By Kelly Stone
There is a scene in the movie "The Princess Bride" where the hero tries to
storm a castle guarded by sixty men. The hero is incapacitated, of course,
and has no weapons whatsoever. Nevertheless, the hero prevails with the use
of a cunning plan meant to fool and disperse the guards. The hero knows that
if he can get past the guards, he can surely work magic once inside the
castle.
The job seeker working through the HR channels of a company faces the same
challenge.
When approaching any organization with a Human Resources Department, the job
seeker should think of the HR personnel as the guards at the castle. Their
job is to keep those inside the company in and to keep those outside the
company out. While HR can be a useful and helpful resource while inside the
company, they are an obstacle to anyone on the outside looking to get in.
The best way to deal with HR is to have a cunning plan that is meant to fool
and disperse them too.
What Part of "No" Don't You Understand?
There are several reasons for this. The first of which is that HR has no
authority that is useful to the job seeker. All of their power lies within
the word "no". They cannot say "yes"- even if they like you. The best they
can do is to pass you on to someone else that may have the actual power to
hire you. This is like having a financial advisor tell you to put your
savings in an investment that at best can break even and at worst could cost
you everything.
The HR person screening job applicants does not view a job seeker with the
same eye as the actual hiring authority. They can't. Rarely will a Human
Resource professional know the intricate details of a job or have an
understanding of how intangible attributes like attitude and capability
contribute to potential job performance. Only a manager with experience on
the job can identify these things in a job candidate.
HR knows how to read a job description and they know how to make a fit along
black-and-white lines of qualification. But, being a third party, they lack
a feel for the chemistry or nuance an individual might bring to a team or a
project. If they follow a hiring guideline that requires applicants to have
five years of experience, the HR screener will send anyone with less than
that packing-regardless of other talents or intangibles that would prove
beneficial to the company.
Proactive Efforts Die in Human Resources
The Human Resource departments of many companies operate on processes. It is
their job to move people in and out. It is NOT their job to engage in
strategic planning, company vision or even performance management like those
that make actual hiring decisions.
A job opening in a company is merely another task in a process they manage.
If a job opening is posted, they screen you. If there is not an opening,
they file you away. Either way, the answer is usually "don't call us, we'll
call you" as they work to complete the process from their end.
The networking efforts of a job seeker with a company are rarely successful
when working through the Human Resources Department. They rarely have
information that can prove useful when exploring career options. What
information they do have they hold confidential for fear of legal
repercussions. They view job seekers and potential employees strictly along
the lines of what the processes are that either brings them in or takes them
out of the company.
A hiring manager, on the other hand, has not only the authority but also the
sense of urgency necessary to meet company objectives. They network too. If
a need arises or is anticipated, the hiring manager will network to fill
future positions long before HR is even aware of the opportunity. In fact,
HR is often the last call they make when their networking efforts fall short
of meeting their needs.
In many cases, anticipated needs are rarely pursued through HR because they
depend upon numerous processes to meet the expectations placed upon them.
There is a budget process, an approval process, a posting process, and a
screening process that all take place before they kick in the hiring
process.
What Job Seekers Can Do
Avoid them. Go around them. Plan to introduce yourself to HR only when you
show up to fill out the paperwork once you are hired.
There are many ways this is done. It is commonly known as networking and it
is the single most effective way of finding a job. Over 80% of all jobs are
never advertised because they are filled through the networking efforts of
job seekers and hiring managers. Here is one way to do it:
Find Out Who The Hiring Manager Is
If you do not know the name of the person with the hiring authority for the
job you seek, find out by calling the company and asking. Sometimes, they
may not openly provide that information over the phone. Explain to the
receptionist that you have a letter to send to that person and need a proper
spelling of their name and a correct address. Getting this information is
quite easy once you learn to practice confident delivery over the phone of
what you need.
Write An Introductory Letter
Start the conversation by crafting a letter indicating who you are and the
need you have for information. Do not ask for a job or send your resume. Ask
for an appointment to get advice about your career field and to discuss
where to get more information concerning your goals. Recognize them as an
expert that can provide you with the information you need to further your
research.
Set Up A Meeting
Follow up the letter with a personal phone call. Speak only to the person to
whom you addressed the letter. If you get a voicemail or a receptionist
taking a message indicate that you will be calling back. Once contact is
made, re-affirm what was written in the letter by indicating your need for
guidance.
Seek Information Only
Be honest-don't bring out your resume and ask for a job. Keep your meeting
short and to the point. Indicate again that you seek only information that
they can provide that is useful to your career research. Ask about their
personal career development and what they would advise of one in your
position. Let them do the majority of the talking. Ask for further contacts
or sources of information. Take copious notes. Feel free to discuss the
needs of the company if the opportunity presents itself.
Follow Up
Send a letter thanking them for the opportunity to meet. Indicate an
interest to maintain contact while you continue your career research. Do not
abuse the contact by repeated calls but maintain casual correspondence.
A job search approached in this fashion takes some time and effort. But it
is far more efficient and far less frustrating then wading through newspaper
classifieds and waiting for the inevitable "Dear Applicant" letter from an
HR department.
Scott Adams "Dilbert" comic strip features a character known as Catbert, the
Evil HR Director. As you can imagine, the Human Resource side of business
is harpooned with regularity. Whether you take it to be art imitating life
or an exaggeration of how things really are, do not fault HR personnel for
treating you like they do. It is merely the nature of their work. The job
seeker looking to work smart will understand that it is harder work going
through HR to get the job. It is smarter to work around them where you can.
-- Kelly Stone is the Content Engineer for
myjobsearch.com, publishers of the largest career resource directory
on the Internet. Kelly has served job seekers for years as a career
counselor and has facilitated many job search and hiring seminars for the
careers industry.
