Nensi Frasheri didn’t set out to work in HR. With a bachelor’s degree in political science and two master’s degrees in international public law, she initially viewed the field through a non-traditional lens. When an HR opportunity came along, she stepped in and didn’t just stay–she excelled. Six years later, she’s a Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant at Deloitte, supporting recruitment across 11 countries in Central & Eastern Europe.
Nensi operated as a high-capacity practitioner, often juggling up to 25 specialized roles at once. She became known for delivering results under pressure, but soon realized that technical execution was only one facet of her potential. To truly elevate her impact, she needed to evolve from a recruiter into a strategic advisor who could influence the business from the inside out.
An expert in recruitment, but not in the business
As an accomplished recruiter, Nensi was already delivering results, but she began looking ahead at the professional she wanted to become. That’s when her ambition became clear. She wanted to become an HR professional who could influence stakeholders not just through execution, but through deep organizational insights. “I knew recruitment very well,” she says. “But I felt I was missing the business side.”
This ambition led her to consider an HR Business Partner role. However, she recognized that making the leap would require a fundamental shift in mindset. She needed to master the language of the business–finance, strategy, and evidence-based decision-making.
Without a formal HR background, she felt cautious stepping into those discussions. “I wanted to understand how HR connects to finance, strategy, and leadership decisions,” she explains. “I realized that to earn a seat at the table, I needed to speak the same language as the people already there.”
Nensi realized that the skills she needed for her future goal were the same ones she needed to elevate her current impact. By building her business acumen now, she could transform her recruitment approach from tactical delivery to strategic partnership, laying a foundation of readiness while simultaneously driving better results in her current role.
Bridging the gap by design
Nensi followed AIHR for years, treating the blog and tools as an informal reference library for her daily tasks. But as her desire to influence global strategy grew, she reached the realization that the “learn-as-you-go” method that had served her for six years had reached its limit. She needed a formal, structured foundation to validate her experience and prepare her for the HRBP role. “This was the moment,” she says. “I knew I couldn’t get to the next level with self-teaching alone. It’s time to bridge the gap between being a recruiter and a strategic leader.”
When she gained Full Academy Access through Deloitte’s learning benefits, she didn’t just enroll in a program; she committed to a career shift. She started with the HR Business Partner 2.0 Certificate Program, treating it as the bridge between her current expertise and her future ambitions.
Despite an intense workload, the self-paced format was helpful to keep moving forward. “Time management was the hardest part,” she says. “But AIHR’s flexibility helped me finish the course on my own schedule.”
Mastering the language of leadership
The impact of the program was immediate, and Nensi started showing up differently at work. She could finally speak the business language, using concepts she’d never been exposed to before.
The finance module in particular was a turning point. She learned to view HR through the lens of a P&L statement, picking up the terminology used by the executives she aimed to advise.
The practical business cases helped her see what HR business partnering looks like in practice. It showed her how to uncover the root causes behind a company’s pain points, ask sharper questions, and turn raw insight into actions that aligned with Deloitte’s business goals.
And she didn’t stop at HR Business Partner 2.0. She took additional courses in Talent Management & Succession Planning, People Analytics, HR Consulting Skills, and HR Trends to round out her HRBP toolkit. The Full Academy Access gave her the freedom to build depth where it mattered, so her growth didn’t end with one certificate.
Advisory over execution
Nensi was already a high-performing recruiter who could handle volume. Now, her role is elevated. She no longer just responds to requests but uses her skills to think strategically and challenge when necessary.
That growth is most evident in the moments that used to feel intimidating, such as conversations with hiring managers and business leaders. When a department requests a sudden surge of 15 hires, she doesn’t just open the roles, but opens a dialogue and advises to make sure that hiring fits the long-term organizational goals.
She uses her new toolkit to ask hard questions: Do we really need to hire externally? Could we solve this through internal mobility first? What does this mean for succession planning? Because she speaks the language of the business, her recommendations carry weight.
“I know how to advise them,” she says. “Even on topics like succession planning, even though it’s not my role at the moment.”
Real transformation for her is not becoming someone new overnight, but finally feeling like she belongs in the strategic conversation with data-backed, evidence-based thinking. There’s less hesitation, more clarity, and a growing belief that she’s heading in the right direction.
What’s next
Looking back, Nensi reflects on how far she’s come, from “randomly” entering HR to intentionally preparing to enter a new domain within the HR field. She gained the structural authority to match her ambition. She describes AIHR as both a teacher and a career coach whom she turns to as her role continues to evolve.
“I didn’t get a formal education in HR,” she says. “So for me, learning with AIHR was like having a master’s degree in human resources.”
Instead of figuring things out as she goes, she now has the frameworks, the data, and the voice to lead. And when uncertainty shows up, it no longer slows her down. “Even if I’m lost in a new challenge,” she says, “I know I can go back to the course and find the solution.”
As Nensi gained momentum, she plans to use AIHR’s Career Map to identify exactly what skills she is missing to reach the HRBP role. You can check out the preview lessons of the HRBP 2.0 Certificate Program and the HR Career Map for yourself to see what Nensi loves so much about AIHR.
Are you ready to transform your own career? Browse our extensive course catalog and explore the HR Business Partner 2.0 Certificate Program, the course Nensi did, and make your HR skill set future-proof!
Building your peer network? Connect with Nensi on LinkedIn.
