From HR Toddler to Here and Now.

My first post in this series is written by Katherine Connolly. After I have approached Katherine about writing this guest post, it took her one day to get back to me with what I find as exceptionally good written post. This text shows little bit of Katherine’s sense of humour but mainly very positive attitude towards HR seen as more than just a job. 

Katherine is a founder of the HR consultancy firm called “Keeping HR Simple” where name of her company reveals also her mission statement to help small businesses understand HR with no jargon involved. Katherine is also CIPD member and her personal views on HR can be seen on her blog here. You can also follow Katherine on twitter @HR_Katherine.

Now see what Katherine has to say: 

Firstly, let me say that I’m not sure I’ve progressed much beyond the toddling stage.  If we’re talking about the 7 Ages of HR, I’m definitely in the infant stage, although I like to think that I don’t do much “mewling and puking”! 

I must say that I do like the analogy of being like a child when it comes to working in HR.  Here are just some of the reasons:

I can honestly say that I learn something new every day even if sometimes I have to unlearn everything I thought I knew. 

I try to be independent but often have to ask for help to do something.

I have learnt that there’s no shame in acknowledging that I don’t know how to do certain things.

Sometimes, I just want to sit down and have a little cry but I know that crying doesn’t solve anything!

For me, HR has always been a passion and I’m equally passionate about helping businesses to see beyond the legislation and to understand that when things are done properly, they can learn to engage with their employees for the benefit of the business. 

If I had one tip for anyone starting out in HR it would be to take things personally.  If your company or your client has to make redundancies, be upset about it.  If there is very little communication between management and staff, do what you can to change the culture.  If you can make it a better place to work, do it.  After all, if you don’t care and you don’t take things personally, you’re in the wrong job.    

Katherine Connolly

Are you HR professional thinking of giving something back and you don’t know where to start? Writing short story about your beginnings in HR can help a lot to other HR enthusiasts looking for inspiration, answers and strength. Email me at hrbeginner at gmail dot com or tweet me @HRbeginner. Eventually, if you are looking for becoming more active in helping other HR on their journey, I strongly suggest signing up at www.connectingHR.org. Among other exciting features you will also find a group set up for mentors. For those of you not knowing what connectingHR is, well there is nothing like this community out there being so vital and keen to engage in HR talks caring about each other and helping whenever possible.ConnectingHR website by itself is relatively new but don't get confused as the community exists for some time now on twitter and yammer.

While I myself have some journey on front of me before I start sharing my HR story, for now this blog is my way of “Giving Something Back”. What is Yours?

Mask is a Must. Or is it?

Inspired by Emma’s @onatrainagain post “We wear the mask”. Thank you Emma. 

As we grow up, we also learn that there is a good reason for changing our behaviour (mask) depending on situation we are in. I suppose, it is one of the talents of human race for which we can only be grateful for, as there is no way we will make it through without it. In the same body we are many different people with different missions to accomplish: to be a respected and inspirational leader at work, loving husband and dad at home, fun and supportive as a friend in the pub, or to be honest to ourselves…..

Masks - picture source

On one side it is quite obvious that the ability to switch between our masks makes us more or less skilled in what we do; successful; happy….?!? Nevertheless it is the same, switching between our masks what makes us exhausted, and making us to burn out.

How often we wish to bring our real "I" into conversation but being aware of potential damage we all back off (most of the time, anyway). Some might say that makes us civilised. Switching different modes throughout the day can also be seen as creative way of living our lives, where our personalities get a chance to exercise what they are best in. We all want a job which will be fun and fulfilling our expectations. While reality of our success is different we will always do our best to get closer and closer to our dream job (even if we don’t know what it is). 

Taking emotional labour such as costumers' facing staff as an example, there is a monotone list of dos and donts no matter what organisation you are in. And just to make it worse, every employer will tell you to leave your private life at home (although few are starting to realise that actually caring about people makes sense in the long run and that “H” in “HR” means something too). 

The point I am trying to make is that it is not the matter of our choice but rather survival technique which brings us to learn how to wear different masks in different situations. Going even more philosophical we could say that we are all trying to survive by wearing as many masks as necessary while praying for this being as few as possible.

So what is my ultimate goal? The ideal would be waking up as Peter, making business with others as Peter, meeting friends and family as Peter and most of all being appreciated by all for being no one else than Peter.

I know I should probably wake up now…right?

…..I am just saying.

I am asking then. Is Mask a Must? and How good are we actually in hiding our real "I"?

10 Reasons Why You Willl Never Miss the #TruLondon Unconference Ever Again.

1. You are involved either directly or indirectly in people resourcing and you do understand that social media is not only a trend which you can’t afford to ignore but also biggest database of many talented candidates who have exactly what it takes to fill your vacancy.

2. There is no way you can be closer to what is known as best of the best in the recruitment industry, and now I am talking people as well as instruments to make your profession ticking like no other.

3. While current trends are being thoroughly discussed, at #TruLondon New Trends are born. You don’t want to miss that, and you want to be part of it.

4. There is no way you will find another time and space filled with enthusiasts keen to share, learn and have a great time alongside of it.

5. You will meet and have chance to talk to, challenge and have a drink with some worldwide recognised analysts, leaders, entrepreneurs, recruitment and social media geeks and experts.

6. Innovation and creativity is valued largely as most current topics are being discussed.

7. You will see it all: what is shared perception throughout the industry and across the world, but also spot different opinions on issues which have always seemed to be obvious and beyond questioning.

8. At #truLondon you will understand why Social Media and HR are couple. And what a couple it is. They not only love each other, but also constantly complement each other and think of each other while making critical decisions.

9. Setup of the unconference allows its attendees to be creative and ask questions as well as offer opinion on any matter almost instantly without waiting for (as known at conferences) speaker to finish.

10. It is great fun to be there where you learn more as you play along.

Running Downhill

In my latest post “The Ugly Truth about “Having a Bad Day” I was suggesting that there is no problem of sharing your downs as long as you share it with right people. Today I would like to highlight one of the sources of a “bad day” talking about how trying to run too fast down the hill could lead to the awkward situation which you didn’t think of before.

It has all started couple of months a go, after a summer break which I have prescribed to myself, following my 5 years long study at University while working full time and more hours. I decided not to push any further development and having job which paid my bills I have once again tasted life with book on the bedside table or stargazing with my telescope during warm summer evenings (I guess I feel a bit cheesy now). Some other things I was pleased to do, was to catch up with all tasks which I had to postpone for last couple of years, such as sorting out my iTunes library, movie collection or pictures, and generally de-cluttering my living space. I was so excited about my new freedom that I have made number of camping trips that summer, quite a few of them being one night stay.

I have started to disrespect my home space, as the time spent there was always related to catching up with readings of textbooks or writing assignments with very little “finally at home” feelings. I had this feeling of compulsion and wanted to spend as much time away from home as possible. It took me a while to rebuild my relation with my house but it was incredibly rewarding letting it happen on its own with no agenda to reinforce it. And so, I woke up one day sometimes in November and felt that I was ready for my next steps in my life of HR professional. And as I always do, also this time I took it really “fast and curious” (although “fast and furious” might just describe it more accurately).

Twitter, Blogging, Linked In, Job-hunting- served all the time on the same plate and all while having a full time job already. "When Multitasking Kills" is another post I am working on, but just to give you some idea, imagine running down the hill so fast that you loose control of your legs and the only way to stop is to fall. One thing you learn is that you can not overtake yourself! Your body won’t let you! You have courage but there are forces out of your control which will almost certainly ask for paying back for your reckless behaviour.

You start to do mistakes more often than ever and have people around you looking at you suspiciously. Your closest will look for the ways to tell you about that you are loosing it, but other lot will just watch and forget the other you. 

We do say that “first impression is important” but we should also learn to accept that the last impression is usually the one remembered.

I have done it before when I have decided that working and studying full time will be fun, knowing absolutely nothing about how much one man can take. While it was incredibly exciting journey, I remember that over 5 years I have been less and less enthusiastic about this way of life. I also remember when I’ve submitted my last paper and sat in the car park trying to find any signs of “hurray” state of mind. I couldn’t find it though as by then I was already badly damaged and it took me a while to recover and fully appreciate my achievements.

Now talking performance there is no need to go into details, but generally speaking you will never deliver the same with this sort of attitude.

Lessons for HRbees

Multitasking kills (now this one is to be discussed in later post but generally speaking there is growing evidence among various psychological studies that “Multitasking is not efficient, nor does it get more work done faster. Quite the opposite. One task interferes with another, so everything takes longer because the brain loses time--and accuracy--in repeatedly shifting its effort” (www.psychologytoday.com). There are many tools to help you with management of your time spent on different things throughout a day. Dividing your tasks into short, medium and long term categories is one of the basic ones.

One step at the time, it’s not a cliché but something what worked perfectly at the beginning of our life when we have learned to walk and talk. So once again don’t try to overtake yourself. There is nothing wrong to push a bit harder sometimes. Just watch it!

Eat, Drink, Sleep, are things you can’t fool........Seriously!

Don’t mind the endless list of tasks you have. Think about the one which you have just ticked off. Try not to be frustrated from not getting done enough.

You feel like there is a mess in your concept? See if there is a way you could make sense out of it and ask for help from others, but mainly try to relax, as some things are meant to be chaotic and they will also very often sort themselves out.

Now-here is the golden one I have learned myself. 

Give yourself “me” time regularly. Not “me” who you want to be, but “me” who you are right now. We all seem to have tendency to act as someone who we want to be, forgetting how much disgusting it could be to our real “me”. Don’t take me wrong, changing some of your habits which you yourself are not proud of anymore is important, but take it easy!  

Reflect. Nothing beats good self-reflection on what you do and what it does.

Finally, in the spirit of mindfulness, I found incredibly regenerating regularly turning off all the noises around me (could be your PC, TV, Ipod etc.). Cook something nice for yourself, sit down and enjoy every peace on your plate like there is nothing else on earth to think about. I am not an expert in easing my mind but if you want to know more check out http://www.mindfuljourney.co.uk/ blog from Alison Ashford where you might just find your new coping mechanism with everyday stress.

The Ugly Truth about “Having a Bad Day”

We all feel a bit down every now and then...right?

Bad day via www.stevenjones.blogspot.com

And then, we naturally seek something to fix that feeling. 

We all seem to have our own way of dealing with it, but most of us find comforting sharing their feelings with others. Wife or husband, friends or work colleagues, your boss or your mates from social media sites. It seems to work most of the time and that is not because of what they have told you, but rather because they have listened. We are social animals after all and contact with others is incredibly beneficial especially in situation where you are a bit lost and want quickly find someone who knows how you feel. 

And then there is the ugly truth about sharing your state of mind where nothing seems to be straight. 

World is not always pink, and whoever pretends either in their life or on their blogs and websites that this is the case, is wrong and probably smokes something! It is like if you are asked on interview “What are your weaknesses?” and we all state silly things which we know for sure,  that will be either funny or hard to believe, and that it will leave none if not positive impression on your interviewer.

So what exactly happens when you are talking about your real weaknesses? Well, while everybody says that it is perfectly human to have bad days and that everybody has one every now and then, they are not lying, yet what they don’t tell you is that your “bad day” has quite possibly marked you down. Consciously by some, subconsciously by others. In the worst scenario your confession will make someone eating you alive. And if I say someone I really mean us. The natural selection can be really seen everywhere, and getting a job in HR is not an exception. It is the reality of the world where information means power and you can only take care of yourself and your family if you are one step ahead of someone else. Depressing? Hell yeah! But at the end of the day it is all about how much you can take. Why? Well, yes you are only human and you can feel a bit down every now and then, but take it home with you and share it with your wife or friends. Take a big breath and remember that very few if anyone at all, is interested in your whining. Also remember the day you wake up and nothing is impossible for you because this is the day which counts, not the one where you feel drowning. All you need to do is to make sure that only you know about “bad days” and share with the rest of the world the good ones only. Do you need help? - Maybe, but to start with, you need to chill out and remember that “Nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked”.  

What would I do?

I would still share my weaknesses, as I believe that people should not be afraid of expressing themselves at the time when they have doubts, as that’s the time they need support but also a great source of feedback for their personal and professional development. The greatest truth I have learned about myself happened always when I was not afraid to admit what others kept for themselves. Nevertheless you also have to bear in mind the hidden consequences of sharing your Achilles' heel, therefore I would think twice about person I am sharing it with.

Final note

Sometimes I am getting feedbacks from my followers that I should avoid writing negatively on my blog especially if I am using it as a tool for my job hunt. Well truth is, that my blogging was always more about trying to share as much as possible with people at the beginning of their HR career and I think it is important for all HR beginners to know that having a bad day is normal, but learning how to deal with it in most appropriate way is a skill which we all have to learn. I have started to use my blog as a tool for presenting myself to potential employers, and then I have realized that this might affect the way I want to write about reality of HRbeginner’s life. I am willing to take the risk nonetheless, and go back to my initial mission of this blog. I am hoping to continue being inspirational for all HRbees who subscribed to my blog not only through showing off my strengths but also admitting my “bad days”. I also hope that to potential employers, my experience, skills and abilities as well as my love to this sector will always count more than occasional posts about ugly truth of “HRbeginner’s” life. I also realize that my writing can not always be a blog of choice and that I will have moments when I will appear to be less convincing, but I will tell you this: “I am the HR and a good one it is just my HR-world is not my oyster just yet”.   

To all HR beginners.

I am not an expert on many things and should you have one of these “bad days” you will have to find your own way how to tackle it. Nevertheless should you ever feel like sharing (stranger to stranger way) I am here to listen to say the least. Email me at hrbeginner@gmail.com, DM me via twitter @hrbeginner or call me 00447849854295

To all

 What are your bad days like? How do you cope with them?