Episode 120: Change Careers And Thrive with Cloudflare’s Janet Van Huysse

Have you ever felt stuck in a career but didn’t know how to make a change? Do you wonder how to position yourself effectively for a future role?

Our guest, Janet Van Huysse, SVP, Chief People Officer at Cloudflare, shares how she changed careers by leveraging transferrable skills and how you can do the same.

Janet started out as a school teacher in Illinois with a dream to move to California. But when she finally got there, she realized that she couldn’t afford the cost of living as a teacher and had to work nights and weekends at a small internet company. She needed a long-term sustainable solution and after exploring her options, she decided to pursue a career in HR. Her only challenge? She had no training or experience in the field!

In this episode, you’ll learn the steps that Janet took to make a career change and how it helped her achieve her dreams and accelerate success. Today, Janet leads the HR function at Cloudflare, including recruiting efforts. A veteran HR leader with over twenty years of experience in technology, Janet was the first VP of HR at Twitter, as well as the company's VP of Diversity & Inclusion. Janet is also the co-founder of TendLab, a venture seeking to transform the workplace by unleashing the power and potential of working parents.

 

Highlights:

[02:24] Janet’s journey

[09:26] Overcoming setbacks

[11:43] Identifying your transferrable skills

[15:16] Overcoming your fears and limiting beliefs

[20:43] The importance of Employee Resource Groups

[26:35] Tips on executing effectively

[30:39] Janet’s daily success habits

[33:30] What holds women back

[36:01] Accelerating success in the digital age

 

Quotes:

“Call out that inner critic that is sabotaging you.” – Janet Van Huysse

“When presenting something or a new proposal, make sure that 60 to 80% of the people in that room have seen it beforehand.” – Janet Van Huysse

“Ask yourself what are the three most important things that you need to do today and focus on those.” - Janet Van Huysse

“It is important to tell people where you want to go.” – Janet Van Huysse

 

About Janet Van Huysse:

Janet Van Huysse is the Head of People at Cloudflare, where she leads the HR function, including recruiting efforts. A veteran HR leader with over twenty years of experience in technology, Janet was the first VP of HR at Twitter, as well as the company's VP of Diversity & Inclusion. Janet is also the co-founder of TendLab, a venture seeking to transform the workplace by unleashing the power and potential of working parents.

 

Links:

Website: https://www.cloudflare.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetvh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/janetvh