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HR Professional · Bay Area

Building People-Centered Workplaces Through Thoughtful HR Strategy

SHRM-CP certified Human Resource Management professional with a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Southern California. Experienced across full-cycle recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, and people operations in retail and startup environments.

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Twinkle Mehta
📍
Location and Status
San Jose, CA
Actively seeking roles in the Bay Area
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Education
M.S. in Human Resource Management
University of Southern California (USC) · 2026
B.A. in English Literature
Vikram University, India · 2016
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Certification
SHRM-CP
Society for Human Resource Management
Active through August 2029
About

A Practical HR Partner With A Human-First Lens

I am an SHRM-CP certified Human Resource Management professional and recent Master of Science in Human Resource Management graduate from the University of Southern California. My background spans full-cycle recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, employee relations, HR compliance, and people operations across retail and startup environments.

"I build HR structure from the ground up, then make sure it works for the people inside it."

I have launched a boutique from zero to full staffing, led a 300+ member graduate HR organization as Vice President of the University of Southern California Human Resources Management Association (HRMA), managed teams of up to 15, and contributed to a SHRM California Case Competition win. I work fluently in Workday, ADP, and Greenhouse, and I bring a data-informed lens to every people decision.

HR Expertise
Talent Acquisition Employee Relations Onboarding and Offboarding HR Compliance Performance Management Workforce Planning DEI HR Analytics Succession Planning
HRIS and Tools
Workday ADP Greenhouse Legion Deputy Microsoft Office Google Workspace
Seeking
HR Generalist HR Business Partner People Operations Bay Area · Open to Work
Experience

Where I Have Done The Real Work

May 2025 to May 2026
Student Vice President
Remote
USC Human Resource Management Association
  • Led operations for a 300+ member SHRM-affiliated fully virtual graduate organization, including board deliverables, meetings, speakers, member programming, annual goals, and re-chartering with SHRM and PIHRA.
  • Helped plan and execute 12+ qualifying activities that earned HRMA its first SHRM Superior Merit Award. Won the 2026 SHRM California HR Student Case Competition (Graduate Division) with a team of three and attended the SHRM26 Annual Conference in Orlando as a prize recipient.
  • Helped create executive board job descriptions, ran board selection, and wrote SOPs and role-specific training modules for every board position.
  • Co-authored the HRMA constitution, owned the policy handbook, rebuilt the website, and wrote member newsletters.
  • Created a member resource hub with eight self-written SHRM-CP study guides.
Sep 2024 to Jan 2025
Manager
Santa Clara, CA
Zimmermann
  • Hired and onboarded a 15+ person team from scratch in about two weeks. Managed interview scheduling, offer letters, I-9 verification, and background checks.
  • Administered payroll and benefits data in ADP Workforce Now, including PTO and leave tracking, timecards, attendance, scheduling, and separations. Corrected timecards and punches to keep payroll accurate.
  • Conducted performance reviews, coaching, corrective actions, and disciplinary conversations. Delivered onboarding, product, policy, service, and sales training.
  • Answered employee questions on pay, benefits, and policy, and escalated to corporate HR when needed.
  • Managed sales performance, P&L, payroll, and labor budgets, and workforce coverage. Prepared weekly and monthly reports and used KPI analysis to adjust staffing.
  • Oversaw inventory, stocktakes, shrinkage, loss prevention, and client experience for a newly opened luxury boutique.
May 2024 to Sep 2024
Assistant Manager
Santa Clara, CA
Club Monaco
  • Stepped in as Acting Manager during a leadership and staffing crisis and rebuilt a 15+ person team through high-volume hiring. Over 90% proved to be strong long-term fits.
  • Exceeded sales plan by 12% within two weeks of the rebuild and improved customer satisfaction by 15%.
  • Ran full-cycle recruiting for every store role: sourcing, screening, interviews, onboarding and orientation, I-9 documentation, exit interviews, and separation paperwork.
  • Processed payroll changes in ADP Workforce Now, supported benefits enrollment, and handled PTO, leave of absence, and attendance.
  • Managed performance reviews, coaching, PIPs, disciplinary actions, grievances, and employee relations matters such as call-outs and scheduling disputes. Prepared offer letters, change forms, separation agreements, and incident reports.
  • Owned scheduling, timecard edits, and wage and sales budgets. Reported results and staffing needs to district leadership and directed cash controls, audits, inventory, loss prevention, and visual merchandising.
Sep 2023 to Apr 2024
Associate
San Jose, CA
Madewell
  • Supported daily store operations for a 20+ person team and took on HR and people support as a designated area of ownership.
  • Processed employee lifecycle changes in Workday, including onboarding, offboarding, and compensation changes.
  • Onboarded and trained 12+ associates and helped hire 8+ team members, improving sales, retention, and consistency.
  • Answered employee questions on benefits, PTO, leave, payroll, and policy, and conducted stay interviews to share retention insights with store leadership.
  • Designed and delivered new-hire training and peer mentoring. Supported inventory, shipments, stockroom operations, loss prevention, and audits.
May 2021 to Feb 2023
Mumbai, India
Freelance Recruiter
  • Managed full-cycle recruiting for multiple client organizations with concurrent requisitions, from intake meetings and role clarification to job postings.
  • Sourced candidates through LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job boards, screened resumes, and completed initial phone screens to build qualified pipelines.
  • Coordinated interviews, reference and background checks, offer preparation, and offer acceptance, keeping candidates informed and providing interview preparation.
  • Partnered with hiring managers on staffing priorities, candidate quality, and pipeline progress.
Jan 2019 to May 2021
HR Generalist & Intern
Remote
Falkonry Inc.
  • Served as the day-to-day HR contact for employees and managers at a 30-50 employee California-based AI startup, from onboarding through offboarding. Wrote all-staff emails.
  • Recruited 12+ hires for engineering and marketing roles across 2-3 concurrent openings through LinkedIn and Indeed. Scheduled 20+ interviews a week at peak and managed offers through acceptance.
  • Administered Rippling for payroll, benefits, open enrollment, 401(k), and leave. Maintained employee records in Rippling, Greenhouse, and Jira and produced HR reports and analytics.
  • Handled employee relations and performance management, including manager coaching, conflict resolution, disciplinary matters, reviews, goal setting, promotions, salary reviews, bonuses, and compensation changes.
  • Coordinated H-1B petitions with external counsel and USCIS, helped track the immigration case list in a spreadsheet, coordinated travel between the India and US offices, and supported I-9 and E-Verify compliance.
  • Administered the LMS, delivered manager and employee training, contributed to the handbook, developed HR SOPs, ran culture and engagement initiatives, and partnered with Finance on headcount and payroll reconciliation.
Projects

HR Management Thinking In Action

Dashboards, case studies, strategy frameworks, and org design work from University of Southern California and beyond.

People Analytics View Dashboard ↗
HR Metrics Dashboard

An interactive dashboard that translates workforce data into operational insights across recruiting, retention, and people operations. Built with metric definition, trend visualization, and engagement signals to give HR teams a centralized view of staffing health and data-informed decision-making inputs. Covers headcount, turnover, time-to-fill, and engagement trends in a single interface.

Metric design · Dashboard architecture · Insights synthesis
HR Strategy · Case Competition View Project ↗
Amazing Grace Under Fire

A 2026 SHRM California Student Human Resource Management Case Competition analysis of a 70-year-old, 250-person family-owned business whose informal, trust-based culture left it legally exposed after ICE agents detained three long-term employees at a company volunteer event. Our team diagnosed critical gaps in I-9 compliance, OSHA and FLSA governance, and crisis response readiness, identifying what we called an "empathetic but hollow culture." We recommended the Strong Together Initiative: a six-phase, 15-week plan covering employee education, structured I-9 audit, HRIS setup, policy development, and long-term compliance stabilization, with a total investment modeled at $112K to $153K. Team #17 won the SHRM California Graduate Division, 2026.

Root-cause analysis · Compliance audit · Phased implementation
Strategic Change View Project ↗
Levi Strauss and Co. Human Resource Management Transformation

A final assessment for the University of Southern California's Human Resource Management 555 course, written from the perspective of VP of Human Resources at Levi Strauss and Co. during simultaneous disruption. Analyzes three forces reshaping the business: a direct-to-consumer pivot (revenue grew from 36% to 52%), AI integration through Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, and a shifting legal landscape including California SB 642, Illinois HB 3773, the Colorado AI Act, and federal Executive Order 14365. Maps HR obligations across workforce redesign, AI governance, pay equity, and frontline manager development. The Latino leadership pipeline (43% of frontline, 0% of executive) is identified as a critical execution risk requiring succession planning tied directly to business strategy.

Disruption analysis · Star Model · Kotter 8-Step · Legislative review
Organizational Design View Project ↗
Zimmermann Organizational Redesign

A senior leadership presentation for the University of Southern California's Human Resource Management 515: Organizational Design course. Applies the Star Model (Kates and Galbraith) to Zimmermann's organizational challenges as the luxury brand pursues omnichannel growth and 50% year-over-year expansion. Six interconnected gaps identified: stated values contradict lived culture; decision cycles run 4 to 6 weeks where under 2 weeks is required; processes are siloed with no cross-channel integration; incentives reward individual sales over collaboration; and diverse talent hired post-2020 is exiting at disproportionate rates. Recommendations target three redesign priorities: decentralized regional structure, rebalanced bonuses weighted toward omnichannel metrics and culture accountability, and a talent development model with measurable psychological safety targets.

Star Model gap analysis · RACI design · Rewards redesign · Succession planning
Contact

Let's Talk About HR Opportunities

Based in San Jose, CA, I am seeking HR Generalist, HR Business Partner, and People Operations roles in the Bay Area.

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