2020. I’m coming for you as well.
“I am on the verge of shifting. Shifting what has been normal, expected, and comfortable. Shifting to a position of ownership, self-accountability, and relentlessly pushing for transformation. Telling myself at the end of 2016– ‘Rhommel, it is time to change. It is time to TRANSFORM.’”
That was me at the end of 2016, and since then I’ve hustled. I began to take myself seriously on the vision and goals I had for myself and my life—health, career, financial, social and personal aspects.
Fast forward to the end of 2018—“I DID IT”…I made tremendous strides to the type of person and life I wanted for myself. I knew that this was only the beginning.
And in 2019—despite the challenges on many fronts—I emerged resilient, balancing multiple projects, dealing with difficult leadership, deepening meaningful work relationships, and keeping my authentic self intact. In the end, I landed that permanent career job at the University of California (UC)—and not only that, it was a promotional move: Principal HR Compliance Data Analyst. Not bad for a career changer within three years, right?
But with that said, what’s next? What intentions do I have going into this new chapter? What do I want to build and what am I aiming to become? Well, here it goes, in true Rhommel fashion, time for reflection and goal setting!
At the beginning of 2019 I managed to reach muscle mass and a weight level that I always wished I had. But setbacks happened: work got really tough and a health reality check hit. For work, the workload just got too much at one point and on top of that, leadership was not the most compassionate, which really affected my mental health. Simply, I just did not feel happy and at my best for a lot of days, weeks, and yes, month-by-month. But I had grit. I knew what needed to get done and just got SHIT done. Set it and forget it.
As for the health reality check, this year my doctor set me straight. He told me that I was hovering the area of pre-diabetes. I definitely started to feel it this year in terms of energy levels and just within my gut (literally). So I changed things up! I incorporated veggies/fresh produce in my diet (bittermelon 100%!), controlled my carb intake (brown rice is my best friend again!), modified my natural dietary supplement regiment (tumeric!), and reconfigured my gym supplements (purely whey protein, controlled portions of complex carb supplements, no added sugars, and no more BCAAs).
With all these adjustments, I really do feel better! I’m 33 now and I’ve come to the realization that my body is changing and thus my genetics need to be considered as I move forward with my overall health and fitness. In addition, now that I’m in a stable permanent job situation, the stress of uncertainty and certain toxic leaders is no longer present. Which means I can make more time for the gym and #swoleness =D.
My 2020 Goal: Stay consistent with at least 4 times a week (push for 5 in mid-year) and using the ‘BodySpace’ app workout program “Get Swole” (Yes, that’s right—the program that never fails!). Also adding a solid cardio regiment in the mix with group classes at the gym. I want to maintain a weight within the range of 170-175 lbs. I’m no longer trying to push above 180 as I want to be mindful of possible unhealthy weight. But if the weight is more on the muscle side of things, I’ll welcome it. I also want to get back to squatting 2 plates! Yes, and like before—PROJECT: “Beefy Muscle Asian Daddy” is still a go!
In 2019, I went beyond formal learning and development environments that I’ve been known to take part of in prior years. As this year was definitely challenging professionally, the learning and development came under pressure and within the grind of the job. I learned the following:
· How to communicate with senior executive leadership
· How to deal with difficult leadership
· How to deliver on a project with a lot of grey area
· How to work on a team effectively with consistent camaraderie
· How to be a resourceful and swift problem solver
· How to balance multiple projects and communicate with multiple stakeholders in order to maintain positive relations
And among other things, but just to mention a few. With the conclusion of my time as a UC Systemwide HR Fellow, I learned a lot more about myself as a leader and about what it takes to do impactful work in a large and complicated organization like UC. You can say that I leveled up my understanding of who I am as a leader. With that said, I’m excited for my promotion into my new role in Systemwide HR Compliance, Reporting, and Analytics at UC as I will now be able to be more focused, specialize in my interest in HR and people analytics, and to finally have certainty of my scope of work where I didn’t really have this security in the fellow program. On top of that, I have an awesome boss and I am part of a high-functioning team (again!—a nod to my UC Berkeley CED team days). So let’s get this going!
My 2020 Goal: In my first year on the job, I want to just focus on learning/development to the fulfillment of fundamental duties. Data is obviously going to be a big part of my job and while I am no longer afraid or intimidated by data, spreadsheets, and databases as I have done data analysis projects before, I will need to immerse myself in this world and couple it with my understanding of HR and UC in order to help the organization minimize risk and make strategic decisions. The following is what I feel I need to hone in on and master:
o Attain an advanced level of MS Excel and Access technical skills
o Develop more advanced data analysis approaches
o Improve data storytelling and visualization skills with eventually acquiring technical skills in Tableau
HR Policy, Compliance, and Risk: Become subject matter expert in HR policies that inform my analytics & reporting work by researching past reports, documents, policies, and procedures
Leadership: Continue to partner and collaborate with HR leaders and colleagues across the entire UC system in order to achieve organizational goals and excellence
One of the biggest sources of support and guidance that got me through the challenges of 2019 was my relationships with my mentors between UC Office of the President and UC Berkeley. When things got tough to where I started to doubt myself, my career decisions, and commitment to the University, they helped me recenter, refocus, and remind myself of my purpose and the promise and potential I have as an HR leader for the UC. As a first-generation working professional, as a person of color/Asian American/Filipino American, as a gay man, and as a proud millennial, I felt like my identities were intersected and I’m happy that I’ve been able to connect with my mentors authentically to talk through my experiences, challenges, and hopes within my intersectionality.
My 2020 Goal: I’m a believer in mentorship (and sponsorship!). Backed by research, many who find success in their careers credit having a mentor. So I will continue building authentic relationships with those in the organization and field who are willing to connect, advise, and bring in new fresh perspectives up the ranks. With this new role, mentors have become closer to my scope of work which I see as an opportunity. In addition, my proximity to senior level leaders presents even more opportunities to learn and build relationships with. Keeping my eyes on the prize to become a senior-level HR leader myself in the UC, I’m positioned well to keep learning from mentors.
Transitioning as a Fellow to a Career Position in HR at the UC
“I DID IT!” The end…JK. But I am happy and relieved that I got through the hump of job searching to land a sweet role in the UC. My fellow Fellows have asked each other, “With what you know now, would you still do the fellow program?” and despite my challenging experience, my answer: YES. In my perspective, the program had many positives and provided many rewarding experiences that definitely outweighed the negative. Moreover, through the negative and bad days, I became stronger, wiser, and more knowledgeable of what to now expect as I move higher in the organization…and I say, “BRING IT”.
My 2020 Goal: So I got the permanent career job in UC—my benefits, pension, and service credit intact and projected accruals. With the new job, comes security and the opportunity to think long-term, build, and simply enjoy and take my time doing that all. So you can say that my goal here is to just focus on my current job; to master it, do it well, and let myself thrive in it until I have an idea what is my next chapter. But for sure I plan on staying in this role for a good while. My boss actually stated that she will support whatever career move I decide to pursue when that time comes. So here we are. =]
Having Fun and Enjoying Life
Despite a challenging and tough year professionally, I did actually have moments of fun and enjoyment of life. A lot of them were experienced with my partner who has been so great and supportive through it all. He has also been through tough challenges this year career-wise, so we both supported each other in many respects. But we definitely made time to have fun: Miami, EDM shows, foodie spots, cool City/Town stuff, hiking, and New York City. We did a whole lot and I’m happy I shared those things with him.
But with that all said, I’ve made the difficult decision to separate from my recent partner. Personally, I felt the need to work on myself, explore, and to keep building as a single person. I do wish him all the best and amazing success, because he deserves it.
Aside from this breakup, I am looking forward to breathing life into this area--the fun and enjoyment part of being human.
My 2020 Goal: 2020—what a fitting year for what I feel like is a new chapter or phase in my life as I have mentioned above with my health and career. I think what is fitting for struggles I overcame, lessons I’ve learned, and the accomplishments I’ve championed should be epic level experiences. In 2020, I want to enjoy myself and get to rediscover myself personally and in the process get more perspective.
· Travel: I want to do my first real international trip (non-North America) as an adult and I got my eyes set on Asia first. Right now it is looking like Philippines (because I haven’t been since I was 12 years old) & another Asian country (but with the Olympics in Tokyo, I might want to wait until after summer…). I feel like I’m making up for lost time since I wasn’t able to study abroad in college nor have the luxury of having that #yolo traveler spirit in my 20s. But I think as a 30somthing millennial, traveling globally will provide great perspective as I enter a new phase in my life, in many aspects.
· Family: I feel like since I started this career change journey since 2017, I’ve been running around making things happen for myself and supporting my mom, my sisters, my niece, and my nephews any way and time I can. I want to go beyond that and really carve out time to have more of a presence. It is hard since I am in Oakland and they are in LA, but I think now is the right time to readjust my life for my family and enjoy being a brother, and uncle, and a son.
· Friendships: Like my family, since I started my career change journey and getting extremely focused on work, I feel my social life has been minimized. I don’t resent my choices for focusing on my career because, well, it is my own life here. But I feel like it is the right time to genuinely invest more time with those I consider to be good friends and company in life—those who add substance, positivity, wholesomeness, good intellectual challenge, and who have a thirst to experience amazing things together.
· Festivals: Oh EDM…my chosen genre of my 30s. With that said, I want to dedicate time and energy (with good aforementioned company) to some good festivals. One, in particular, is Above & Beyond Group Therapy (ABGT)—which they actually play at random venues INTERNATIONALLY—so this means in addition to Asia, I could possibly be travelling to where ever they play. If not ABGT, some other festivals I’d like to go to next year are Dreamstate SoCal, Life is Beautiful, and dare I say, EDC. We shall see!
Now with all that said—maybe some additions and modifications to the 5-year plan I had set in 2016…
-(X) Complete 1-3 projects for HR portfolio
-(X) Start HRM certification
-(X) Finish HRM certification
-(X) Start active job search for move into HR in UC (UCB, UCOP, UCSF)
-(X) Land and perform HR job as a generalist in UC system
-(X) Move into a new apartment/studio by myself
-(X) Study and learn 2 foreign languages: Tagalog (3rd time is the charm) & Japanese
-(X) Take a workshop or course in UX/design
-(X) Land a CAREER HR+Promotion high-level role in UC system –NEW
-( ) September: Study and pass PHR certification exam
-( ) August: Earn retirement pension for 5 years of service in UC
-( ) Pay down a considerable amount of debt
-( ) Travel: 2 domestic, 1 international (Asia)
-( ) End of year: Consider getting a car
-( ) Move into own apartment/studio—Oakland, Berkeley, or SF
-( ) Early 2021: Attend CCEP Academy and obtain CCEP Certification
-( ) Save to buy a condo by end of year or into 2023
-( ) September 6: Public Service Loan Forgiveness is effective—from UCLA & SFSU
-Pursue MBA degree (UC Berkeley, Stanford…)
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