Blog Post: Why Human Resources Cannot Hire Management, Professional or Technical People.

UPOMING JOB SEARCH CLASS!  Before I make every HR person on the face of the planet hate me, I’d like to let you know about our upcoming class on Finding a Job in Difficult Times.  Due to the overwhelming response, which caused us to have to turn people away on January 16 th , we are repeating the class on Monday, February 2, 2009 , from 10 AM – 2 PM at the Jobing.com Community Spirit Room, 14 th & Speer, Denver, CO.  We’ll be discussing how to use Jobing.com most effectively, how to work Job Fairs (preparing you for Jobing’s job fair on February 5 th ), how to network, find the hidden jobs, write a winning résumé, and interview to get the job.  To register you must send name, current or past title, and cell phone number with REGISTER in the subject line to info@heckersdevgroup.com.  No other email address will register you!  The email address given is an auto-response address which will send you information automatically.  Contact me at the email address at the end of this blog is you have questions, but you still must register at info@heckersdevgroup.com.  This class is for white collar workers only.  We cannot assist administrative assistants, factory workers, laborers, etc.  Those who should register should have titles like “Programmer,” “Analyst,” “Director,” “Manager,” “Engineer,” “Financial services,” “Banker,” “Architect,” “Business development,” “Sales,” “Accounting,” and so on.  In other words, what might be called Management, professional, office workers, technical people, health care professionals, and so on.  Among other things, we’re going to teach people how to get around HR and talk to decision makers…HR people take note.

Having said that about the class topic, let’s get started making every HR person in Denver (and far-away places) stick pins in little John Heckers dolls.  Please make the dolls at least a good likeness, folks.

HR is usually a great way to delay getting a job.  Personnel cannot say “yes,” unless you’re another HR person, or someone pretty far down the company org chart.  They can pass you on to the next step, or they can stop you cold, but they aren’t the “yes” decision makers.  It is these people you must reach directly in order to get employed before next Christmas (or whatever other holiday you like).

HR has many great functions.  They exist to do employee relations, benefits, keep people from suing the company, make sure that the company complies with the 4,503,894 stupid government regulations, act to equalize power between management and staff, act as an advocate for both management and employees, administer company policy, work on Worker’s Compensation, ADA, FMLA, and other claims, and do a plethora of other valuable things.  You’d think with all of this that they’d concentrate on these things, which they do best, and stick only to hiring lower-level personnel, which they are also OK at.  What they really don’t do well is deal with hiring management, technical, professional, and other higher-level workers.

HR people tend to be rules followers and rules-based.  They like to tick off boxes so far as qualifications go.  This is fine for a forklift driver.  What HR doesn’t “get” is that this is not how management, professional and technical people are hired.  Most HR people don’t have a clue about what technical people actually do, so they’re following a list from IT or whatever, listing programs and duties.  But these things are often interchangeable, and HR just doesn’t understand.  Nor should they.  No good IT manager or Engineering manager gives HR the right to hire a technical person unless they’re forced to by company management acting idiotic.  Every good technical manager wants to hire his or her own people.

When we get to management and professional people, it is less about “qualifications,” and almost all about “fit” and “click.”  The qualifications-oriented HR doesn’t get that, if someone doesn’t have the exact qualifications, but have a fit, some people can be moved around.  HR has no business whatsoever doing anything with upper-level people except explaining benefits to them and having them fill out the paperwork.

But HR loves to “empire-build.”  They really do have a mindset that says that everything in the company should pass through HR. They scare management with the specter of lawsuits and EEOC investigations if HR isn’t acting as a constant watchdog.  Hooey!  A good manager is well trained in avoiding discriminatory situations and obeying the law.  We all have had it pounded into our heads for years…mostly by HR doing one of their valid functions, which is corporate training.

So, to actually get employed, you need to get around these folks.  Next post, I’ll tell you some great tricks and tips for bypassing HR and actually getting to the decision makers, even in these very difficult times.  Especially in these difficult times, it is essential to bypass the gatekeepers and talk to someone who will hire you, leapfrogging over those who follow the ticky and unnecessary corporate rules.

John Heckers, MA, CPC , BCPC, currently in hiding from the HR Hit Squad, is a transition coach with over 28 years of experience helping people with their careers.  He practices in Cherry Creek , Colorado .  John welcomes your emails at jheckers@heckdersdevgroup.com.  If you’d like to have an appointment with John or Nicole Heckers, please contact Nicole Heckers, MA, BCPC, at nheckers@heckersdevgroup.com.  See John ’s other blogs at http://executiveexpert.blogspot.com and http://employmentskills.blogspot.com.  Also read John ’s column at www.Cobizmag.com.   Nicole ’s life coaching column can be read at http://asaeadvice.blogspot.com.   PLEASE do NOT attempt to register for the Free Class on February 2 at ANY of these email addresses!!  Register ONLY at info@heckersdevgroup.com!