Brandon Elrod - Human Resources Director; City of Newton

Brandon Elrod - Human Resources Director; City of Newton Can you tell us about your professional journey and current position? Currently, I am the HR Director for the City of Newton. I graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 1998 with a BSBA degree and a double major in marketing in management. I spent the next 10 years in retail with Lowes Foods, Kraft Foods, Aaron’s Sales & Lease, and SellEthics before joining the public sector in 2008. My first job was as an HR Specialist with the City of Newton. I enrolled in the MPA program in 2011 and graduated in December 2013. I took a job with Cabarrus County as an HR Analyst in June 2014 and worked there for two years. I returned to the City of Newton in 2016. The former HR Director announced her retirement effective December 2017, and I was asked to return to fill the role once she retired. I was to receive on-the-job training as the Assistant HR Director until her retirement. The former HR Director retired unexpectedly due to health reasons in July 2017 rather than in December, and I was named the HR Director at that time, so I’ve been in the HR Director’s position approximately three years.

What contributed to your decision to pursue an MPA degree?As I considered my career path, I wanted to broaden my possible options or opportunities potentially beyond human resources. I decided that I was likely to stay with local government until retirement, so the MPA was a better fit than an MBA. In addition, I believed an MPA would be more desirable on a resume than a Master’s degree in Human Resources especially when pursing opportunities with large municipalities or counties. I felt that obtaining an MPA demonstrated that I was trying to expand my knowledge of local government beyond HR and that I was trying to understand local government beyond the boundaries of my home department. Even within the MPA program, I selected non-HR topics for papers and projects when given the freedom to choose the subject matter. I thought that I would be better equipped to have a more in-depth conversation or understand a colleague’s needs if I had been exposed at least a little bit to the information in which he/she was a subject matter expert. The MPA program also gave me a spark in my professional life when I started to loose interest in the HR Specialist position, which I had been in several years before beginning the MPA program.

How did the App State MPA program prepare you to work in government, nonprofit, or the private sector?I believe it helped me move to the top of the stack of candidates when I applied for the HR Analyst position with Cabarrus County. I had been with Cabarrus County two weeks when the County Commissioners voted to no longer fund the employee health clinic or the Health & Wellness Manager position. Although I was not in this position, I felt sure that since I was last in, I would’ve been first out to make room to keep the long-term employee who had been in that position. Having an MPA gave the County Manager confidence that I could be flexible and pivot, at least temporarily, to an open position in the Finance Department despite having no practical work experience in finance or budgeting. In addition, I believe having the MPA was a positive factor when Newton’s City Manager was considering asking me to return to replace the retiring HR Director. If I decide to move on from my current position, I still think having the MPA on my application/resume will provide me with a competitive advantage over applicants  with only a four-year degree or a Master’s degree unrelated to public sector employment.

What advice would you give to individuals considering the App State MPA program?The program is cost effective. I appreciated the fact that if you took courses as advised, your degree would be completed in less than three years. There is also flexibility to extend your time table if you feel that is best for you in your current work and home life situations. It was better for me that classes were presented in-person, but with the cohort system, I made a short commute to Hickory on class days rather than a much longer commute to Boone. I would say that I felt like that I got more out of the program because I was in-service, so I would suggest having some local government experience prior to the program, whether it is actual work experience or through internships. Get to know your classmates well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with them, and they can possibly help you out (or you’ll be able to help them out) post-graduation. The program per the recommended schedule can become grueling and time-consuming, and breaks between semesters are short or seem almost non-existent. Be prepared to make a commitment to the time it will take to put forth your best effort to successfully complete the program. Hopefully, you have a good support system that includes your employer, your spouse or partner, your family, and your friends. If you’re working full-time and enrolled in the program, it will feel as if you’re working a part-time job or a second full-time job at times, but when you graduate, you will have a feeling that you have made a significant accomplishment, and all your hard work will be well worth it.

If hiring, what would you look for in new graduates the App State MPA program?If hiring an App State MPA program graduate, I would want to see that he/she got something out of the program and that he/she plans to apply what was learned. I would also look for ambition to make an impact or a difference in my organization and in his/her profession and to change others’ negative perceptions or stereotypes of government workers. I would want that person to excel and be an example to other employees and to others who are considering the MPA program. I would want the individual to be an advocate for continual learning and always eager to learn new skills, attain new knowledge, and be the first to take advantage of any opportunities to better themselves personally and/or professionally. I would want him/her to be excited about his/her work and not showing up to work simply to collect a paycheck.