[sdiy] HR hell spam and other porridges.

[karl dalen]

I decided to leave the salaryman world after I had dinner with a very
high-level HR executive with HP a couple of decades ago. I have confirmed
much of what she said with CEOs and lawyers over the years since.

My friend told me that the job of Human Resources is not to hire people.
The job is to keep the company from getting sued because of the hiring and
firing processes. If you go to an HR rep to report harassment of dangerous
working conditions, the HR rep is not trying to protect you, but the
company. They are about as friendly to employees as Internal Affairs
is to police officers.

The forms you fill out and the resumes you submit are not searched for
qualifications, but for potential litigious minefields. With all the
various lawsuits, discrimination laws and safety regulations in place,
it is virtually impossible, even 20 years ago, to find a job candidate
that could fit into the narrow confines of a safe employee. If you are
the best qualified person for a job, you can be sure that HR paid
absolutely no attention to that qualification, except to put it in
the file of people with similar and lesser qualifications for the
very same job.

That's why being seriously involved in social media is absolutely
required for any job candidate and the ability to network through
those channels.

Two out of three hires, as pointed out in the panel, get the job
because someone pushed them through the HR department without
stopping for a chat.