CCBC Human Resources Director Started Career by Chance

Over the summer, CCBC welcomed Jeffrey Hahn as the college’s new director of Human Resources. Hahn comes to CCBC with more than 20 years of experience in employment, labor relations and professional development. He has expertise in benefits administration and compensation, he’s a certified master trainer and he has a successful history of problem solving. His career in human resources has led him to work for such private sector companies as the Wills Group, Purdue Farms Inc. and Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Even though Hahn’s career in human resources has been very successful, he explained that he entered the field entirely by chance.

“My first job in Human Resources was part of a cross-functional training assignment I received while working at Bethlehem Steel,” said Hahn. “On more than one occasion, I had criticized the Human Resources department for what I viewed as lack of support. Since I had been so critical, management thought it would be a good idea for me to do my cross-training within that department. I ended up enjoying the work and decided to make it my career.”

Before working in human resources, Hahn spent nearly 17 years working in operations. He said those years helped shape him into a well-rounded human resources professional. “My years in operations allowed me to see human resources from a different perspective,” said Hahn. “Since human resources was my second career, I was able to bring fresh ideas to the table that I thought would really benefit employees and the organization.”

Hahn’s successful history of implementing problem-solving strategies within organizations is reflective of what he sees as the mission of any Human Resources department. “The Human Resources department must be an ombudsman for every employee,” said Hahn. “A major component of my job is to help people solve problems. I gain personal satisfaction from developing creative solutions that benefit employees as well as the organization. I look forward to utilizing those skills at CCBC.”