A question from a student of Human Resources.
For the record, I’m speaking to HR students at SHRM10 in San Diego. I still don’t know what I will say.
Hey Laurie,
This has been bugging me for awhile, and you seem like the kind of person who’d know something about this. I’m currently a student, majoring in HR. Whenever I tell someone this, they get this weird look on their face, and sometimes even flat out say “Why? You hate people.” Okay, I’ll admit I’m not the most social person, and I don’t go work actively trying to be BFFs with everyone in the office. I don’t like schmoozing people, and I hate office fakery and other various forms of BS. But I do have a strong sense of right and wrong and fair and unfair, and I thrive under the weight of legalese and sifting through resumes and reading whether or not someone is trying to smooth over a shaky past in an interview.
I don’t know what the various “HR stereotypes” are, but is everyone right? Am I completely unsuited for Human Resources?
My good friend, you are perfectly suited to Human Resources in the 1980s and 1990s; however, the future HR has nothing to do with interviews, office politics, and legalese.
I’ve written about this before, but I believe that smart companies are on a trajectory towards efficiency and standardization. They are reinventing HR in the name of reducing costs, and here is what’s happening.
- Compliance issues are moving to legal,
- employment branding becomes a function of marketing,
- and recruiting is the foremost responsibility of line managers who are expected to stay current in their industry and source from their own social communities. They are partnered with recruitment advisors to complete the internal hiring process.
The traditional HR generalist will move from all things ‘human resources’ to a professional advisor, coach, and project manager who focuses on connecting the business leader to the people-related service provider. There will be no more talk of advocacy for employees in the workforce because employees will all be treated like temporary workers and independent contractors. The management of benefits and compensation plans will continue to be outsourced. If some form of public healthcare is offered to American workers, most organizations will get out of the business of underwriting healthcare and they will focus on profitability. (Can you blame them?)
So it doesn’t matter if you hate people or not. It doesn’t matter if you thrive on legalese. That part of HR has been irrelevant for 15 years.
The future of HR is evolving, so you have two options: get some real skills (law degree, experience in auditing, internship in operations or marketing) or get ready to take your HR expertise and become a blogger in about 12 years.
I’d recommend a law degree.
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Yes to what Laurie said, and I’m going to be a little harsh. Anon student reader wrote, “I do have a strong sense of right and wrong and fair and unfair…”
Pretty much everyone who hasn’t worked for a living has this. It’s called childish self-righteousness, and it is the first thing that needs to go if you ever plan to be anything other than a thorn in a potential employer’s side.
Or, I don’t know, maybe become an activist, nun, or priest. But that’s more a lifestyle choice than a job job.
HARSH!
employment law….good option…
M
@Frannyo, Working in Human Services, I can say you’re absolutely right. 95% of the time (so far; I’m new) I’m ok, but there are times when I come across someone obviously trying to scam the system or whose existence simply shouldn’t be because of how they treat us. Or when they start to yell at us because we can’t give them something they insist they’re “entitled” to. That’s hard to deal with when you have to comply with the law and your superiors insisting it’s not our place to judge and we must treat them with respect, especially when you know that that’s part of your job. Especially when they threaten you.
On the other hand, taking my morals out of the equation makes my job easier. Right or wrong, I can follow protocol and the law instead of trying to figure out whether or not every person I come across is a cheat.
Wanted to mention another option – not that having a law degree isn’t an awesome one….
But I have some experience in compliance, and also thrive on the same kind of research/investigation/problem solving as Anon Student does.
If a law degree (or being general counsel at a company) isn’t palatable, being a paralegal may be another choice.
Because many schools offer a paralegal certificate it’s not always given the respect it deserves, but a degree or certification from a great school is really valuable, and GOOD paralegals are in high demand.
Also, once you’re at a company as a paralegal? Then you may have an opportunity to have THEM help w/tuition reimbursement while you achieve your JD. You can have any number of bachelors’ degree as a foundation for your JD.
Jes’ sayin’.
Actually, I was just being kinda provocative, but let me elaborate. It has been my experience that the two worst kinds of new HR pros are either social justice superhero wannabes or “people persons.” Both are in for a whole lot of heartache, and may cause as many problems as they resolve, while working through to a more measured and even-tempered approach to resolving HR issues. (I was both at one point or another.)
I’ve learned that there are at least three sides to every story, and that lots of times, employees who are obsessed with “fair” turn a blind eye to either company need or their own advantages. Other than outright discrimination or what have you, beware of getting too caught up in day-to-day employee issues. You’ll never help the company get where it wants to go and none of it will matter because everyone will be so focused on internal matters that the company can go under and then they’ll all be out of a job anyway.
As far as the student who wrote in, you could do lots of things – but my personal best advice is to get your hands dirty, put yourself in the way of lots of work experience, whether fair/pleasant or not, invite people you respect to lunch and listen to what they have to say about work in general and your work in particular, and let things evolve. It could be as a paralegal, or as a comp/benefits tech, or as a workers comp/EHS pro – something involving more technical work and fewer interactions. But all professional work these days involves sales/convincing people and strong relationships to one degree or another, no matter how technical the job.
Don’t forget there is another half of HR that isn’t about policy, benefits and payroll- training and organizational development!
@FrannyO You should teach a master class in HR. I think your second comment is brilliant.
@Breanne Ah, f-k training and OD. Those chumps can learn on their own.
@Patrick I love the paralegal advice — and some of those paralegals make more than HR pros. Wait — some??? — I mean most.
@Mark F There’s no shortage of people looking to sue corporations.
@econopete You are a saint for working in human services. Don’t let it make you cynical.
maybe become an activist, nun, or priest.
Except the last person I want giving the homily on Sunday is someone who has been told he “hates people.”
Laurie you make a good point about where the smart companies are going and I agree. However let’s remember there’s a whole lotta dumb companies out there too.
Anon student, if you enter the work world and find yourself in a dumb company who is still doing HR the old way- use your spare time to develop your skill sets in other areas. Law and marketing are both good choices. Also use that time to make sure you are getting runs on the board to get your next awesome job in a smart company
Jess
@Jess Very few smart companies out there. I think we should all look for our next job. Always.
@TGD I don’t listen to homilies. #fact
Great post Laurie – I love where you see HR heading! Things are definately changing out there and I think great things are in store for HR!
I’ve featured your post in my weekly Rainmaker ‘Fab Five’ blog picks of the week (found here: http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2010/02/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week-3.html) to share your response and your vision for HR.
Be well!
@Laurie: Don’t worry, women already did that for me
Okay, I lied, there are a lot of guys who did too. I’m an equal opportunity cynic, despite the difficulties it presents.
I’m going to disagree with some of my fellow HR Professionals here. Most companies don’t have an in house counsel and if they do, they often aren’t employment practice focused. For most of us, understanding employment law is an essential part of our job. That job is to get the most out of our companies human Resources; not understanding how those resources can and cannot be utilized is a quick road to failure. Know your contracts if applicable (government/union/employment…) and know your State & Federal laws.
It sounds like your not saying you don’t like people, your just saying you didn’t like the political BS. That is OK. Would it be easier if you did, of course. We are social creatures, being able to understand and work social forces is to your advantage in most professions. But you can be successful without being Joe/Joeann schmoozer. Now if you said, you don’t like people, HR is not for you. Now before I get slammed/flamed I’m not saying someone should go into HR BECAUSE they ARE a people person, in fact that often shows they have no real understanding of HR. But not liking people is a different story. Most HR jobs you are interacting with people all day long, if you disdain interacting with people you might want to rethink HR as a profession, but that doesn’t sound like it is the case.
The whole right and wrong thing… Bottom line, your job in HR is to represent the company. But those ideas don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Companies need to people to function. As Laurie suggested many companies will take the turn and burn approach, but many others won’t. Right now it is an employers market but it is all cyclical.
@Lauie, In my experience, at least in the DC area, paralegals don’t make as much as HR pros. But he/she will have to due the research for his/her area. As for law school, I never recommend it to anyone unless they have a good idea what to do with it. It is an incredibly expensive degree, and not exceptionally marketable.
My suggestion, make your best guess at your long term career goals and then decide the best way to get there. Just remember to have enough flexibility to realize that you and that goal will likely change along the way.
I may be echoing a bit of what has been said, but would have to definitely agree with the role of HR changing.
I believe HR has a huge pull over corporate branding. So having a marketing background is definitely beneficial internally and externally. HR needs to create demand for internal initiatives, and make the company appealing to future applicants.
The fact that we are blogging is good testament to that.
Everything we do is touched, tainted and stained by compliance issues. That being said, including some law courses into the core HR cirriculum is a good idea. And we need to elevate the profession to at least the paralegal professional status and demand that HR professionals be certified and licensed to practice the trade, so to speak.
HR is a career you advance into, not drop into when there is nothing else left.