June 2011 Archives

Finding Work within the Human Resources Field

This may seem daunting, especially if you have little to no experience. My suggestion is to work your way up the ladder. Take any role you can grab within HR, generally this would include HR Coordinator, HR Assistant and the likes. The point is to get into the HR department and prove your worth. Once there, take on projects, ask questions, again‐ become a sponge of information.

If you are currently working for a large corporation, check the internal jobs listings and see if there is an opening. If not, don't let that stop you. Speak to those in HR, tell them your interest - they are there to help and usually HR in inundated with work. Finding a person who has an interest in HR and takes the initiative to develop that interest will not likely go unnoticed. You may just find yourself working in the HR department sooner than you think.

Lastly ‐ another great tactic for landing your dream job, whether it be in HR or not, is by networking. If you are a student, reach out to companies of interest and request an internship within an HR department. If you are a career‐changer, use the networks you have built to market yourself.

Listen, Learn, Take the Initiative and Be Passionate. These steps can lead you to a satisfying, lucrative and important career in HR.

Analysts predicts an increase in the number of HR jobs within the next few years. HR is a rewarding, important and a potentially lucrative career that is capturing the interest of both students and career‐ changers. Here is part 1 of ways to break into HR

Education, Certification and/or Training

Getting or continuing your education is the best way to get noticed and started in HR. There are numerous ways of going about this, whether it is the traditional route of getting your bachelors in HR management, taking online classes, or taking it a step further and going to graduate school if you are hoping to land a managerial role.

In addition to a degree, you can also obtain certifications for further specialization. This is particularly suitable for those wanting to break into HR, but have a degree and experience in a different field.

Online training courses are provides another option to learn what you need to be successful in HR. A course like the one we offer, Braathe Enterprises 8 week HR course, is just one of many you can find online. Choose one that fits with your lifestyle. Either way, furthering your education and learning as much as you can in HR practices and policies is an excellent way to pave the road into HR.

I attended a very engaging breakfast this morning as a member of The Consulting Alliance.

Leading the discussion today was Bill Polk, whose topic for the day was "Is This Still Where We Want to Be Going?"

In today's session, Bill went over some basic charts we could use to help us track the time we use, where we want to be, and how we can manage our time and resources better. I found this talk to be very invigorating for me, as it helped me realize where to focus my time, scope and cost resources.

One of the quotes Bill used for today was also very enlightening.

"Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life." Mary Oliver

How will you plan differently with your precious resources?

I asked my nephew he knew the difference between a weirdo and a creep. He (for once), didn't have a witty answer for me. I told him a weirdo is someone who thinks differently, has an edge, and is memorable, whereas a creep is someone who makes us feel uncomfortable when they are around and does things that are a little too weird.

Are you a weirdo or a creep with your potential (or current) customers? What can you do to have an edge but not make people feel uncomfortable? Is what you write, say, and do in line with the expectations of others?

A question I've seen asked often in my time has been "What should I do next with my business?" or "What should change my business model to?" If you are a weirdo, you don't have to worry about those things, but if you are a creep, you have bigger things to worry about.

Being different is fine, but if you are looking at your business results and they seem to be not where they should be, you might be a creep! Although the economy, technology changes and more may be to blame, people who generally are likable, kind, and are memorable can ride the tide of change.

It may be gut check time. Turn up the weird in you and turn down the creep, and see how your business performs.

Here's my idea for MLB realignment. I'd love to hear from baseball fans; let me know what you think. I think baseball should add a National League team in Boston (the market can certainly support another team) and an American League team in Omaha, Nebraska or a similar Mid-South market. There would be 4 division winners (no wild-card) and some more natural rivalries if Houston and Tampa swap leagues and if Colorado moves to American League West.

This would cut down on travel time and create some more natural rivalries between franchises. It would keep the DH in the American League and still allow interleague play on a limited basis similar to the current setup.

Each team would play 21 games against each team in their division (63 games), 7 games against each team in the other league divisions (84 games), and 15 interleague games.

American League East - Yankees, Red Sox, Baltimore, Toronto

American League Central - White Sox, Minnesota, Detroit, Cleveland

American League Mid-South - Kansas City, Omaha Expansion, Texas, Houston

American League West - Seattle, Colorado, Oakland, LA Angels

National League East - Mets, Boston Expansion Team, Philly, Pittsburgh

National League Central - Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Cubs

National League Mid-South - Atlanta, Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay

National League West - LA Dodgers, San Diego, Arizona, San Francisco

We may face disappointment at work with those who work with us or for us. It's important to separate the disappointment from the person themselves, but sometimes it's just as important to remember what an old friend told me once about putting too much stock in people too early.

"Think of who he(she) is, and what you've made them out to be."

Very often, we "appoint" people to greater roles and responsibilities in our lives than they want or that they can handle. By "dis-appointing" people from critical roles in our life or workplace, we can give them a greater benefit of the doubt and trust others more. By counting on more than one person for similar responsibilities, it can become possible to have more people to rely on and less people to be disappointed in.

by Evelyn Amaro

You have just finished writing your resume and you are now off into the scary world of internet job hunting. You head straight for the biggest online career websites (ex: Monster, Dice, etc...), and upload your resume. You feel confident that your future employer is out there and will soon see your resume. Soon the two of you will start a wonderful career partnership that all started with the click of a button. What you do not realize is that there are hidden dangers in posting your resume on the web that can be detrimental to your jobs search. Here are some tips to help you avoid these common mistakes.

1. Remove all contact information when posting a resume on the web. This is by far the easiest to avoid and the most detrimental mistake you could make while internet job hunting. Let's run through some reasons why.

A) Run‐of‐the‐mill recruiters. What low‐end recruiters do is scan the job boards for potential candidates and send their resumes to their clients without your permission. It may seem harmless, but it could ruin your credibility and desirability in the job market. Imagine this scenario: You are a hiring manager looking to hire a candidate. You see the resume of John Doe and you think, "This guy could be a potential candidate for the job." You put him in your yes pile and continue through the resumes. To your surprise, there is John Doe again from a different source - what a coincidence. After a few more emails, guess who turns up for another visit? Yes, it is John Doe. You decide this person is desperate or only interested in finding a job, not in your job. You go back to the yes pile, take out Mr. John Doe's resume and toss it. Do you see why this is a problem now? It removes all credibility. Always remove your contact information and recruiters will be forced to contact you if they want to present you to their clients.

B) Ease of Information - Information is so easy to get and this is true more than ever in the job market. Let's take the hiring manager scenario again. You are a hiring manager and have finished going through all of the resumes for your role. You take the yes pile and start to sort through your potential candidates. You take Ms. X's resume and notice an email address. You punch it into Google and lo and behold, there are tons of links to her various social media site. Intrigued, you click on her Facebook link and right before your eyes are various pictures of Ms. X's drunken party night and a status saying that she is at work exhausted from her night of partying. You, as the hiring manager, think "Seems like a great girl to party with, but do I really want an employee who is a party girl and may come to work drunk regularly?" The answer is no. I admit this example is a little extreme, but the general concept is quite true. Employers look at social media sites and the easiest way to tell if the employee whose resume is on your desk is the same one with the party pictures on your screen is through their contact information. This leads me to step 2.

2. Job Hunting Email Address ‐ Reserving an email address dedicated solely to job hunting will avoid the pitfalls that social media has on your job hunting endeavors. If an employer searches that email address, your name will come up clean. Now you can sigh in relief.

3. Track Everything - Keep track of who and where you send your resume. As in point A, you want to keep your credibility intact and you want to keep in contact with those you've met through the interview process (the joys of LinkedIn). You never know when you may come across these people (HR, Managers, and Recruiter) and where your connections could lead you.

My old roommate used to come home from work, eat a pizza, and then call our friend down the hall. It was such a routine that one day I just pretended I was a voice in his head and said "I ate a pizza, now I'm gonna call her." We both got a good laugh and it became a game we played called "The Voice" where we'd guess what everyone around us was thinking at the time.

The workplace, similarly, can be very predictable; however, its important that when we become predictable in the workplace, it is for good reasons. Lateness, lack of productivity, lack of customer service aren't things we should become predictable for.

How do you become less predictable at work? Wow always, not just at the time the boss is around or when its time for a raise. Similarly, as leaders, getting stressed out when a district manager or senior management comes around can really wear on staff.

Shoot for less predictability at work.

You can still enjoy your pizza and then call her if you want, though.

t's that time of year again where it's time to rethink your resume.

If you submit your resume to me between now and 7pm on 6/16, I'll share some feedback with you on it for free and get that feedback back to you by next Friday the 17th.

As well, if you live in Saratoga Springs, stop by my office between 4-7pm this Thursday at 12 Circular ST for some advice on job search and careers. Also, you can find out about some of our online and face to face classes in business.

robert@galaconcierge.com

Look forward to helping many of you take that next step to a great new job or promotion!

Robert

http://www.braatheenterprises.com

One of my most vivid memories from graduate school was when Dr. Tesch told our HR class emphatically that "External motivators destroy internal motivators." We heard this several times throughout the semester, and it resonates with me to this day.

How many times do we see employees who work hard to impress a particular boss or because they have been assigned a specific goal, but when the goals or the boss goes away, so does the motivation?

It's critical to be internally motivated in order to reach our true potential; there's only so much money, a cheering crowd, or a boss barking orders can do to motivate an employee. Each of us needs to find what it truly is that we care about in order to truly stay motivated.

What do you do to stay motivated?

One of the great resources I've turned to for both academic and professional advice in HR (as well as to stay on top of trends) has been Smartbrief

A variety of free digests on the latest news and trends are available from Smartbrief, including Workforce, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, and more.

See an excerpt below from one of their digests.

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Why it's a bad idea to cut back on benefits

Good benefits and other nonmonetary incentives are the most important factors for attracting, retaining and engaging top workers, according to a study from the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. Even small additional benefits play a role in keeping employees happy and increasing the perception of a business as employee-focused. The study also found that employees who say their benefits were effectively communicated had higher levels of engagement and loyalty. BusinessNewsDaily.com

I'm offering a comprehensive Project Management online training program with real-time webinars and/or face to face meetings for those interested in satisfying the 35 hours of training/education required as part of the PMP exam process. The course can be completed in as little as eight weeks and portions are personalized to each student.

My first student began this week on her project management coursework. Covering all aspects of project management, this book utilizes a great text from Kathy Schwalbe and incorporates the formulation of an actual project plan by each participant, as well as a practice exam to prepare you for taking certification exams.

Here is the info on the book I am using from Amazon

"Best-selling author Kathy Schwalbe's Introduction to Project Management, Second Edition offers a general yet concise introduction to project management. This book provides up-to- date information on how good project, program, and portfolio management can help you achieve organizational success. It includes over 50 samples of tools and techniques applied to one large project, and is suitable for all majors, including business, engineering, healthcare, and more. This text uses a chronological approach to project management, with detailed explanations and examples for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing projects."

To sign up for this class, email us at info@saratogacollege.org

A few years ago I proposed a "hot air" tax on customers who carried on conversations on their cell phones while paying for their purchase or who made a stink in the store for no reason other than to hear their own voice. I was told by my colleagues (who did think it was a funny concept) that it probably violated free speech to tax people for hot air.

With that said, I think imposing a limit on the "hot air" we put out in the workplace can create a healthier work environment that has more candor and class than others. Very often, managers will create change for the sake of it rather than for any need, and often will criticize or give feedback where it isn't necessary.

Do with your actions and your looks what your words can't quite say; sometimes a simple gesture or look will get the same point across without bringing down the morale of the entire team.