Serving Community Through HR: Hillary Green’s Job Search Success Story

When Hillary Green began her career in accounting and office administration, she didn’t expect to transition into a strategic human resources leadership role. Today, as an HR Partner at Eugene Water & Electric Board, Hillary helps teams thrive while supporting a community-owned utility committed to sustainability, equity, and service. Here is her story.

What do you do for a career? 

I’m an HR Partner, often called a Human Resources Business Partner. This is a highly strategic position, where my primary role is to “partner” with managers and supervisors on nearly everything HR, including talent development, team dynamics, policy and law interpretation, performance management, and workforce strategies.

Who do you work for? 

I am a Human Resources professional and work for the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB). My initial draw to EWEB was their sustainability work! From their green energy sources to board-adopted (and organization-championed) climate change policies. 

EWEB is also community-owned, which is rare for utilities. This means I am serving my community and neighbors with my work. This is something that EWEB takes seriously, and you’ll hear questions about the effects of decisions on ratepayers in meetings from the executive level down to line supervisors and field staff. Passion for EWEB’s values, including affordability and reliability, is palpable throughout the utility. 

EWEB is committed to DEI and has a Dynamic Workforce policy that supports work-from-home where possible. We create family-supporting jobs that make EWEB an employer of choice.

What do you like best about your career? 

I love that I get to help folks feel more supported and fulfilled where they spend so much of their time – at work! Human Resources is not the most popular department at the watering hole, and, like many in HR, it was not my original trajectory. 

HR encompasses training and development, employee benefits, compensation, process improvement, culture, teamwork, safety, and so much more. Every day is different, and every day I get to help someone solve a problem or make something better. 

What resources ​have helped you in your career and your job searches? Are there specific tools or tactics that have contributed to your success? 

Be open to alternative ways of finding a new position. Yes, apply to open positions, but also utilize your network and LinkedIn: 

• Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date – you might have just the right experience and education that an employer is searching for. Two of my job moves were prompted by LinkedIn messages!
• Reach out to previous coworkers to see if they have a line on any new openings or could get your application to the top of the stack.
• Search for and contact recruiting and staffing firms specializing in your field who could help you find a good match. Temporarily working for a staffing firm helped me change careers! 

Throughout your career, what obstacles have you encountered when doing a job search, and how did you overcome them? 

Years ago, I shifted my career focus from office administration and accounting (small-business AP, AR, financials, cash flow, etc.) to HR. As I took on more tasks and “wore more hats,” I started to question whether accounting was really a good fit for me. I started by taking an inventory of the work I was doing to see which areas I’d like to explore further, and then began searching for what was next. 

After extensive research on local job boards (including Mac’s List) and job description sites like Onet Online, I identified business management as an area of interest. This research was critical because it helped me pinpoint steps I could take to get there by reviewing the minimum requirements of positions posted! 

Returning to School

I saw that many of these leadership positions required post-high-school degrees, and I took my time considering whether it made sense for my finances and my other life goals to go back to school. 

It is not the best path for every career, and I know many very successful professionals who do not have a college degree. I ultimately decided to enroll at Portland State and continue working full-time to build additional business administration experience and take on fewer student loans. It wasn’t easy. But it was worth it for me in the end.

Finding a Home in HR

My coursework included broad business management courses, including finance, project management, and HR. This is how I discovered that HR is where I wanted to be! I had a lot of overlap in HR across my small-business environments, and ultimately dual-majored in Leadership and HR Management at Portland State. 

Despite my degree, transferable experience, and skills, it was still hard to get hiring managers to look past my previous job titles. It was working closely with a staffing/recruiting agency that helped me get noticed for an HR role as a fill-in for a critical benefits and compensation position. 

What piece of advice would you give to job seekers or professionals trying to advance in their careers? 

Don’t be afraid to try new tools. AI is a hot topic, and there are many opinions out there, but it can give you a leg up in articulating your knowledge, skills, and abilities! 

• Plug your LinkedIn link into an AI tool and ask it to make you a fresh resume and cover letter based on your experience. 
• Link the job ad or enter a position title, and ask AI for example interview questions to practice with.
• Ask AI to search the web for typical minimum qualifications for your dream job, so you can see if there are any gaps or opportunities for growth you haven’t considered. 

Everyone’s job search story is different, but each individual’s story can inspire and empower others who are on their own unique path. We love to hear how our readers have found rewarding careers in Portland, and we want to share these stories with you to inspire you in your job search and to help us all better understand the local job market.