Tag Archives: Career Advice

HR careers: How to get a job in HR

If you’re trying to find out how to get a job in HR, you’ve come to the right place. It might surprise you, but I’ve only been in HR for about a year and a half at this point. I kicked off my HR career back in April 2009, and I’m amazed to see how much things have changed since then. I now have a great network of people and a little better understanding of this whole “HR thing,” but I didn’t have that when I started. I also didn’t have great tools like the Entry Level HR Jobs Guide.

How to get a job in HR

I graduated from college in May of 2008 with a brand-spanking new degree in human resources management. But I was stuck. See, my employer paid for my last semester of college, so I had to stick with them for a year of (indentured servitude) work to fulfill my obligation to the company. My supervisor knew that I was itching to move into HR, so she reached out to our own HR person in-house to see if I could do anything at all to start preparing myself. The HR person’s response? Nope.

how to get a job in hr

Take the time to learn how to get a job in HR before you make the leap

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So I had to grind out 12 months of work as I waited for the career to end all HR careers to start. :-) In November 2008, I started to get nervous. See, I could start looking for jobs in January, but I was afraid I had lost much of what I’d learned thus far in college. So, like any normal human being, I signed up for the PHR exam. I was slated to take the exam in late January, so I started studying right away.

My exam day came, and I passed with flying colors. I was so excited and just knew that a job would be right around the corner. And then I sat and waited for the next two months, applying for jobs but getting no serious interviews. It was disheartening.

Then in March I applied for this HR assistant job with a local nonprofit organization. To really help me get an edge over the competition, I looked up the HR staff that were in my local SHRM chapter’s email directory and sent them my resume directly. Then, nothing…

A few weeks passed, and I was feeling rough. I’d put a lot into the application process with the only job I was really qualified for, and it was a bust. Then I received a phone call from the VP of HR to come in for an interview. Score!

I was back in the game.

I bet I spent three hours preparing for that interview, and I think I really did well. I was able to turn her every need into an opportunity I could fulfill, and my enthusiasm was a big factor in the process as well. A few days went by and I had to come in for a second interview with another HR staff member, but it was mostly the same questions, so I knocked it out of the park as well.

Finally, a month after my first phone call with the VP of HR, I got the news. After all the prep, I really did learn how to get a job in human resources! It was an amazing feeling to know that I was finally jumping into the field that I had always wanted to be in.

What about you? What have you learned about how to get a job in human resources? What was your job search like when you looked for your first “professional” career? 

How to get a job in HR video

Other posts in the HR Careers series:

CAREEREALISM Club and Getting a Job

I’m running a series on some of  the companies I’ve interacted with that I think are worth mentioning. It’s not exhaustive, but I’ve been meaning to share these things for a while now. With that, let’s roll…

careerealismCAREEREALISM

Who they are

CAREEREALISM is a company that was founded by the career coach J.T. O’Donnell. J.T. is a fantastic person who I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with, and I’ll never forget the first thing she said to me that showed me her true character. I asked her who the “head honcho” was at her company, and she replied with this great quote:

“I’m the founder… So, while I may be technically ‘in charge.’ the company is actually governed via the team’s efforts.”

I knew right away that she was going to be a great person to interact with. The company as a whole is made up of a small team of people working on their website and other programs.

What they do

So, they obviously have a website, but what else is there? Well, for a long time, there was a cool program called “TAP” where a few trusted people (somehow I weaseled my way onto that list) would give advice via Twitter on different career questions. Eventually that played itself out (after we ended up answering over 500 questions!), and they moved onto other way cooler programs like the CAREEREALISM Club.

This thing is amazing. There are hours and hours of videos, recorded webinars, and other resources to help job seekers find their dream career. Plus, the free eBooks, personalized career coaching, and interaction/support from other job seekers are nothing to laugh about. Every week there are live chats on the private network where you can ask questions, share war stories, and learn more about getting a job than you could ever use.

In short, check it out.

Why you need it

If the features above don’t sell it for you, let’s look at a few more. If you are looking for a job, there are so many things that you don’t know. It’s not like you spend your time finding out the best ways to apply for jobs or where to go for networking tips that are more than “here’s a resume/business card/something to throw in the trash.” The CAREEREALISM Club is described by J.T. as a “Career HMO.”

Another neat benefit is that it takes it further than just getting a job. It gives you help with what to do once you start the job like managing your boss, setting expectations, and making a great impression on your new coworkers.

If you are looking for the career resource to help you find and get that next job, then I highly recommend that you check out CAREEREALISM Club today.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be bringing you more recommended resources in the coming weeks!

Hiring manager secrets to getting a job…

It seems like just yesterday that I reached out to Alison Green, author of the amazing Ask a Manager career advice blog, to see if she would be interested in writing an eBook to help job seekers. Today, that dream is a reality!

What it touches on

  • how to stop sabotaging your job search
  • how to avoid the companies that aren’t a good fit
  • how to craft a resume and cover letter that will catch a hiring manager’s eye
  • how to answer the most common interview questions
  • how to talk about sensitive issues when you interview — firings, bad bosses, “overqualification,” and more
  • the secret to handling rejection

My fave part

Even with all those cool features above, my favorite part is still the section on questions to ask your own interviewer. It’s been something I’ve always been interested in, and I love hearing the questions that a hiring manager wants to hear from job seekers.

What you need to do

Order now, even if you have a great job. Why? Well, first you’ll get it for the super low price (it goes up in just 48 hours!). And second, when you’re ready to move on to another job (there’s always another job), you’ll have this handy dandy guide to help you get through the transition.

Click here to get the How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager

If I knew then what I know now… (free eBook!)

If you’re anything like me, I bet you’ve said the following statement dozens of times in your life.

If I knew then what I know now… I’d be a killer chess player in Canada.

Okay, so maybe the last half of your sentence might be a little different, but you get the point. The idea is that you’d have extra knowledge to do more than you would otherwise have done. Today I have a free eBook titled “If I Would Have Known Just One Thing” to share with you on that very topic. Shane Mac asked me to give him a hand, and he’s just too awesome to turn down. Continue reading →

What do new HR professionals want?

I’ve been putting together a series over on my other blog about SHRM’s new Human Resources Young Professional project, and the series has covered some of the major issues identified by new HR pros. Those issues include lack of credibility, lack of challenging work, and lack of a definite career path. It’s a great read even for those of you who are experienced HR ninjas, because these topics are ones that reach out and touch everyone in our profession from the newest intern to the most senior VP.

I’d love to hear about any experiences you’ve had with managing or interacting with new HR pros. Are they up to snuff? Are they lacking in some pertinent skills (writing, communication, professionalism, etc.)?

How to Get Into HR (HRYP Series)

How can I get into HR? That question has been asked untold numbers of times, and the answer isn’t always an easy one. And then there’s the sticky issue of trying to figure out what’s next when you finally do get into one of those highly coveted and treasured positions in the the human resources field. :-) Let’s see if we can shed some light on those issues today, ‘kay?

(Note: this is a post in the HRYP (HR Young Professional) series. If you know a young HR pro, please pass this along to them. I’d appreciate it, and so will they!)

How I got into HR Continue reading →

How to job interview (well)

I have been working alongside Alison Green on her new project for job seekers, and today she is giving away a free guide on how job seekers can do a job interview well. The guide has some great tips in there that I’ve never even considered, and I’ve already told her it will be going in my job search toolbox for the next time I have a job interview. :-) If reading’s not your thing, she has also created a twenty minute video (also free!) to give you the information you’re looking for.

Click here to get the free guide on how to prepare for a job interview

I can’t guarantee that you’ll get a job if you use this guide, but I darn well know that you can do better in the interview than you ever have before! Continue reading →