Human resources: When job-hunt leads to a nightmare

Human Resources encompasses a set of people within an organization. Despite its vital functions, challenges can lead to undesirable results.

What is an HR department? In simpler terms, the HR department (Human Resources) is a group of people responsible for the management of the employee life cycle (recruitment, integration of human resources into the respective work environment, training and dismissal of employees) as well as the management of employee benefits.

4 types of Human Resources

Human resources: When job-hunt leads to a nightmare

Recruitment & Staffing: Staffing and recruitment cannot exist without each other, with substantial and qualitative differences between them.
Learning and Development: Both learning and development are usually an extension of the HR department.
Human resource performance management
Corporate culture

The position of the Human resources department and the ability derived from its tasks in recruiting, training and supporting employees to integrate and develop in a work environment, significantly affects the success of a business. This practically means that every decision they make and every problem they solve has a direct impact on the proper functioning of every business.

George Elton Mayo: The Man Behind the Idea

George Elton Mayo, the father of Human Resources, was born on December 26, 1880 in Adelaide, South Australia. Mayo was a well-known figure in the fields of business administration, industrial sociology, philosophy and social psychology.

His influence on industrial and organizational psychology was significant. His role in laying the foundations for the human relations movement was pivotal. Although his work has been heavily criticized, his contribution to management theory has been vital in the field of human resources.

People are the greatest capital of any business. Through work and by extension cooperation they are called upon to carry out a project, a purpose which is none other than the progress of the business in which they are employed.

But what happens when, on the long road of progress, the Human Resources department is unable to evolve, listen to market trends, sometimes becomes complacent, or surrenders to practices of a past nature without tangible results?

The job market has changed drastically. With 1 billion users worldwide (12.5% of the world’s population), LinkedIn, the largest social platform for professionals, connects like-minded professionals around the world. Thousands of jobs flood every user’s newsfeed, bringing them one step closer to their dream job.

For Human Resources departments, LinkedIn has evolved into one of the most important databases since, by defining specific key points, they can access millions of profiles of professionals and thus potential candidates.

In this article, we will study the main weaknesses of Human Resources/ Talent Acquisition Specialists to identify and select the right candidates to fill jobs:

Ι am #hiring. Do you know anyone who will be interested?

One of the all time classic examples that lacks improvisation that HR team members use to publicize job openings. Many will wonder what is wrong with this otherwise direct and comprehensive message since it clearly presents and condenses the meaning of the information.The mistake is not only in choosing a common automated message (which LinkedIn traditionally offers to save time) but in the complete absence of desire to choose an out of the box approach to presenting a job to the interested audience.

Check this out!

Another proof when time limits are probably tight and something as easy and immediate as simply sharing a job post with a prompt like Check it out is preferred!

Again where is the error? In the absence of a memorable message! For example, if the position concerns a company that has been distinguished as best workplace / great place to work, wouldn’t it be something memorable in the minds of many? Or the fact that a company participated in the humanitarian aid mission or even that it is part of its philosophy to reward its staff?

Direct messaging

The communication of members of an HR team via direct messages has all the characteristics of a platonic love that is eager to move to the next step of a relationship with the object of desire (no it is not Harlequin) to be one or many recipients. At this point it is worth clarifying that Human Resources or Talent Acquisition Specialists have carried out a quick keyword search (LinkedIn can provide relevant information to each user by displaying the top words/keywords when they are included in the description of the title of a position or in About section displays the profiles of professionals that match their search 100%.

But is this not what most of the people truly desire? To be noticed by the hiring managers and to limit the sending of hundreds of resumes where a large part of them end up in the waste bin?

Let’s get something very important straight. Job hunting for some is not an all year round sport. Something that most hiring managers fail to respect. In addition, the approach and expression of interest may not be conducted in the most appropriate manner or at the appropriate timing. There is always the possibility that the skills and qualifications of a professional do not match the job description of a position offered by a hiring manager or in the desired industry.

Several direct messages feature mid-tips in the same structure. They start with a short introduction from the person contacting stating their position and company. Then the job position, the required qualifications and technical characteristics are mentioned and the message is completed with a thorough reference to the benefits and bonus package.

What can probably be properly expressed with the phrase overzealousness has to do with the belief armed by hiring managers that when you for example speak the German language fluently you can fit into the work culture of a company that is looking for German speaking employees in Customer Service Departments. Or even that an employee who is active in the tourism industry and especially in the sales department to take on the duties of a Secretarial Support position in a company.

However, failures are also found in cases of hotel openings where the members of Human Resources teams engage in mass sending of direct messages to candidates without having an organized plan so as not to exceed the limits of spam.

How many times have you received messages from the same company that invited you to a job event and to which you responded expressing your intention to participate or not? Negative impressions are created even in cases where companies have not evaluated candidates for previous positions positively or negatively but re-send messages to the same ones informing them about the opening of their new unit.

Psychometric staff assessment tests

Such tests are used by the majority of large multinational companies and gradually tend to become common practice among Greek companies as well. Professional psychologists assist in the creation of this type of weighted scientific test to diagnose abilities, personality traits and professional values. The results lend validity to evaluation results but are based on the subjective judgment of HR executives.

In contrast to this practice, a large portion of professionals who have acquired knowledge and skills based on studies and work, express their skepticism as these tests to a certain extent question their abilities and above all do not help to unfold their abilities and elements of their personality through a direct interview.

In conclusion, what is absent from the ideology of several HR department executives is convergence with market trends, empathy, emotional intelligence, a quality that is not taught but acquired and the promise you make in one more interview (for you from a position of power ) to a candidate that you will inform them and you do not.