Tag Archives: Career

5 HR Career Questions You Must Answer to Reach the Top of Your Game

“I’m stuck and I don’t know where to go from here.” 

I was coaching someone recently that is working to get into a new HR role, and it was a tough situation. She had been excited to join the company, came on and did great work, but she missed out on an opportunity for a promotion into a senior position and was feeling let down. 

We talked through her options, and when it came to it, we realized that she didn’t have a good handle on some of the key things she needed that would enable her to make a plan for the coming months and years ahead. Things like her unique: 

  • Strengths, values, and passions
  • Long-term career milestones
  • Work styles and preferences that drive her behavior

So we worked on exploring and uncovering each of those items on the list (and a few others). And then I realized that this was something I had to do myself early in my career so I could steer my work towards what I wanted to do and accomplish. As a bit of a nerd, it’s something that comes naturally to me, but other people need an outside prompt or encouragement to start exploring those critical questions they must answer about themselves. 

In the link below, you can get the free guide with the five questions (no strings attached). I’m actively building out some new resources around HR careers because it’s a question I get on a daily basis and I know that we can help each other get smarter, be better, and accomplish more.

Regardless of whether you’re trying to break into HR, you’ve been with us for a few years, or you have more experience than me, these questions will help you think critically about what you’re doing and how to sculpt and shape your career into something you can be proud of. 

Yes, I Really Wanted to be in HR as a Child (and Why Now is THE Time for HR)

I sometimes forget that some of you have been reading the blog for a long time (maybe the entire 10+ years it’s been going!) while others have just found it. It’s easy to run across something I’ve written recently and think that I have it all together and always have, but that’s certainly not the case.

I started this blog when I was getting my first HR job because I wanted to share with others what I was learning and how to improve ourselves as HR pros. Fast forward all these years later, and while the content has changed somewhat my heart is still for the HR pros in the trenches, as my last post was pretty clear to demonstrate. My work today is different, but my mission is still the same: make HR better, one HR pro at a time. 

That said, some of you don’t know my story. I really did start out as a kid that wanted to be in HR (I just didn’t know what it was called at the time). IBM recently did an interview where I elaborated on that story a bit and at the same time talked about the future of HR and how to play a strategic role in the business. I’d love for you to check it out and let me know your thoughts?

Will an HR Certification Make Me More Valuable for a Senior HR Role? [Reader Question]

hr certification career optionsHR certification questions are often seen as pretty binary: either I get one or I don’t. But in reality there’s a lot of nuance to the decision. Should I get an HR degree or an HR certification? Will this help my career? Can it make me more competitive? How much money can I make?

That’s because certification is tied in with our personal lives in that it supports us financially, if we do it right.

For the sake of the author I’m not sharing the person’s real name. 

Hi, Ben!

I am an HR Generalist in a school district. We only have two HR staff here. The rumor is that there may be an opening for an HR Director. I would love a shot at the job. The issue is that my co-worker has been at the district for a long time and I have only been there about two years even though I have nearly 10 years of HR experience.

I feel taking the PHR exam would possibly give me a shot at the Director's job. What are your thoughts?

-Nancy

My Response to Nancy

Two questions wrapped into one!

First the easy one: if you want to pursue the PHR then go for it. There’s nothing that forces you to tell everyone at work that you’re pursuing the exam on the off chance you don’t pass, and you could have it as soon as March/April if you decide to jump in with both feet. No time like the present, right? If you’re worried about preparing then I’d highly recommend the courses that we’ve put together simply because they help in ways that no other system does. If you have the budget, the HRCP materials even offer a “pass or money back” guarantee, which is hard to beat.

Secondly, let’s look at the career front. While this is still a rumor you should start thinking critically about what makes you a fit for the role.

  • Can you demonstrate your leadership skills now, before the job even exists?
  • How can you start positioning yourself as the kind of person that would be a fit for the job in the eyes of those around you?
  • What other hard or soft skills do you need to pick up in order to be competitive for the role?

Thinking this through helps because when it comes open, even if it’s a publicly posted opening, you have an edge because some of the local leadership should see you as a strategic player, not just another administrative paper pusher.

Let me know if that helps or if I can offer anything more to support you! I think it’s a good question not only because it’s making you think about certification, but because it’s making you think about yourself in terms of how qualified/ready you might be for a leadership role. This book I reviewed previously might be helpful in guiding you towards ways to be influential as a leader even before you get the “title” to go along with it.

Anyone else have comments or suggestions for Nancy?

If you have your own question you’d like featured here, feel free to shoot it to me at ben@upstarthr.com for consideration. 

HR’s Bad Reputation is Discouraging Me from an HR Career

My good friend Alison Green over at Ask a Manager passed me this question she received because it’s HR-centric. I think many of you will get value from what could have been just another private email conversation, so I’m sharing the question and response here. If anyone else has comments PLEASE add them below, because we’re all better when we help each other, right?
Dear Alison,
I’m currently in my final year of high school and strongly considering pursuing an HR designation in post-secondary. Reading through your blog, I am very often reminded that HR exists primarily for the company (preventing lawsuits, attracting and retaining talent, etc.) and issues that employees have are resolved with the company’s best interests in mind. As such, I can understand why HR can sometimes gain a reputation for being useless (even if I do find it somewhat discouraging).
That being said, I would like to ask you for your input on what an effective HR manager should be like in terms of going above and beyond to support employees when the job description may not ask for it.
I’m thinking especially on how you would advise someone on the HR side to handle a situation where, for example, a department manager is out of control (but not doing anything illegal) and because of nepotism, is safe from consequences or intervention? If HR’s hands are tied, how could HR still go on to assist the employee even though the root cause isn’t solved?
How can HR still be supportive to employees in situations where the company calls for neutrality (or even to side with the company when it is ethically at fault)? And vice-versa?
I think overall I am just experiencing a sense of helplessness when I read stories with negative experiences with HR. On one hand, I can understand that there may be certain legal and logical restrictions to what an HR rep can do that sometimes the employee can’t see. On the other hand, I don’t want to be someone who just throws her hands up and says, “There is nothing I can do for you.” and adheres to the bare minimum requirements.
Is this something that will get better once I have more experience? Am I just being too emotional or naive about my job expectations? If so, any input on helping me recalibrate?
-J

Thank you for being very clear about your questions and concerns, J.

HR does exist to protect the company, and this is still prevalent thinking in many organizations. However, it's also true that many forward-thinking firms are offloading these compliance-related functions to legal and are focusing more on how to improve employee performance, create better working environments, drive worker engagement, etc.

5 characteristics of a great HR manager Continue reading →

How to Rock Your Next HR Job Interview

Recently a friend was applying for a job, and she came to me for help with preparing. She had worked with the firm for some time, and the opening was for a more senior position she was hoping to achieve. We took a little time to make sure the resume was presentable, and then we went to the fun part: a strategic plan.

Together, we developed an action plan for the first six months after she got the job that would allow her to be more effective than the previous leader, generating new business for the organization. We included discussions around business development, customer satisfaction, and employee relations.

And she got the job.

This is an incredibly powerful practice, but hardly anyone actually does it. Here are a few options for you to leverage this approach next time you’re looking for the right HR job.

Keys to Success

The first mistake people make is thinking that this just needs to be in their notes or in their head. Not true. This plan needs to be a physical thing you bring with you to give to the interviewers during the conversation. The simple act of giving them something they don’t already have puts you in a different light. Instead of just focusing on you, they are also focusing on your ideas and your insights, which (if they are good ones) can give you a leg up over the competition.

The second piece of advice is to make it attainable. Don’t throw twenty things on there, and don’t put one on there, either. Every company has something they can change, improve, or update. Ultimately, they might take none of your suggestions, but the goal should be to present a powerful case for why the things you mention are worth exploring.

How to Put this into Practice: Never Worked There

It’s challenging to do this from the outside, but with HR we have at least one avenue into the organization that others can’t leverage: the recruiting function. From the first moment you find a job ad, start making note of things that could be improved, changed, or modified.  Here are some ideas:

  • Job ads: are they written in a way that appeals to job seekers? Are they using good search engine optimization techniques to be found more easily by candidates?
  • Interview process: are communications and instructions clear? Do you know what to expect and who you’ll be interacting with?
  • Assessments: does the assessment add value? What is the perception from the candidate side–are the questions relevant and helpful?
  • And, of course, we could examine it through the perspective of the candidate experience. For instance, did you get any notification when you applied? Was mobile apply available, or did you have to use a desktop? Could you do one-click apply with LinkedIn, or did you have to manually enter every piece of information?

Whether you’re bringing in some research to offer context or you’re just giving an observation based on your perceptions (or both), you can make your point in a tactful manner. That’s a key to this entire approach, because if done poorly, it will make you look less qualified.

How to Put this into Practice: Worked There in Non-HR Role

If you have experience with the company already in a non-HR position, you’re in even better shape for helping to illuminate some of the areas of improvement. Remember, this isn’t a gripe session or a chance to air grievances: it’s a process improvement approach. Some ideas on what to talk about:

  • Modifying the onboarding process to get employees up to speed faster.
  • Changing the performance management system so that it actually encourages performance, not hinders it.
  • Offering niche voluntary benefits that appeal to one population or another in your company, such as dependent care or elder care. Or you can go the rock star route, offering something like a ski house for employees to use (one of our previous guest authors, Jane Jaxon, used to offer this as a recruiting tool at her company).

The entire purpose of this exercise is to show that you’re going above and beyond the basic job duties, looking for ways to innovate and bring additional value to the business. Again, I have to remind you that the way you approach this matters just as much as what you actually propose. You have to be careful to point out opportunities for improvement in way that doesn’t indict those that put the processes in place (or those that continue to manage them, for that matter).

How to Put this into Practice: Worked There in an HR Role

If you have worked there in an HR role and this is a promotion opportunity, then you have the biggest advantage of anyone else in the running, because you know what is working and what isn’t. You also have the biggest challenge, because you are familiar with the inner workings and might not be immediately aware of any innovative ideas for how to improve your practice.

If that’s the case, I would encourage you to do more reading, listening, and consuming of HR and business-related content to help broaden your horizons and help you understand some of the ways that exist to improve your processes and approach. Think about the evidence-based HR approach that I wrote on recently–it is a great way to help you examine and propose solutions to problems that others might have already given up on solving.

The Side Gig: How to Monetize Your HR Passions

I originally wrote this for a friend over at Horizon Point Consulting. I think it’s going to be interesting for you guys as we head into the end of the year and start thinking about our careers, accomplishments, and the path ahead. Enjoy!

I couldn't sleep. It was 4:17am and I had stared at the clock for half an hour. Might as well get up and get started. I rolled out of bed with a big smile. It was my first day as the new owner of Lighthouse Research, and I felt like it was what I had always been preparing for all throughout my career.

This scene played out a few months ago when I took over an HR technology research and advisory services firm, but I've been an entrepreneur for quite some time now. I started the journey back in 2009, and I have continued my “side hustle” over the years. Looking back, it has been an incredible joy. I've taught myself many new skills, had the opportunity to work with and meet some very interesting people, and grown by leaps and bounds professionally.

I completed some research in October 2016, and the number one thing that my audience was curious about was how to get into contracting/freelancing either as a part time or a full time opportunity, so I know this is top of mind for many people. Maybe you're one of those people as well? If so, I'll give you some helpful advice and insights that I have picked up along the way.

Handling a Second Job/Gig/Activity

As I mentioned, I've been doing something outside my “day job” ever since 2009. For most of that time, it has been this blog/business. However, I've also done speaking, training, HR certification study instruction for one test prep company, freelance writing, HR consulting, etc. Up until a few weeks ago I was working part time as an HR consultant to help stay plugged into the HR community, because I left my practitioner position back in 2014 to become a technology analyst/researcher.

Handling that second position is not always easy, but it's doable. I have four kids. I go to church. I volunteer. I have other responsibilities, and I make sure they all get taken care of. Here are a few things to consider if you want to start your own side hustle:

  • Does your day job take up more than 60 hours of your week? If so, you probably can't fit in additional work. It's time to back that down, find another job, or put your side hustle dream on hold. Be willing to talk with your boss or explore other opportunities if it means you get to pursue the dream you've been holding back on.
  • Do you enjoy working on projects, connecting with new people, and wearing the “business” hat? I know that accounting, billing, etc. is one of the least favorite activities for many independent workers, but it is a part of life. Today there are many tools to help make this easier, from apps for tracking business mileage to online banking for keeping your business expenses/revenues separate from your personal funds.
  • Are you self-motivated? This is touched on below in the “passions” discussion, but it's important that you can make something happen when it's time to get to work. Some people don't have the discipline to focus when nobody is standing behind them, and if that's you, then you will have trouble making the transition to self-employment.

How to Monetize Your Passions

The first part is obviously to know your passions, right? Yet I see so many people that start off with the thought, “How can I make some money? What's hot right now?” That's a torturous path, because you can only work so hard at something that you don't truly care about.

In my case, I started with something that was top of mind for me, but it also tied to an activity I love. Back in 2009 I earned my HR certification. During my preparation, I started writing my thoughts and study schedule online as a way to hold myself accountable. One week, I got off schedule due to a personal issue, and I received several emails from people asking where that week's blog was! It was then that I realized that this was bigger than a project to keep myself on track—others were interested as well.

After I received my certification, I took my study notes, added some lessons learned, and started selling it from my website as a $19 eBook. I've sold hundreds of those since 2009, and I actually took it down a few years ago when I started selling a higher priced course that expanded upon the eBook content. I’m passionate about teaching and helping others, and I’ve received dozens of great testimonials and comments from students over the years that found value in the work I created.

That's just one example, but hopefully you start to understand how this kind of business works. Questions? Feel free to hit me up at ben@upstarthr.com and I would be happy to help however I can.

Want More Information?

Do you want more information about a specific area of interest for you personally? Maybe you’re interested in learning more about the opportunities ahead? Do any of the following sound familiar?

  • I’m an entry level professional trying to find out how to make your mark on the world
  • I’m a mid level professional ready to advance to a leadership role
  • I’m a senior level professional wanting to do some speaking and consulting

Whatever your current position, I want to help give you actionable ideas and insights for how to move to the next step in your career journey from a series of experts who have already demonstrated success in your area of interest. Just enter your email below and I’ll be in touch soon.