Doing a master is not only a great opportunity to update your knowledge and expand your network of professional contacts, but it is also an experience that can help us reinvent ourselves and redirect our path forward towards a more prosperous and satisfying future. María Trujillo is a good example of this. This lawyer and business administrator recently took EAE’s Master in Human Resources Management and Talent Development, through which she discovered a new vocation that, in turn, has enabled her to experience a new professional sector. Let’s hear her story.
Let’s hear her story.
María Trujillo Calleja
Student on the Master in Human Resources Management and Talent Development
Spain People & Culture Coordinator at Too Good To Go
María, we want to get to know you a bit better. Where are you from? What do you most enjoy doing? What have you studied?
I’m from a village called Álora inland from Malaga, which I advise everybody to visit. It is gorgeous! I moved to Madrid to start my Bachelor Degree in 2008 and I am still here. People tell me that I don’t have a Malaga accent and assume I am from the capital, but I am very proud of my roots, which will always be in my beloved whitewashed village.
My hobbies are fairly normal. I take pleasure in the small things in life: reading a good book, spending a fun afternoon with friends, spending time with my family, walking along the beach, etc. I studied Law and Business Administration and Management at ICADE.
Tell us about your professional experience. Where have you worked and what jobs have you had?
When I finished the Joint Honours Degree, I decided to go into the legal field and I spent the first few years of my professional career as a lawyer. I practised law in big firms such as Allen & Overy and Garrigues, specializing in corporate law (mergers and acquisitions). Law is a very vocational profession and I eventually decided to make a change, but I look back on my years as a lawyer fondly because I learned lots of essential professional skills such as rigour, teamwork, excellent spoken and written communication, etc.
In 2017, I decided to redirect my career and I took the Master in Human Resource Management at EAE Business School, which enabled me to move into the business field and, in particular, the human resources area. The first opportunity I had was in Loewe, in the Talent Department. I learned a great deal in a company with lots of history but fully in the throes of change. After a year and a half, I moved to Too Good To Go, where I am now.
We know that you currently work at Too Good To Go. Tell us a little about it. What is the experience like? What is your job and what tasks do you perform?
At Too Good To Go, I am the Spain People & Culture Coordinator, In other words, I have a generalist role in the human resources area and I am responsible for all aspects related to employees and the culture of this fantastic company. At Too Good To Go, we strive to eliminate food waste through a marketplace, putting establishments and consumers in contact. My mission is to find the best talent on the market, enable each of these people to give their best at Too Good To Go and grow personally and professionally, and ensure that the culture and values are present throughout the day-to-day running of the company.
What was the selection process like? What did you find hardest and easiest?
The selection process consisted of a number of interviews, in person and on the telephone. Some were held in Madrid, where I currently work, but the head office of Too Good To Go is in Denmark, so I also went to meet my central team in Copenhagen. It was a really fast, painless process. They made me feel at ease at all times, so I really enjoyed it. If I had to name something I found hard, it would be managing my excitement about joining the project.
Which tools do you consider essential for performing your job? In your opinion, did EAE help you acquire these tools? How?
In my everyday work, I use several people management tools: the recruitment platform, the employee portal, payroll, etc. We covered them all on the Master. To put it another way, they gave us a 360° tour of all the systems that enable us to manage every company’s most valuable resource. Each tool has its own mission and it is important to be familiar with them. It is also crucial to analyse the data that these tools gather.
What aspects of the Master you took at EAE would you highlight? How has it helped you boost your professional career?
The Master at EAE enabled me to redirect my professional career from Law to the Human Resources Department in a company. I achieved what I wanted in 9 months and I really enjoyed my studies.
The key aspect of the Master that I would highlight, first and foremost, was the cultural diversity at the School. There were over 15 nationalities in my class and it was really rewarding to study and learn from so many different perspectives.
How would you define professional success and, in your opinion, what is the important factor in achieving it nowadays?
I equate professional success with feeling fulfilled with what you do. We spend at least a third of each day working and it is important to feel happy during these 8 hours. We have to enjoy the responsibilities that we are assigned and firmly believe that we are doing something that we like and are good at. I recommend everybody to spend a few minutes looking at the Japanese IKIGAI diagram. It is not easy and requires a lot of introspection, but it can help you in your search for professional success as I define it.
EAE organizes lots of events for promoting its students’ networking and employability. Which would you highlight and why?
In fact, it is easy enough to keep up to date through your email. The School sends us loads of very interesting notifications: EAE News, Webinars, Alumni EAE, etc. They make a lot of effort to ensure that we maintain the bonds we built during our studies, I work closely with the Academic Advisors in case any future student needs to talk to anybody who has studied at the School, to clear up any doubts they may have. It feels really great to know that I am helping people with whom I feel complete empathy, because I was in their shoes before I left my career in Law for the world of Human Resources, and the doubts that the change generated.
Where do you see María Trujillo Calleja ten years from now?
Hmm, that is not an easy question and I really wouldn’t be bold enough to answer. With the thousands of unexpected surprises it has brought, 2020 has taught or reminded us of the vulnerability of human beings and how everything can change from one day to the next. I don’t know where I will be in 10 years’ time, but I hope that my IKIGAI will be well balanced.
Would you recommend EAE to anybody who wants to succeed professionally?
I would recommend EAE 100%, but it is not the only ingredient that students need to succeed professionally. You have to include other elements such as networking, professional experiences, languages, up-to-date information, soft skills, flexibility etc.
Click here to find out more about our Master in Human Resources Management and Talent Development.