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School and Career Surprises: Tips From People on the Job

Career: "I'm surprised that being an HR specialist required a thorough knowledge of marketing the company. I was surprised that the majority of people in HR change careers once or twice during the first 10 years"

Career: "It surprised me how much technology a person in Human Resources need to touch on a daily bases to be able to perform the job well. I expected there to be much more personal interaction but there is an equal amount of research and technology that goes into human resources along with the personal interactions. To work as a human resource professional you must be able to navigate various systems and help others with these systems in order to answer their questions and have a satisfied customer."

Career: "I was surprised at how few human resource available positions that are available in the Northern Michigan region. When looking for H.R. positions, the few that I see posted want candidates with several years of experience and/or in neighboring communities. With the economic slump, it seems that this field has taken a hard hit because companies/employers do not want to waste money on a position they feel is not that important compared to other needed employees. This field may be more suited for an individual that would want to work in an extremely large metropolis city that has several different kinds of industries and employers. Even though I am in a good size city for Northern Lower Michigan, they do not have the open positions and opportunities that I was hoping for after graduating with my Masters. That is something colleges should take into consideration when promoting different areas of study, i.e. the cities and/or areas that have the highest number of open positions for that field."

Career: "I was surprised to find out that being in the field of Human Resources with my background required not only education know how but also being very detailed oriented and consistent is essential. It is important when communicating to my coworkers or superiors to be very clear and detailed oriented. It is also very important to be consistent in your statistical data or reports or else it can lead to someone's data being messed up."

Best & Worst Things About This Career

"The best part is being able to make sure employees are fairly compensated for the work they do. It is nice to have a part in rewarding an employee for the job they do. The worst part is addressing concerns of unhappy employees regarding their pay. Someone may feel they deserve a higher salary or bonus or incentive plan and it may not always be possible. At difficult times, our company has had to make difficult decisions regarding compensation programs that impacts employees and that is a difficult message to deliver."

"The best part about my career is the autonomy I have to create and implement programming in my own way. I have minimal supervision and am allowed the freedom to do things my way. Some negatives about a career in this or any non profit profession is that the pay can leave something to be desired. However, the fringe benefits are often great. I have ample vacation time, full health and dental benefits, as well as retirement plans and paid holidays. Another downside is that sometimes working with troubled youth can be very frustrating."

"Best part of the job is knowing that I am helping someone find work when they really need it. It is a very rewarding job. It is busy and fast paced-always something to do! I also like the people who work with me. Worst part of the job is being disappointed when people do not work out in the jobs we put them in or fail to report to work. Or when a company really needs someone to fill a job and we cannot find the right person."

"The best part of the job is being able to provide great service and protection to our people and knowing those people respect us for all that we do. The ongoing training is also a good part of this job as we are always learning new ways to deal with different situations and how we can spread security awareness to those that have no security background. The worst part of the job is that it can be dangerous in certain situations. Criminals don't have respect for authority."

"The best part of my job is how flexible it is. I work full-time, but I can work from home or go to the office. All of my work is done on the computer. The worst part of my job is that I feel at times like a help desk worker since I get questions not just about contractors, but about other company databases. On the whole, though, it's a great job and my manager gives me a lot of independence."

"The best part of my job is interacting with great talent and seeing the success of the candidates that you hire. I love to speak with candidates and make them feel comfortable during our selection and interview process. It allows the candidate to fully express their talent to the team. I also like seeing them succeed and grow within our organization. There are people that I hired my first year that are still successful and happy 5 years later. The worst job is telling people no. I have to deliver a lot of bad news along with the good news everyday. I also support 30 different hiring managers and I like to make all them feel like they are a priority and that can be very tiring!"

"The best part of my job is helping my co-workers reach their goals and to watch them grow in their careers. I get to tell people when they've earned a new position,a promotion or pay increase. The worst part of my job is delivering bad news. When an employee is not performing or is not a good fit with our company, I must be involved in terminating that employee."

"I love the people whom I work with and I love the university that I work at. I wish there was more room for growth, but unfortunately people have to leave in order for an opportunity to arise for someone wanting to get promoted. I also don't like the hours, which are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m."

"The best part of my career is being able to be an influential part of the growth of the company. My department is key to the success of much of the operation. The worst part of my career is being aware of all of the rules and regulations that need to be followed. Unfortunately, many of my peers in upper management are not aware of them and choose not to care about them. Knowing what is right and trying to follow and implement it can be very difficult and frustrating."

"HR is often seen as the "moms" of the organization, people who just push paper around. A lot of people do not understand HR and what the absolute true value of it is. It can be a challenge to get people to accept and implement your ideas and suggestions. On a positive note, when you have been able to help someone really excel at their job and they are happy, it is very rewarding."

"One of the best parts of my job is hiring the best candidate for our open positions, making the candidate pleased they have a new job and filling a manager's vacancy. I also really like the benefits administration and helping our employees to understand what they are covered for. The worst parts of the job are taking corrective action or warning employees who aren't performing well and, of course, having to fire people. Another part that is not as enjoyable for me personally is the payroll area, as I am not trained in accounting and find its ins and outs difficult to fathom sometimes."

"It is challenging to understand the different cultures of people in different countries (such as Germany or China), but you have to learn in order to get your point across. The best part for me as being able to work on different projects that have a link to what the company needs. I'm not doing the same thing every day."

"The best part of my job is that everyday in is always different. You never know what you are going to be faced with each day. It is always challenging, never boring and ever-changing. I love interacting with and helping people. The worst part of my job is when we are faced with laying people off and I have to be involved in informing them and counseling them."

"Best and worst part of the job are the people! You have to be able to deal with all types of people. As an HR person, you are looked upon for guidance, it can be nerve racking making sure you do not violate any law when making an employment decision. What I like about being in HR is that you are involved in all aspects for the company. You deal with financial information but then could be planning a very fun event for the employees."

"The best part of my job is the constant motion things are in. There is never a dull moment, always lots of things to do, and quite truthfully always something we can do more on or better. We are always striving to outperform we did yesterday for ourselves, clients, shareholders and the communities we operate in. If there was a not so fun part of the job it would be the administrative components that comes with managing a team and department. Some of the less strategic tasks that you know is needed but not as fun like completing budget reviews, personnel reviews, the paperwork for changes like offices, locations, paperwork, etc..."

Tips for Succeeding in This Career

"Get your degree, but then don't be afraid to start in a lower than ideal position to gain experience needed to obtain higher positions. Keep options open. Your first job is just that, you may land in a place much different than where you started. Networking will get you places faster than experience alone. If you are interested in Human Resources, know that Human Resources is very broad. There are Human Resources managers or generalists that do a little of everything, but then there are specialists that work in just one function of Human Resources, such as Staffing, Compensation, Benefits, Talent Management, Employee Relations, Training & Development, etc."

"Be sure to understand yourself and what kind of financial sacrifices you are willing to make for a career. Sometimes it seems like a great thing to help people, but it is frustrating and offers very little pay. Avoid schools that are non-accredited or are for-profit institutions. I have often thrown away resumes from online colleges or the ones that are always on TV and the radio. Take advantage of internships and volunteer opportunities to enhance your resume, but also to learn what you like."

"Always follow your first instinct - it is usually right! Learn as much as you can about the companies you work with and what they do. I know a lot more about machinery, forklifts and plastic products than I ever thought I would. Challenge yourself every day. Don't let the job get you. We all will have bad days and at times feel burnt out. It is always up to YOU to create your own destiny in any job you have"

"Communication is key. Take as many courses involving writing, public speaking, and effective communication. The more articulate you are, the more respect you will gain. If there are security awareness courses, take advantage of those as well. Even if you don't work in the security field as an HR Assistant, you will still have a diverse community of people that you have to deal with and knowing how to protect yourself is always important and even better if you can protect your company, too."

"When starting your job search, be as flexible as you can with location. Companies love young job searchers who can work anywhere in the world. They like the fact that you can work overseas and get international experience as well. Take advantage of courses that the company offers as well so that you can keep pursuing your career. Also, be sure and be confident when going in for an interview that you know what you want in a job and let them know it."

"I excel at my job because along with the soft skills of customer service I also have a good business/operating background. I track a lot of data and hire candidates that will be the next managers for large groups of people. It is important to have basic business knowledge, legal/compliance knowledge, and tracking skills through a database system. I have learned that access to opportunity comes through other opportunities so it is important to get exposure to decision makers and hiring teams through internships and networking. You need to build a base of experience and cannot start at the top so look for opportunities where you can build the skill set you need - even if it isn't the most glamorous job!"

"1. When looking into a career in human resources, I recommend majoring in the discipline in college. Take courses in all functions of human resources if possible. 2. Find an internship in the human resources field. Whether it is in just recruiting or in just payroll, any experience is better than no experience. 3. Always practice effective communication. These days people rely on electronic methods to communicate (i.e. texting, emailing, instant messaging). It is so important to be able to not only construct a professional, grammatically correct email but to also be able to have a face to face conversation."

"Try to secure an internship in the field to get experience and to make sure that it's a field you want to work in. You can also search the internet on the field for classes, certifications and field trends. Take college courses in Human Resources so that you'll know as much as possible about what the field involves. Some people think that Human Resources is a career field that's fun and games, and it is not."

"I have found the best way to gain support is by allowing others to initially get their way. For example, if you do not feel a person should be hired, express your opinion and if the other party disagrees, allow the applicant to be hired. When they don't work out, the other manager will learn to trust your judgement. If you disagree in the future, the manager will be more likely to side with your opinion. Don't waste your time trying to know everything. You will never be in the loop on everything. If it is important enough it will wind up on your desk. Cross train others. This will allow you to focus on other tasks and not get bogged down with the day to day."

"If you think HR is what you want to get into, then you should take as many classes as you can. If you are able to get an internship or even start to work in an HR department as an admin, you will get exposed to the daily HR tasks."

"If you are interested in pursuing a career in Human Resources, I would advise you to take specific Human Resources courses in college. These will help you screen job candidates and provide you with interviewing and hiring techniques. Also Sociology and Psychology courses can be worthwhile and should help you understand how people react to situations. Math and accounting courses can come in handy too if you end up pursuing a career at a smaller company where auditing and budgetary responsibilities are part of HR's duties."

"Practice your writing skills often. Write, write, write, and ask people to give you feedback on how you could improve writing your point. Read, read, read...there is always something new to learn. Learn about yourself...what makes you feel good about yourself?"

"Get a bachelor's degree in human resource management. You can work in HR without it, but it's much easier to have it and you will go farther. Other people in HR have a BS in psychology, and that works, too. Also, earn a Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification ASAP. It gives you more opportunities and earning power. When staring out, try to get a position as a generalist in an HR dept. You will get much broader experience. You don't want to be pigeon-holed early on (examples: recruiter, or benefits specialist). Being exposed to all areas of HR will help you decide what you really like and excel at."

"You must be able to keep information confidential. This is an essential function of your job. Start at an entry level position and work your way up in the HR field. That way you build a solid foundation that will carry you through. Learn how to process payroll, it will be helpful in the HR field. Study employment law and understand it. Be familiar with the employment web sites, MCAD, EEOC, DOL. Get a bachelor's degree in business or management."

"If you want a career in Human Resources, you must make sure you are prepared for everything that comes with it, including not always being the most recognized department or person. A good manager can make this feel better, but HR is not sales or marketing and not viewed as positive. However, it can be incredibly rewarding to see people and help people succeed. The good thing about HR is that you can use lots of skills for different needs. For example, you could work in Employment/Recruiting, Comp/Benefits, Employee/Labor Relations, Training/Development, or Strategy. Having a great understanding of businesses and how the work and what they need to do survive is key, so learning and asking lots of questions are critical. After that it is using your skills the right way for the area you work. The cool thing about HR is being able to jump between the specialties, if you want, and have the skill set to be successful. Strong accounting/finance skills are important, communication skills in writing and speaking are a must."