Tag Archives: Career Advice

Getting Entry Level HR Positions (Video)

The only people who seem to know about getting entry level HR positions are those who already have an entry level HR job.

It’s a crappy system, and it needs to change.

As I said yesterday, we have to stop setting people up to fail. We need to help the next generation understand what it will take to break into HR and getting entry level HR positions. College isn’t preparing them. For the most part, parents aren’t preparing them.

Who will take up the call and join me?

Today I’m going to teach the newbies in the audience about entry level HR positions. Everything I know is based on my own experience over the past few years, both my own and helping others with getting entry level HR positions. In the short video below I share some basic ideas that have helped me immensely any time I had to look for a job change within my HR career. The three keys?

  • Networking
  • Professional Development
  • “Doing HR” wherever you are

Video: Entry Level HR Positions

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Digging deeper

getting entry level HR positionsI have developed a video course to help entry level HR pros find and get their first entry level HR positions and then knock them out of the park. If you are an entry level HR pro or someone looking to get their first HR job, I highly encourage you to check it out!

The course is made up of over an hour of video content, several bonus eBooks, and weekly articles and assignments to help the training “stick” for the long term. These skills will carry you through your entire career; you just need to take the time to learn them!

It’s easy to learn how to get a job in HR, but it isn’t necessarily easy to do it!

Human Resources Job Titles-The Ultimate Guide

HR’s career ladder is never quite clear. So who cares? Human resources job titles mean nothing, right?

Human Resources Job Titles

Climbing the career ladder of HR job titles…

Wrong. Even if you really don’t care about it, others will judge you for better or worse the instant they see your job title. Today we’ll look at some of the various common titles as well as some career development choices you’ll have to make as an HR pro (generalist, specialist, or recruiting tracks).

Human Resources Job Titles-Ultimate Guide

Table of Contents

  1. List of HR Job Titles and Duties
  2. Progressing Up the Ladder
  3. Specialist vs. Generalist
  4. Recruiting-HR’s Cousin
  5. Education’s Role
  6. Additional Resources on HR Job Titles and Careers Continue reading →

Wisdom Meets Passion (Book Review)

wisdom meets passion dan millerWisdom Meets Passion by Dan Miller and Jared Angaza

I’ve been reading and listening to Dan Miller for over 5 years now. In short, this book is more greatness. I ended up taking very few notes for a few reasons. First, this book is full of things that I live every day, so I didn’t take great notes on those areas since I have a lot of experience with following passions, (trying to) learn from those with wisdom, etc. Secondly, it’s just engaging to read it. It’s not the typical business/career book with a lot of sound bytes. I’ve tried to pull a few together for your benefit below.

What I liked

  • 10 steps to education and getting rich (not what you think!)-I’ve omitted the details here (get the book!), but you can find this list on page 66. These seem so innocuous, but imagine doing even a small handful of these actions every single year. Every. Year. In 10 years that’s over 100 books, 30 training events, 10 new skills, etc. It’s exponential growth! Crazy to imagine doing it all at once, but very doable when you look at reading just one book per month…
    • Read 12 books this year
    • Attend 3-4 seminar/training events this year
    • Subscribe to 2 great magazines
    • Listen to 3-4 podcasts and read 3-4 blogs per week Continue reading →

The Next Generation of HR

next generation of hrTomorrow evening I have the pleasure of speaking to a group of local HR students. The problem is I have time to talk on one topic, but I have several in mind! In a perfect world I’d have the chance to come back a few times and expose them to the full realm of knowledge I’ve picked up over the past few years since my own college days, but this might be the only shot I get. So what’s more important?

Topics of choice

  1. Using social media as an HR/recruiting professional (professional development, recruiting, networking, etc.) Continue reading →

Entry Level HR Jobs-The Ultimate Guide

Welcome to the Entry Level HR Jobs Ultimate Guide! Feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, via email, or by renting a plane to carry a banner proclaiming how much you love this guide. If you’re not already on the email list to receive free updates, here’s how you can do that. Now, let’s get on to the content!

Entry Level HR Jobs

  1. Places to find jobs
  2. Job descriptions
  3. Salary Ranges
  4. Tips from the Pros
  5. Career Resources Continue reading →

Don’t Let the Economy Impact Your Career

Slow and steady wins the race

I am going to speak frankly today. Some of you will hate it, and others will appreciate it. Ya can’t make everyone happy at once, so here we go. :-)

Recently I received a copy of a survey that indicates 43 percent of workers believe their careers have slowed down and it will be harder and will take more time to achieve career growth as a result of the economy.

My initial thought? Those 43% of people probably wouldn’t be successful even if the economy had been booming.

In case you didn’t know it, people all over are getting better jobs, earning more than they ever have before, and really winning in their careers every single day. And they don’t give a darn about any recession. Why? What’s the difference? Continue reading →

Is Human Resource Management a Good Career? (Yep!)

The story of my human resource management career rolls merrily along…

Well, it happened. I knew the day was coming, and it is finally here. My manager recently announced her plan to go to part-time and semi-retire from the company, and with her support I was moved to be the lead of all HR/recruiting activities at Pinnacle. It’s a big bump in responsibility (I now report to the CEO, which comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities), and I am very excited about what is in store over the coming months.

Getting my feet under me

First, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the idea that I no longer have a mentor and sounding board to look up to. My manager was the best leader I’ve ever worked for in my life, and I am really going to miss her. My new manager is also a great leader, but in a very different kind of way (visionary, makes the tough calls, etc.).

Second, I’ve been looking at the to-do list that has been hanging out there on my whiteboard for a few months. Those major initiatives are no longer shared responsibilities–it’s all on me. I either get them done and we succeed as an organization, or I don’t get them done and we have some unpleasant consequences. Plenty of you have been in that place, but it’s still a shock to jump into it without warning.

Third, I have been looking at the team dynamics. I’m no longer reporting to someone who reports to the CEO. I’m on the team of go-to people for the major functions within the organization-contracts, program managers, security, accounting, etc. That team lost a great contributor and added a few more to take on her functions, but only time will tell how that will change affects the leadership of the organization.

“Opportunities for improvement”

When I was considering the position offered to me, I asked my previous manager what she saw as my hurdles in the new role. The answers didn’t really surprise me, and they definitely galvanized me to start preparing myself more for what sure is to come. Potential issues:

  • Youth-I expected this one, but I have yet to see where it’s hampered me thus far (other than just the occasional lack of raw experience to deal with new scenarios). Like I’ve said before (how to move up in your career), if you can kick butt at the level of work you are given, you’ll be given more challenging work.
  • Communication-I am much better at writing than speaking. In other words, my brain processes things much more efficiently through my fingers than through my lips. However, the opportunities for face-to-face conversation are going to drastically increase in this position, and I need to get better at thinking on my feet. I’m actually working on a new post on that topic and hope to share it soon.
  • Attention to detail-It might surprise you, but I’m not a detail-oriented person. I can get things done and check the block for what I need, but I’m much more of a creative thinker. I’ve had to force some level of organization on myself and that will continue to be a priority for me in the coming months.

Sorry that today is all about me! I’ve been meaning to kick out at least a note on the new position, and time keeps getting away from me. I hope the thought process I’ve gone through is helpful for those who are on the bench waiting to be called to the big leagues. It’s a big leap, but with the right preparation and support, you can be successful in your new role. I’m looking forward to the new ideas this position generates and what I can share through my interactions with the C-level leadership in my organization .