It occurred to me that 90% of my friends who work in Human Resources are looking for jobs.
- Could it be that all of my friends are nonperforming HR slackers?
- Has Corporate America been too focused on retaining the best & the brightest employees everywhere else except the HR department?
- Is this a case of the grass is always greener at the other company? I’m asking a simple question: are most HR jobs shitty by default?
If we can bring sexy back to HR, can we bring back respectability to our jobs? Can we be proud of our careers? Can we work in an environment free of nonsense and bureaucracy?
I think we can — but we’ll need to start from the beginning.
Are you a Human Resources pro who is looking for a job?
- Why are you looking?
- What sources are a waste of time?
- What kinds of HR jobs will you not accept?
We’re not victims, yo. We need to take back our jobs — like many of us who have marched to take back the night!
Take.
It.
Back.
I like your post - and my question to follow up - where are they looking? What’s working? Not working? Be good to have a finger on the pulse of the jobseeker and HR and get true feedback on the state of jobsearching today.
Are we too idealistic? I know every time I’ve gotten burned out and started looking to leave my employer, it’s because the gap between my hopes and reality was just too wide. It seems like that’s the case with my more super-star HR friends, too. Their hearts break a little too much and they have to move on, either due to something ugly we have to clean up, or continued lack of leadership, or just flat stupidity at the top.
Maybe I just hang out with a particularly idealistic crew, though.
Frannyo really summed it up great. What a good post.
I’m a recruiter, and I’m looking because I simply can’t afford to work here (in an agency) any more. The salary is far too low and we’re barely making our mortgage.
I don’t think it is specific to the HR industry. Ok, so I’m not US based, but still. If there is a common theme within in the world of work today it’s that people just don’t hang around in jobs long.
A job use to be for life, now it’s for 2-4 years.
Last October I finished my B.S.B.A. with a concentration in HR. Even with a little experience in the field and the degree I couldn’t find a job as an HR Admin Assistant making $11 an hour after a seven month search. I had to take a job as a general Admin Assistant which was fine but have been laid off since May. It’s brutal out there for someone like me who has a 20 year career history. I’m overqualified and too old (although no one would ever dare say that) for an general Admin Assistant position yet I’m not experienced enough to break into HR.
It is what it is.
Being in HR for twenty years now, I feel like our profession is at a BIG crossroads. With revenue pressure, due to the economic situation companies are looking at who delivers value and who does not. I am afraid many of my HR collegues are in the DO NOT deliver value column. I believe it is because we have not immersed ourselves in the business. I live in Atlanta and am very active in
the HR community, there are tons of people looking for work in HR mainly due to layoffs. So many times when we are discussing HR metrics, I no longer have that conversation with HR, I now speak to an Executive or Operations….why is that?
I was let go from my Generalist postion in January of 2008. My job, at a small organization, was outsourced to a PEO.
I’ve been looking for an HR job ever since. I network with former colleagues and other contacts. I cruise the usual websites we all cruise for jobs. I keep track of companies that are actually doing well, and seek employment there. I’ve been working, though not in HR just so I can keep my hand in the “business world,” and y’know, pay my bills. I have been on over 25 interviews since January. None have resulted in a job offer. None.
I have a BBA, my PHR, and plenty of experience. I’m great with numbers. I’m an awesome presenter. My computer skills are top notch. My references are excellent. I’m funny, smart, and dedicated.
Still, no one wants to hire me. There’s lots of reasons, I suppose. The economy is in the crapper, especially here in Michigan. There are a lot of very experienced people desperate for jobs. I interview well, but sometimes I put my foot in my mouth. I’m human.
So, where am I now? I’m temping at a gig that bores me to tears. I’m considering going back to school for a Master’s Degree in another field so that I can be more marketable. I’m in career limbo, and I am frustrated. In the meantime, I just keep pluggin’ away.
Laurie, I love what I do and my job too (I head up the HR function for a multinational corporation)…I hate some of the bull I have to deal with and even a few of those creating it, but in general I have a great gig, and it wasn’t always that way…I HAVE BEEN DOWN AND OUT AND CRAWLED MY WAY BACK TO THE TOP (so I am a little short on sympathy for those who have not gotten a little dirty fighting for what they want to achieve). You can make lemonade out of lemons as long as you know how much sugar to add…I think some HR exec’s look for convenient excuses…others have legit situations that force them to leave or look elsewhere…but change is something only you can control…change jobs, or change the approach to dealing with the one you have…excuses change nothing…
My Mom taught me at the age of 10 “If there is a will there is a way”- and she was right…So if you want it bad enough you need to be persistent, and creative…I have a career of people telling me I can’t achieve things…my parting advice is listen to yourself and drop the nay sayers…
Hey L,
A bit off topic here, but have you ever thought about putting a bulletin board (or link to one) on the site where readers could post punk rock HR articles, resources and stuff? I have this awesome article called “Kill HR Speak” that when I read I thought, “Damn, Laurs would totally love this.”
-B
Hey if I could perform more I would.
I’m looking for a new job because the place I am working is not a good fit for me in so many ways.
@Kelly I think you asked the million dollah question. What is the state of jobsearching for HR professionals, today?
@FrannyO Holy crap, I would hardly call you idealistic. You are pragmatic and savvy, yo.
@Bryan I’m telling you, the internet is powered by Baby Jesus because he brought FrannyO into my life.
@Amy Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Recruiting is so tough, right now.
@Rosie UR right. Lifetime employment no longer exists.
@Lisa I wonder if HR isn’t transforming into something else. What is it? That’s another million dollar question. I’d hire you in a heartbeat. You’re on the internet & reading HR blogs, which means that you’re more in touch than most of your competition.
@Cathy Maybe it means we’re doing something right — HR is a part of the way a company operates, so we no longer need traditional HR practitioners.
@Lisa Your story is not uncommon but I’m so sorry to hear it. Maybe HR as a function is becoming outmoded and the best HR practitioners aren’t fitting the old mold? I think a master’s degree is a good idea no matter what. If anything, it makes you a more educated woman.
@Mark I’m glad to hear abt your success. I’m also glad to see that you’re blogging about it!
@Bryan x2 Why aren’t you posting on the http://www.hrbloggers.com forum? You need to post it there & over 200 HR bloggers will see it!
@RachL Ach, we both know that performance is overrated.
@Lauri re@Bryan - and also with you.
Just in case our EVPofHR reads your blog I will state for the record that I am not looking. Baby on the way and great health insurance. Some of it depends on the type of HR you do, but if you are a true generalist/HR manager, there is a high burn out factor. We are fare more likely to be exposed to the worst of people – the investigations, the counselings, the office politics and the pedantic bureaucrats. And when we do get to see the other side - the pats on the back for the file, the bonuses and rewards, we are reminded that many of us work in a service department that is typically undervalued. As I said I am not actively looking, but I am coming up on the 5 year mark so I have given thought to why I would leave, and what could entice me. Most of the things that make me want to run screaming from the building I think are just part of the biz. I already tried a mid stream career change (I was a good teacher, but sucked at being poor), so unless I win the lottery or become a best selling novelist, I am going to focus on non-industry specifics items. 1. Commute, I current drive an hour each way. I want 15 minutes or less, and would not likely consider anything over 30. 2. Upward mobility, eventually I will want the top spot or at least the top HR spot. 3. Money – who really think they are paid what they are worth… Pipedream stuff: regular telecommute day, 4 day work week, a quality espresso machine or preferably an in house barista, very relaxed dress code – I want to work in pajamas.
@Corey You hit all the right notes, and yes, being rich and working in pajamas is the best. PS — I was a good teacher, too, but I also hated being poor. I also hated the concept of teaching Shakespeare to teenagers before 9AM. Something is wrong with that.
I was lucky in the Shakespeare department. I had some brilliant kids that really managed to get into “Hamlet”. Now “Waiting for Godot” was like pulling teeth. If I ever do win the lottery and end up teaching 12th grade English Lit again, I’m sticking with “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” for my Theatre of the Absurd module.
I cannot wait to see Hamlet 2 for a whole host of reasons.