J.T. O’Donnell, founder and CEO at Work It Daily, as in Inc. said that human resources (HR) leaders is not a career coach. They are not your friend and you might need to sort out what you want to reveal to them. Although HR technically plays as support team available to serve employees’ needs, their main purpose is to ensure workers’ stable performance and strong loyalty to company.
“Some employees might think that HR is place to talk when they face difficulties or something similar. But, they would be wrong. The moment employee brings a grievance or concern to HR, it is documented on employment record. Then, you are marked as having an issue,” O’Donnell said. Therefore, when going to HR office, O’Donnell suggested you to be prepared to present your case ‘properly’ and to understand and accept potential ramifications of your actions.
Moreover, if you still think that your HR is reliable, then you need to ‘think again’ as, one way or another, they could be someone who turns you down. Jim Rendon wrote in Wall Street Journal that “employees often turn to HR if they are having problems with a manager, but they do not always come away satisfied. At one moment, an employee asked advice to HR and instead lifting her up, HR told her that women had to work harder than men.” It does not represent ‘good advice’ and it possibly downgrades employee’s well-being.
Additionally, Michelle Crouch, an award-winning journalist and writer, said that human resources department is someone you should respect and acknowledge, since there are times when they are not revealing the important truth. If you are wondering what they are hiding, Crouch reveals some secret HR department never tell you truthfully. Here they are:
See also: 7 Must-have Qualities to be a Successful Recruiter
Job security
Your relationship with your boss is number 1 job security. Cynthia Shapiro, former human resource executive, in interview said that “number 1 thing in job security is your relationship with your boss. Even when he says, ‘I’m sorry I really wanted to keep you, but they made me lay you off’, such statement is almost never true - he probably made that decision”. Hence, although you are all about top applicant and scorer, it is often those who gets hiring manager’s attention that get hired.
Never assume that HR is your friend
Some people will just directly talk to hiring managers without knowing that it is wrong. Therefore, when you have a question, ask for time to talk and don’t suddenly come up with a question. Also, social media is usually important but HR prefers their staffs to not stalk them in social media.
Be professional all the time
When you are being interviewed and suddenly talking about your family, HR leaders will likely see you as ‘unprofessional’ candidate. One of HR professional said that “children and hobbies do not belong on resume. And never, ever say, ‘Now that my kids are in college, I’m ready to get back in workplace.”
Moreover, there might be a lot of people suggesting you to ‘be yourself’ in interview. You better ignore the advice. Laurie Ruettimann, HR consultant and speaker in Raleigh, advised that, “Don’t be yourself in an interview. That’s the worst idea ever. We do not want people who are neurotic and quirky and whatever else. All we care about is your skill and experience.”
Be appropriate when saying ‘thank you’
When you want to show your gratitude to hiring managers or potential employers, be professional and appropriate. Writing short message such as, ‘Thank you, I really enjoy being in your company’ would be enough. One of HR professional commented, “One time a candidate sent – I love this – a thank your card with a professional picture of herself, which quite honestly became running joke for weeks. The picture was blown up and posted in my office with hearts drawn around it.”
Never say ‘yes’ right away
When you are too excited about your first job or promotion, you probably do not hesitate to say yes to every task given to you. But never do so. A professional HR told Crouch that “never accept job immediately. Say you need to think about it overnight. Once you sign on the dotted line, there is no room for negotiation.”
Company will find reason to lay you off
If you are a pregnant women, new mom, or new dad and you do not do your work professionally, company will always create justification for it to lay you off. “When we had something go out on disability and we knew he was faking it, we did not want to go to court to prove it. So, we put him on the end of the assembly line in a job where we knew he would not succeed. Eventually, we were able to fire him,” said a mid-level staffing HR.
Do not just go after getting fired
Suzanne Lucas, a HR executive, uttered that “if you get fired, do not just stomp out and go on with your life. The company may be willing to give you some severance, especially if you can point to someone different from you who didn’t get as severe a punishment. Just saying, ‘Well, I talked to my attorney’ (even if you don’t have an attorney) can also give you some leverage.’” It is better than just walking off the door. Sometimes, it works too to leverage a long-last connection if you do not have a black record towards the company you worked in.
No update is a code for another candidate
Often times, when it has been a week or two and there is no update from HR department, there will be new candidate come up in organisation, either to replace or help you. However, they did not tell you in case new candidates decide not to take the job.
Read also: Does Interview Need an Icebreaker? (Why and What)
