| Topic Name: |
HR people suck |
| Message Name: |
internal hr viewpoint |
| Date Posted: |
12/30/1999 |
| In Reply To: |
OK - now let's talk reality. HR people neither hire or fire. But what they can do is block you from getting through to the people that do. If, for example they don't like something in your resume or cover letter they may conclude that you are 'not a suitable candidate' and your resume heads off to the garbage can under their desk. Whether or not any of you HR people out there want to hear this you guys are the GATEKEEPERS. You allow people to pass through the proverbial front door.
Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. So what should econodude do then? Simple - get around the gatekeepers. There are a number of books & websites that address this issue.
Investigate the department you are trying to get a job in. You can try some of the tricks that recruiters do: call the department you want to work for asking for someone named 'Sue' or 'Mike' or some other common name. When they say there's no one by that name you try to pick their brain about who the department manager is, and who you are talking to, and any other info that will help your investigation. Then try to approach the manager via telephone, e-mail, letter, or all. It's commonly known - and there are many authors that state this - that HR is commonly the last to know about a job opening. Therefore the trick to to get to those that actually offer the a salary, and shake your hand & say "you're hired".
Those wonderful people in HR are essentially bureaucrats. I have personally never met a bureaucrat that did anything for me. Get around them and you can get some place.
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| Message: |
Candidates should know that not all HR people are just 'gatekeepers'. In a lot of progressive workplaces hiring managers partner with internal hr managers and recruiters. In my company, I have equal decision power on rejecting or accepting a candidate.Also, in our company, department managers who are approached by candidates who attempt to go around the system like Sam is suggesting do not address that candidate at all, but instead direct that candidate back to guess who?Me. And usually those candidates do not receive any consideration at that point,because they already failed something as simple as following directions on where and who to contact in regard to applying for a position.
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