Farshad Firouzian
Why did you choose the MILR program?
To me, the MILR program represented an optimal way to learn the foundational toolkit that every HR professional should know before elevating to more senior levels of their respective organization. After considering graduate degrees in I/O Psychology, Organizational Development and others, I ultimately decided that a 2-year master's degree that provides both a theoretical and applied education of current HR practices, as well as the freedom to pursue specialty areas within the field with its variety of resources, would maximize my ability to pursue opportunities of my choosing after graduation.
What is your favorite part of the MILR program?
My favorite part of the program has to be the people it attracts. From the team-building exercises we took part in during orientation to the networking events and seminars led by different organizations across the ILR School, I'd find it hard-pressed to identify another program of our size and scope that forms closer bonds across the 2-year experience. For me, this will always trump other amazing resources we have access to at Cornell, such as world-renowned researchers, scholars, and classes that span across multiple schools and disciplines.
What is your favorite class?
It would be easier for me to share who my favorite professors have been that I've taken so far, since I've taken a number of classes that I'd consider my "favorite". Professor Chris Collins and Professor Brian Lucas have to be among my favorites, with the current and relevant business and psychological articles and research they pull from to initiate discussion and broaden the scope of their students' thinking. I'd highly encourage any student to take the classes they teach, most notably Design Thinking for HR, Organizational Consulting, Leading and Managing Teams, and Making & Selling Creative Ideas.
What is your favorite part of Ithaca?
My two favorite parts of Ithaca include the quirky and avant-garde shops scattered around the town's Commons or downtown areas, as well as the access to amazing natural sites, sounds and scenery throughout its many gorges and hills.
What advice would you give a prospective student?
Coming in with a direction for where you'd like to take your career is a great first step, but don't forget to be open to allowing that vision of yourself 3, 5 or 10 years down the road to shift and change as you learn, grow, and connect with amazing professors, colleagues, and friends!
Summer Internship Company/Location?
I did not opt for an internship this summer but instead chose to take a Consulting opportunity that allowed me the fortune of "creating my own internship" and delving into HR focus areas such as Talent Strategy, Rewards and Compensation, and Job Leveling for a startup design firm based in Brooklyn, NY called HUSH.
Highlight from Summer Internship?
The highlight would have to be getting to spend lots of time co-creating, designing and implementing programs with and for amazing leaders at different levels of the organization.
Do You Have A Full-Time Offer That You Are Accepting?
I'm planning to re-recruit this year with the intent to receive and accept a full-time offer within Leadership Advisory of a multi-national human capital consulting firm.
More about Farshad:
Prior Education?
My undergraduate degree was in Kinesiology and Psychology with minors Management and Leadership.
Prior Work Experience/Internships?
After undergrad, I spent about 2 years working within the clinical psychology field in a hospital setting before making the transition to working with startups as a Talent Acquisition specialist in New York. From there I spent 3 years floating between the external headhunting space to internal recruitment and talent acquisition, finally giving up my position as Talent Acquisition Lead for a healthcare tech startup in '21 to join the MILR Class of '23.