In college, Mary Burnet predicted technology was going to play an important role in people management. Before joining Purdue’s Human Resource Development (HRD) program, Burnet was a first-year student in Krannert School of Management trying to figure out what she wanted to do, both in college and in her future career. That year gave her space to explore the foundations of human resources and uncover her interests.
Burnet was fascinated by the “people” side of business. It was unpredictable and evolving. She also noticed that technology was changing and impacting HR, so when the HRD program at the Polytechnic Institute started the following year, she made the switch.
“When I came across the Human Resource Development program, it combined my interests of people and technology. It was the perfect mashup of what I knew the world was headed toward—a more technology-focused world.”
People analytics and data were a large part of the HRD curriculum. Burnet said she developed valuable skills for data storytelling in the classes she took, which led to the job she holds today. Burnet’s title is Senior Associate for HR Technology and Operations at Bain Capital, a role focused on supporting technology for the HR team using the software Workday.
Burnet uses backend coding to customize the software to the needs of Bain Capital’s HR partners. One of her primary duties involves using Workday to help Bain Capital plan appropriate staffing levels to support growth in the years ahead.
“I’m supporting the company from a software perspective at a high level. We’ve almost doubled in size over the past ten years,” Burnet said. “The technology decisions made ten years ago were for a much smaller company, so sometimes I have to adjust and recode to make it work seamlessly.”
Not everything has come easily, and Burnet has been working to build confidence for facing the unknown. Aside from facing new challenges at work, Burnet and her husband also moved to Boston, leaving their family behind in Indiana.
“Whether it’s jumping into a project at work I know nothing about or a new technology, I know if I come at it with an attitude of curiosity, I will figure it out. I know I need to be persistent throughout the discomfort of not knowing something. That includes even making friends as an adult!”
Burnet and her husband have been getting creative to meet people in their new community and make new friends. One of the ways they’ve combated loneliness in their new home is through a local Purdue alumni club. She says they enjoy meeting up with alumni to watch Purdue basketball games and share life. Like others in the group, she thinks fondly of her time on campus. She was a fourth-generation Boilermaker who met her husband at Purdue, attended alongside eight of her cousins, and built relationships with faculty she stays in contact with today.
It’s been five years since Burnet graduated, and she has had time to think about what she’d say to alumni considering the HRD program or a human resources career.
“I would give the same advice that the chief HR officer at Bain gave me: learn to speak the language whether that’s business or technical speak. The ability to communicate clearly across audiences is so valuable. Being able to bridge those worlds will highlight you as a key player in any organization.”
Burnet says her Purdue diploma has helped her earn the reputation of having grit and willingness to put in the hard work, something that’s been incredibly valuable for her both personally and professionally.