I’m an HR hater today

By Kimberly February 15, 2013 Career

I was having a quiet morning minding my own business when I stumbled across the SHRM Facebook page and saw the following question:

“HR Pros:  What’s the one thing a job applicant should NOT to do in a job interview? We will share your best answers in the SHRM Blog!”

After reading many of the comments, it was embarrassing to be included in a profession that had the word “HUMAN” in it.  While we all know that personal biases exist, isn’t it one of the primary roles of HR professionals to put aside biases and interview someone to determine their ability to do the job?

If HR is the first point of contact for job seekers, the poor schmucks interviewing with some of these folks don’t have a chance of ever seeing a hiring manager.

Here are some of the things these HR professionals listed that candidates should NOT do on an interview.

  • don’t mention interviewing at other places.
    Why not? You might have a stellar candidate on your hands.  
  • sit up straight.
    Thanks mom.
  • never ask about the salary.
    No it’s much better to waste everyone’s time instead.
  • don’t yawn.
    Maybe you’re boring.
  • don’t ask how long the interview will take.
    Forget the fact that maybe the candidate has to catch a train or bus to get home.
  • don’t be tense.
    Tell that to the job seeker who’s been out of work for months.
  • don’t roll your eyes at the interviewer’s questions.
    Right because you wouldn’t dream of asking uninteresting, canned questions.
  • don’t provide short answers.
    There’s this new thing out now — it’s called “follow up questions.”
  • don’t show up on time because being early is “on time” and being on time is “late”.
    I can’t say what I really want to say about this here.
  • don’t reschedule the interview for another time.
    Sorry that your kid was puking all night or you woke up to a flat tire — you are OUT! 
  • don’t touch your face.
    Just wiggle your nose if you have an itch, that’ll be less distracting.
  • don’t invade my personal space.
    And that is where? 
  • don’t talk negatively about a prior employer under any circumstances.
    Bad stuff happens and there is a difference between an emotional rant and providing honest facts about a prior negative experience.  It happens everyday and interviewers know that.

The list went on and on.  If these people were ruling out candidates because of these reasons, it’s no wonder career advisors always urge job seekers to bypass HR.  This is also a good example of why recruiters aren’t crazy about working with HR.

On the flip side, there were some excellent comments that job seekers should pay attention to.  Some were pretty funny so I included them too.

  • don’t answer or look at your cell phone.
    It’s rude. Don’t put it on vibrate, turn if off.
  • don’t bring your mother.
    Enough said.
  • don’t bring your children.
    Same as above.  If you’re stuck for child care, reschedule.
  • don’t answer the questions with a bag of puppets.
    While I find it creative and funny, I don’t think it will score points unless you’re interviewing for a puppeteer gig.
  • don’t wear flip flops.
    Well, unless you’re told to.
  • don’t list God as a reference.
    Um, right. 
  • don’t drop the F-bomb.
    Do that after you’re hired.
  • don’t wear fragrance.
    It’s distracting from the conversation.

Job seekers are people — human beings — not robots.  Good and bad life events happen around us every day.  Recognize that.

If you work in HR, please — I beg you — learn about empathy.  It just might be you sitting in that candidate seat one day.

Bring it.

Some college “Career Services” are a joke

By Kimberly January 7, 2013 Career

indexI have twins attending excellent universities in Philadelphia.  But it was disappointing to see their resumes that were approved by the schools’ Career Services area.

After talking more with my kids about what the Career Services are providing, I’ve come to realize that it’s not much of anything useful. Where are the real-life tools they need to land a job after graduation — or even an internship for that matter?

Initially I thought it was my experience with only these two schools but it’s not.  My kids have sent their friends to reach out to me and take a look at their resumes.  Different schools — top-notch schools — are falling short to prep our students in this area.  I asked one gal what her Career Services department did to help with her resume and she told me they handed her a hard copy of a resume template.  That’s it!  And it was garbage.

In my conversations with these students I’m finding that not only are they not spending enough time on how to craft a solid resume and treat it as a working document throughout their careers, but they’re not touching on many of the fundamentals of networking and interviewing.  All but one student I spoke with didn’t know to research a company before the interview.  How much more basic can you get?

We’ve been in a job rut since 2008.  Experienced professionals are taking lower paying jobs to stay afloat financially.  People who have planned to retire can’t and are working longer.  With so many graduates each year, how will these students be able to get an edge so they can create their own career opportunities?

The students — our future — need the academic world to allow career and business professionals into the classroom to put these antiquated ideas in the grave.

It’s time for the professors to move aside and allow business leaders, hiring managers, career coaches and resume writers in the classrooms.  They can lay the foundation of covering all the critical areas of the job search:

  • how to craft a resume
  • how to write a concise yet meaningful cover letter
  • interviewing skills and fundamentals
  • networking basics — do’s and don’ts

I know so many intelligent and overall great young people who are getting ready to launch in May and I’m worried for them.

I know there has to be schools who are doing it right — I just wish there was a way for it to be universal.

If you have experience with colleges who are doing this right — please let me hear about it so I can have a glimmer of hope for our future.

10 years in your current role? You’re stale.

By Kimberly December 5, 2012 Career

And stagnant.  Your resume probably reads like a job description.

When recruiters and hiring managers stop being human, they’ll stop having biases.  Biases are all over the place, legal and illegal — we just don’t know about them.

My biases are centered on wanting to see candidates who have gotten bored in their roles and made the choice to move on.  Not because they were laid off and had to move on.  I’m looking for the folks who are hungry to do more — striving to be that rock-star with an organization.  (I broke my own rule there — I hate the word “rock-star.”  Sorry ’bout that.)

Now if you’ve spent 10 years with the same organization but have progressed within the company and held different roles — that’s good to see!  Please read carefully:

When you don’t step out of your comfort zone, you don’t grow. Period, end of story.

When you get too comfy in a job, that’s all it is — a job.  You show up for work every day, do what’s expected of you, don’t make waves and your bills get paid.  It’s all good.

Or is it?

It just shows that you can do what many Americans are already doing every day.  But as a prospective hiring manager I’ll take the liberty of stealing Ms. Jackson’s lyrics and ask you, “What have you done for me lately?“   Or what have you done for your current organization that you can bring to mine?  Can you show what your accomplishments are?  If you can, you’re on track.

You’re only as good as your last gig and the accomplishments under your belt within that gig.

Am I condoning job hopping?  No.  And my definition of job hopping might be different from yours.  I view job hopping as folks who change jobs within a one-year period.  I think people who change jobs every 2 to 3 years is a good sign.

Here’s why different job experiences are good for you:

  • You’re exposed to different working styles and personalities of several managers and co-workers.  
    This comes in handy when navigating the waters of corporate politics — which you will encounter at some point.
  • It’s good for your self-esteem and will keep you sharp within your industry. 
    When you bring your awesome talent to a new organization, you bring fresh eyes and new ideas.  They’ll appreciate that and you’ll feel valued because you’ll be valued.
  • Varied workplace environments give you the best education — experience. 
    You can be in the same occupation and industry but it doesn’t mean that every company does the same thing in the same way.  They don’t.  Learning new ways of doing your work and being more productive is always something you can build on with a new organization.  Staying at one place too long puts you in a silo and you risk being viewed as not being flexible or easily adaptable to change.  It’s no secret in business that the only thing that stays the same is CHANGE.
  • You can decide what types of companies you like to work in.
    Do you like big corporate organizations or do you prefer smaller companies?  Being exposed to several organizations that have different protocols will allow you to continue learning.  And while some employees never catch a glimpse of their company’s CEO, others can mosey on in to their CEO’s office and chat about the weekend.  You decide which one fits you best.
  • This goes for CEOs too. 
    Just because you’re the head honcho doesn’t mean you don’t get stale.  You do.  You can ride on the coattails of a successful project for only so long before you’ll be looked upon to come up with the company’s next big thing.  My personal bias is that CEOs should be flushed out every 5 to 7 years just for the perspective of bringing fresh eyes to the table.

Bring it.

 

 

Being CEO for a day

By Kimberly September 12, 2012 Career

If I had the opportunity to be the CEO for a day, I’d tell the entire organization to forget everything they know, have experienced or have been told about Human Resources. We’re going to focus on one thing — making work better! Making the employment experience what it’s supposed to be: mutually beneficial.

We spend more time at work than we do anywhere else. I have to believe that all organizations aspire to have people who want to come to work and to have their leadership embrace the effort it takes to make that happen. Yes, it’s a huge undertaking that would be time consuming, frustrating and require baby steps that focus on a consistent message which is simply, to make work better. I believe it’s possible and after all, this is my story!

So what does it mean to make work better?

It means we’d start by focusing on relationships — starting with one of the most important ones: managers and their teams. Managers who are not effective communicators or who may be uncomfortable confronting tough issues or being transparent will learn how to communicate effectively and productively. Since building good relationships obviously requires multiple people to work well together, employees will also learn how to be comfortable handling feedback and exchanging ideas with their managers and colleagues. All of this will be done face to face or via video chat. How many times have you heard someone say, “I didn’t like the tone of that email.” How many times have you had to run interference between a manager and a team member because of a preventable miscommunication that spiraled out of control?

We’re going to eliminate the annual performance review process completely!

Don’t worry, we’ll have ways to manage performance. We’ll focus on goals and we’ll start Feedback Sessions that will be more frequent, yet brief. Managers and teams will compare notes on the status of their goals, brainstorm about tools that address their individual growth areas, set new goals and provide a clear understanding of how the team’s success fits into the progress of the company. Yes, we need to know what needs to be said for effective feedback but it’s even more important to know “how” things need to be said.

We’re going to step up to the plate and hit a line drive with the empathy bat!

Employees and managers will do deep dives into understanding each others jobs. Employees will recognize what it takes for their managers to be successful and vice versa. Doesn’t it make a difference to work on a project when you know why the project is important and what the direct relevance that your success has on the goals of the company? It makes the difference between wanting to come to work and not wanting to come to work.

We’re going to gut the employee manual and focus on simplicity and common sense!

We’ll keep the legal stuff in there but we’re going to remove some of the dumbest employment policies I’ve ever seen — the ones that border on being inhuman — like telling people how many bereavement days they get based on how the company defines particular family members. I’ll never forget — I once worked with a young man whose parents were killed when he was a baby and he was raised by his aunt. But because his aunt was not defined as an “immediate family member” in the handbook, this man had to take most of his vacation time so he could grieve and make the necessary burial arrangements. You get the point. I digress.

Last but definitely not least. Everyone will leave their egos at the door.

Yes, everyone. Teams can’t be built and folks can’t collaborate when someone is always vying for the spotlight. Those who can’t handle that can make a graceful exit. I’ve always said that people don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers. And you can take that to the bank. Do you think someone who is unhappy at work is going to be helpful and friendly with coworkers and customers? That would be a resounding “no.”

When we improve our internal relationships, teach folks how to foster those relationships, treat people like adults and work in ways that are progressive and unconventional (think anti-Corporate America) everything else will fall into place — like client satisfaction and profitability. Wow, what a concept.

Happy to hear your thoughts.

Photo credit: UnconventionalHR

Also posted on Women of HR

 

Be credible or be quiet, please

By Kimberly September 1, 2012 Career

I came across an article on Salary.com called, 10 Things You Should Never Tell Your Boss.  The first page basically said something that I do believe in — we need to be aware that whether we like it or not, our actions can impact how we’re perceived and judged by others at work.

BUT, as I started scrolling through the article, I found some of the “things” listed in the article to be completely absurd and ridiculous!

While I agree there are certain parts of our lives that can be shared too much and leave ourselves open to unnecessary judgement, managers and employees are humans and life happens around us whether we like it or not.

There are life issues we can’t control such as illness, caring for our young and old, divorce, etc.  The last time I checked, there was no such thing as work-life balance and many progressive workplaces demonstrate and respect diversity and inclusion, empathy and are capable of being human with others.

Employees should not have to live under a veil of “shhh!” and fear being judged if they’re going through a serious personal issue.  At the end of the day, if an employee is adding value, most reasonable managers won’t judge someone’s personal life as indicated in this post.

That’s issue #1.

As I proceeded to check out the bio of the writer, I learned that she’s a self-employed freelance writer who writes about niche topics like weddings, gaming, pets, women’s issues, technology, home decor, travel and tourism, apartment living, and personal finance.  While that’s great, I’m trying to figure out how a freelance writer can be a credible source on how employees should, or should not behave in Corporate America.

That’s issue #2.

So before dropping her an email and asking about her experiences on this topic, I did something that Salary.com probably didn’t bother doing — a little due diligence.  I found the writer’s profile on LinkedIn and while it seems there is some work experience in an office environment (I’m speculating based on the name of the position) she’s been a freelance writer and student for the last 9 years.

As I shared the article and my objective opinion about both of these issues on Facebook, a colleague of mine read it left a comment that was so golden and heartfelt that I have to share it:

Sing it Kimberly!  This kind of insulting drivel might drive a little traffic to salary.com but anyone with two functional neurons can see how sick, misguided and backwards the advice is.  BRING YOURSELF TO WORK!

Gotta love that — bring YOURSELF to work!

Another colleague of mine got fired up and she reached out to the folks at Salary.com asking them to justify the qualification process for their writers.  This was the response she received:

We have dozens of contributors from different backgrounds. And they often disagree, because a lot of these issues are opinion-based. For instance, some of our writers advise people in job interviews to never bring up money first, while others say that can work to your advantage. Some of our resume experts advocate a 1-page resume, while others say that’s antiquated. I understand you don’t agree with a lot of the points made in this article, and that’s fine. You’re not alone. That’s why we have a comment section which often results in an illuminating and informative discussion that helps people even more.

Now that’s a generic response circumventing a direct question.  There is no process.

Doesn’t credibility matter when the writers you hire may not have relevant experience on the topic?  If it’s simply an opinion, say so.  I found it to be especially disappointing since Salary.com is a division of Kenexa — who has been around a long time and is a respectable staple in the HR tech world.

It’s impossible to know what the day-to-day management relationship is between Kenexa and Salary.com but from the outside looking in, Salary.com must be the  red-headed stepchild of Kenexa because I have no doubt that credibility matters to Kenexa.

Writers and subject matter experts are not synonymous.  It doesn’t even mean they have direct experience in what they’re writing about.  Do your own due diligence.

And if you’re a writer, please use credible sources; share your own experiences or state that you’re sharing your opinion.

It’s the right thing to do for readers.  My colleagues and I thank you in advance.  :)