wanted to pursue event planning after she graduated. Her first work term in
2018 was with Parks Canada as a Promotions Assistant. This was a remote role on a distributed, bilingual team with team
members across the country in locations including Halifax, Quebec and Winnipeg.
Her second work term was with The Prolific Group as a Junior
Marketing Coordinator where she worked alongside senior management in the
development of a business strategy and marketing strategy for the company. She
ran focus groups to receive input from employees across the company and worked
closely with the sales team. In addition, she conceptualized, created and
edited content for marketing collateral targeted at internal and external
customers. Her efforts resulted in being nominated as Co-op Student of the Year
in 2019.
Early on in her co-op experience, Hayley was given some
advice that changed the way she approached problem solving. She was told that
she should present a solution
rather than asking what she should do.
"Instead of asking,
“What can I do next?” or “What should I do now?” I started asking, “I think I
should do this next, is that the correct solution?” and “I finished up my other
tasks and would like to do this next, is that okay or is there something else I
can help out with?” This completely changed the way I asked questions and
really helped me to demonstrate my initiative to my team, plus impressed my
employers with the creative solutions I was able to come up with!"
Immediately following her second work term, Hayley participated
in the Arni Thorsteinson Study Exchange Program in partnership with Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev in Israel. It was one of her favourite experiences
during her time at the University of Manitoba.
For her third work term, Hayley wanted to pursue a position
in her second major, Human Resources. Hayley enjoyed the teamwork aspect of her
Human Resources Intern position at Payworks in Winnipeg. In her first work
term, although there was a lot of planning and strategizing as a team at the beginning
of a project, the bulk of the creative work was completed on her own. Similarly,
during her second work term, she worked on her own without the collaboration
that a marketing team could provide.
In comparison, in her HR role, there was a lot of teamwork as
well as, interaction with candidates. Hayley found that she could draw from her
previous marketing experience when promoting the company to candidates. The
role also required some event planning so she was able to use all of her skills
and interests in HR.
In her fourth year, Hayley participated in an academic
exchange at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately,
her exchange was cut short and she had to return to Canada in March 2020 when
the UK went into lockdown due to the global pandemic. Fortunately, Hayley was
able to complete her courses remotely and complete her term, but her 10:00 am
lectures in the UK became 4:00 am remote lectures in Winnipeg.
In 2020, Hayley competed in JDC West in the non-profit category
with 'Team Toba". In 2020, she also volunteered on the JDC West organizing
committee in the role of Human Resources Director because the event was
scheduled to be held in Winnipeg. This year, Hayley is volunteering again, but
this time she is the VP of Human Resources.
During her final academic term in the spring of 2021, Hayley
worked part-time at Payworks as a Human Resources Administrator while taking
four courses. She transitioned into this position full-time when she graduated
and has recently moved into a new position, Human Resources Specialist, Talent
Acquisition.
Hayley fully embraced her time as a student at the Asper
School of Business participating in co-op, the Commerce Students' Association,
academic exchanges and JDC West. These rich experiences helped her with her
studies.
"My experience in the Co-op program not
only helped me find my career, but also really helped me in my studies. There
were many group projects where we would need to interview a professional in our
field or build a case using an organization we were familiar with, and my
network of Co-op employers was incredibly valuable in these situations. In
addition, having examples of situations that came up throughout my Co-op terms
to provide in class discussions or to relate terms to when studying for exams
was super beneficial to my learning."