Any HR people here?

[alorrigan]

This is partly a rant but...

 

Do you ever answer your phones?

Do you ever read your email?

Why are you never in your office?

Do you ever actually do anything?

 

It's not the not getting a job that has been bothering me about my job search, it's the complete uselessness of HR people. My first job I called the HR person for a week and left messages. Nothing. Then I called another HR person there. He actually answered but said, "That's not really my department" and told me to call back in a week if I havn't heard anything. I never heard from anyone and tried calling him back. No answer. Tried calling the first person. No answer. Tried calling a third person. No answer. Gave up on the job.

 

Next job. Called and got an answer. Said they would call in a week or so to set up an interview. Waited two weeks and then called back. No answer. Talked to someone I know who works with this person and he said that they wouldn't be hiring that position for a while. NEXT DAY I get a letter in the mail thanking me for my interest but the offered the position to someone else.

 

Next job. Actually talked to the lady a few times. Had an interview. Called two weeks later. No answer. Called the next week. No answer. Just sent an email. Out of office till March 2.

 

Side not. My mom had some insurance questions at work. Went to HR person. HR person said my secretary would know more about that but she's out for the day.

 

For any HR people who read this, I'm sure you do a good job but why are the rest so lazy and incompetent? Or I am just dealing with the minority.

[hawing]

I'm not an HR person but I would like to comment on this thread...from home, tonight.

[Beerambassador]

Michael Scott...is that you?

 

Edit: Actually, I like the HR person for my company, but in general I've found HR to be useless. I read a finding a job book several years back and one of their first tips was to find ways to bypass HR if you really want a job. I've generally found this to be true if you can work it.

[Hammer]

You are not alone in the HR persons life. I had a job interview last week and was informed that I was one of 1400 resumes that had been submitted. These are some crazy times...

[Bankjob]

Wow tough crowd. I am an HR person have been for 6 years now since graduating college. The biggest point I an make is HR is not your personal "Crisis Hotline." We are not waiting 24 hours a day to answer your every need. Like every other person in the company we have a job to do, and not always a popular one.

If I were to put together an "HR hater" profile they are usually people who cannot solve there own problems and are looking for somebody to blame because there life is so much worse than everybody else's.

Now I am not a recruiter, but I have two of them with me in my building and they are on the phone as much as any sports agent or wall street trader. Besides that they get approximately 100 resumes for an open position and 70 of them are qualified for the job. If we phone interview 5 people there are 65 people who are qualified to do a job, perhaps just like you, who feel they are getting screwed over.

The reality is HR is a tool that each person either Management level or floor level staff should use as a tool and consider an asset. HR people do more behind the scenes for people and the company that 98% people will ever realise. And for all that you get about 5% of the staff that want to be Michael Scott's that think they are the most important person in the company and want someone to blame for there sorrow.

[Invader3K]

One thing to keep in mind, too, at least from my experience...a lot of "HR people" have more job duties than just fielding resumes and posting vacant positions. They could be occupied with other projects, because no one else in the company is designated for it, so it gets thrown on the HR person.

 

It's a tough time economically, like others said. I run a small company, and we're getting people sending us resumes, just looking for work, even though we don't even have openings right now.

[jazzytrav]

The reality is HR is a tool

 

Which side are you on again? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

I'll second Invader's post...HR usually has a lot of other jobs and they're usually understaffed in their own departments. I've never worked there myself, but in many of them they also do payroll and some training and answer our phone calls because when we can't figure something out, we call HR. Ideally, they are focusing more on keeping employees that they already have than finding new ones.

[Paul77]

This is partly a rant but...

 

Do you ever answer your phones?

Do you ever read your email?

Why are you never in your office?

Do you ever actually do anything?

I wish people realized how many phone calls and emails HR people and recruiters get every day. I left work today with 204 emails in my inbox - and those are just the ones that could wait another day. And it's not like I sat around twirling my thumbs all day either. I also don't think people have a true idea of just how many responsibilities HR covers.

 

And, not directing this at you or anyone in particular, but why is it that everyone who calls me thinks they are the only person I might possibly have to deal with that day? Why is it that everyone who calls me thinks that they are the only person looking for work? Or has a problem?

 

And, truly, I appreciate your frustration in your job search. I myself spent 7 months out of work before landing at my current company. It's no fun looking for work, I know. Good luck and I hope all goes well.

[alorrigan]

I guess what really set me off was some information I got about the first place recently. I know someone who works there and has been trying to get a different job there and has never once gotten a hold of someone there. She said that the HR department there is horrible. She's heard many complaints about them from other employees too, basically they just let the phone ring all day and won't answer it. I also heard from someone else who applied there that he first heard from them 3 months after he applied. He already had a job by the time they talked to him.

[tristarscoop]

I guess I feel like if a company is asking for resumes and there are a long list of rules that I must follow in order to apply and be seriously considered, the least said company can do is send a form postcard, email, or voicemail that let's me know where I stand. Prospective employers hold all the cards and it seems unnecessary to keep people dangling. I can handle rejection. I'm an adult. Just give me a straight answer, that's all.

[alorrigan]

I can handle rejection. I'm an adult. Just give me a straight answer, that's all.

Right there is all I'm looking for.

[JJHardy7]

I guess what really set me off was some information I got about the first place recently. I know someone who works there and has been trying to get a different job there and has never once gotten a hold of someone there. She said that the HR department there is horrible. She's heard many complaints about them from other employees too, basically they just let the phone ring all day and won't answer it. I also heard from someone else who applied there that he first heard from them 3 months after he applied. He already had a job by the time they talked to him.

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk...but why would you want to work at a place like this then?

[alorrigan]

I guess what really set me off was some information I got about the first place recently. I know someone who works there and has been trying to get a different job there and has never once gotten a hold of someone there. She said that the HR department there is horrible. She's heard many complaints about them from other employees too, basically they just let the phone ring all day and won't answer it. I also heard from someone else who applied there that he first heard from them 3 months after he applied. He already had a job by the time they talked to him.

 

I don't want to sound like a jerk...but why would you want to work at a place like this then?

I didn't want to before and I really don't want to know. There are just so few jobs available. Plus my Aunt works there and thought she could pull some strings. Oh yeah. She would get $2500 if they hired me because she referred me. Those are pretty much the only reasons.

[hawing]

OK, now that I'm at home I feel more at ease posting about HR.

 

I'm not an HR employee, but because I oversee more student employees than anyone else in my building, I am particularly dependent on our HR staff, and at certain times of year feel somewhat like a de facto HR person. Unfortunately, unfilled vacancies have decimated our HR office over the last few years, to the point where only three "permanent" FTEs remain, along with one LTE (temporary help). Our agency has maybe 125 permanent staff, and hundreds of LTE and student staff, so it's not an ideal ratio.

 

I know they're overwhelmed with obligations. I know that most if not all the rules they have to follow come from "above" (state or federal rules), so they aren't asking for a certain level of precision just for their entertainment. I have to enforce unpopular rules in my job too, and that part is no fun.

 

Unfortunately, our HR office has a history (which, to be fair, predates the incumbent staff) of tweaking procedures without notifying all affected staff, then acting like we are in the wrong when we follow what we thought were current procedures. After several years of this I began (courteously) asking in late summer, well before our September hiring period, whether there are any procedural changes for the new school year - and it's often like pulling teeth to get an answer. I know I contribute a lot to their workload every September, and as such I want to get my hiring done each fall with as little hassle to HR as possible, yet I sense resistance when I ask what I can do to make things more manageable for them. (I know they are aware of my attempts. One employee distributed to other supervisors of students an employment form checklist that I created!)

 

I think some of the issues in our HR office are personality-based. I have a good rapport with two of the four employees, but unfortunately the one whose help I need most often is not one of those two. The impression I get is that others have difficulty communicating with that person too. Complicating matters is that the supervisor for this office is often away, which I think is starting to wear on the front-line employees.

 

I could go on at length about some of the UW's HR staff (for hiring students), with whom I must also work, but this is already looking more like it belongs in the "What's bugging you" thread. I'll summarize:

 

I really do empathize with our HR staff and would never want to trade places with them, for a host of reasons. However, I don't think their workload, or the nature of their work, is an excuse for poor communication, particularly with colleagues who are trying to work with them. (I have to admit, I don't know that our HR office has a poor history of communicating with applicants. Of course, being a small state agency, we haven't exactly had many vacancies lately.)

 

Finally, speaking as a hirer of student employees, I can't imagine not following up with everyone who responds to the job ads I place. I put a lot of effort into making sure everyone hears something from us, even if it's not good news - and in September, that involves literally dozens of emails. I really try not to burn bridges with any applicant, since I never know when a student is going to up and quit mid-semester.

 

Maybe you can tell I didn't have the most productive day working with HR today. Sorry, everyone, but thanks for allowing one more vent in this thread.

[logan82]

In my experience, HR is one of the first areas to get cut and is generally run as thin as possible because it is not thought of as a "profit making center."

[hawing]

In my experience, HR is one of the first areas to get cut and is generally run as thin as possible because it is not thought of as a "profit making center."

Yeah, while there's not much "profit" in the public sector (at least not my small part of it), most cuts made at my employer over the last decade have been to administrative services functions (HR, financial, maintenance), in order to preserve the positions of professional staff who work with the public. My division has definitely been squeezed this decade, but I have to admit our losses pale in comparison to those absorbed by the relatively "behind the scenes" offices.

 

Still, under those circumstances I'd like to think they might appreciate colleagues who are at least trying to work with them. OK, I'm done.

[ewizabeff]

I've been a co-chair or communication lead on our professional search & screen committees at UWM for a few years now. When hiring season ramps up, I tend to shift my normal job responsibilities so I can devote at least 30-50% of my day to HR-related work. Screening resumes, communicating with applicants, scheduling interviews, publicizing the job....it takes A LOT of work, especially when you have to follow state procedures (as hawing knows). Right now we're hiring for 2 professional staff positions, and I anticipate that we'll get between 80-100 resumes for each one. Then the 6-person Search & Screen needs to read every single resume and complete an accompanying rubric. It's very time consuming.

 

But, in the end, every single applicant gets at least one email from me, no later than 3 weeks after they have applied. I'm just lucky my job allows me to devote that much time to the process.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

I don't want to sound like a jerk...but why would you want to work at a place like this then?

Amen. Experiences like that are a reflection on the company to which you are applying that allows things like that to happen, not on a particular field. A good organization understands what can possibly impact their reputation/brand/image and takes steps to ensure that those areas are managed properly.

[LouisEly]

While I would agree that HR has more than its share of people with personality issues, generally when it comes to resumes, screening, and setting up interviews, that is usually handled by recruiters. I don't know about other industries or companies, but generally in my industry during the hiring process HR usually just does or signs off on the background check, drug screen, etc., and the recruiters are the ones who are screening resumes and putting candidates forward for us to interview.

 

I would also recommend seeking out private recruiters - they get paid if they refer someone who gets hired, so they have a vested interest in finding you a job.

[Brewtacular]

Since some HR people may be reading this...question for you

 

I am looking to apply for a new position within my company, a large company. I will be applying through our online system. Would you still expect a cover letter?

[ewizabeff]

i always expect a cover letter. But I work in education....we like writing.

[Hammer]

I had one of the most frustrating happenings of my career this evening. While he is a sales manager, not an HR pro, the jerk that was making a decision on my future with his company said that he thought that I was not being truthful on my resume. Questioning my integrity is something that I do not take lightly and this really ticked me off (words that are more harsh could be substituted for "ticked" when you are reading this...). How can a man that has a VERY impressive resume be sure that more companies are not thinking this? I am 100% repulsed by the thought of him judging me to be a liar instead of a rock-solid, best of the best, sales professional. Rant over...

[LouisEly]

Hammer - the way you answer that is with this response:

 

"If I can prove to you that everything on my resume is 100% accurate, will you hire me?"

 

Trial closing always flushes out whether or not that is the real issue or if they are just blowing smoke up your dress to see how you respond.

[Hammer]

I was not quick enough to try that at the time as my blood pressure was probably high enough for a stroke. Being blind-sided on a Sunday evening makes the "smart" and "quick" answers/responses hard to come-up with.

[alorrigan]

More ranting material. I just sent an email to a place that I sent a resume, cover letter, and letters of recommendation to and guess what? Their Human Resources director is out of the office till March 9.

 

"Come work for Human Resources. You'll never feel like your at work, because you won't be!"