Chelsea Coleman - Where Are They Now?

Chelsea Coleman, Director - Human Resources, Olympic Steel, Corporate

Catching up with one of our previously featured IAM stories, Chelsea Coleman shares some fun facts about herself and how her career continues to evolve at Olympic Steel.

As we head into our seventh year of sharing IAM Olympic Steel employee stories, we realized a good number of our previously featured employees have had big changes since their original story published. In between this year’s new employee stories, you’ll see some previously introduced employees in a feature called IAM Olympic Steel - Where Are They Now?

First up is Chelsea Coleman, originally featured in 2021. From Divisional Human Resources Representative to our Director of Human Resources, we caught up with Chelsea to learn a little bit about her current role, which Core Value she best represents and a few fun tidbits that help you get to know her a little better.

Explain how you made the move into your current position. Was it part of an established career development plan or did you seek out the new role? Why?

I have been fortunate to have six different positions from onsite Human Resources and Safety at the Mount Sterling, Kentucky location to Corporate Talent Acquisition and General HR. Most of these opportunities presented themselves organically, and I jumped at the opportunity for a new challenge. My current role, Director – HR, is part of a career development plan that my previous experience has helped prepare me for.

Which of Olympic Steel’s 10 Core Values do you feel you best represent and why?

Accountability (We accept responsibility for achieving targeted goals and objectives) – I pride myself on making sure teammates and employees can depend on me as a knowledgeable, reliable resource.

What advice do you have for others who might be interested in an open position within Olympic Steel that’s different than their current path?

Advocate for yourself – don’t assume your manager knows what your professional development goals are. Once you have established your goals, seek out opportunities to get there; don’t wait for them to come to you.

What or who has most significantly influenced your career?

My family has greatly impacted my career. My positions at Olympic Steel have required frequent travel and my husband’s job requires him to be on-call 24/7. If he gets called to work while I am away, we rely greatly on the grandparents to manage homework, soccer practices and more. I quite honestly couldn’t have the career I do without the support of my husband and both of our parents.

What’s something unique about you, something your coworkers might not know?

I’m kind of an open book, but I live on a small farm, so we are always into some new adventure. I also love to run and read.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you?

I can’t remember where I heard it – likely from a book or maybe a speaker I listened to, but they said: “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” I am a lifelong learner, and I want to surround myself with people that can teach me something, so I can continue to grow.