So, What’s your point?

Man, I read a lot! I feel like I’m back at Ohio State, reading and reading and thinking and thinking but I love Human Resources, so it all good.  I notice elements of Human Resources in many aspects of my day to day life, for example, when I’m driving and someone passes me who is obviously speeding; I think, gas is too high to be speeding like that. (economics) Or if I go someplace and receive poor service, I think; who trained them, I wonder if the manager knows about this poor performance? (training/development/feedback/leadership)  I could go on but that’s not the POINT.  Which brings me to my point, kinda…I read so much stuff from so many others I often wonder, what’s their point? Not so much as what is the point of the post, but of the blog? What are trying to say? Who is your audience? This is ironic because I am asked these questions all the time.  But I’m asked by those you either already know Human Resources or do not THINK they can benefit from my blog.

There are some great professional blogs out there. I read a lot of them. What I’ve found lately, is that everyone is asking everyone to read everything post on this or that, but do they read them. People are busy, you got to work, meetings, family, reality TV and pictures of celebrities to look at, am I right?  Uh well, let’s move on. So it’s understandable, I mean there is a lot of information to read.

When I read these things; blogs, articles, news boards, books, and even working with current college students, I have to remind myself, what’s my point and who am I trying to reach. Here’s the answer; I have immediate and ultimate goals. My immediate goal is to network. That’s a short answer but to expand on that, I want to reach as many people as I can, in order to disseminate, receive and share helpful professional information. I hope it helps the “average joe” become a better applicant and worker, by being prepared.  I hope it helps HR Professionals in their day-to–day practices by reminding them that we are the ones making the critical decisions that bring about change in an organization. It’s up to us to change the negative perception of Human Resources, and we can do it and still protect the company and still protect confidentiality. I think sometimes when you are around like minded people and you all are saying the same thing, its easy to become comfortable and disregard different experiences. When someone has a different opinion from my own, I examine it more. Is it truthful, hurtful, helpful, uncomfortable or just something I don’t want to hear. I think that’s where growth is obtained.

So I may have to drop some motivational or inspirational posts. I may have to show off that high powered knowledge and vast experience but it’s all part of the goal. And that’s my point, so if you don’t know, now you know.

Social Studies (Tweetbaby)

I have to admit, I was not a big fan of social media sites. I didn’t find them very useful but recently I have been shown the ways of the force. (Star Wars) I have been educated and opened to their purpose and potential. In an earlier post, I said that HR professionals are often times too reactionary to technology. We don’t think of ways to use it to help our businesses, and employees fast enough. Our initial reaction to new technology is to create a policy and find ways to limit or ban it. In the case of social media, I was guilty of that kind of thinking.
There are several social media sites, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, foursquare, LinkedIn, digg, YouTube, and more. (here’s a list)  I am not going to break down the top ones  but I will say MySpace has been losing members and hits, to the tune of more than 2 million a month. Facebook is the most popular of them all but they are seeing a much slower decline. (here’s a chart) 

 Twitter is growing steadily, which is ironic because until lately I felt it was the most useless one. Yeah, I said it, I’ll admit, I was not a Twitter fan, didn’t want to tweet, and didn’t understand why people cared about what Snooki was doing today. That was my short sidedness. Not too long ago someone told me, I need to get a Twitter account in order to be connected and network. Man oh man, were they right! It has unlocked a wealth of information and knowledge. It’s expanded my blog and put SME’s (subject matter experts) at my fingertips. The amount of positive information is out there and there are helpful people out there that will work with you. Twitter is all about who you decide to follow. By following people who do what you want to do, you can create a tremendous network community and bounce ideas off of them and get great feedback.
After reading article and article about social media and how people are losing their jobs because of the content of their postings, I decided to research people who received jobs by using those same sites.  And it’s true, lots of people are getting jobs because of their Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook connections. The key is to keep it professional and network. You are going to see more and more companies will ask you if you have a social media account. They are not looking to find a way to disqualify you; they are trying to find innovative ways to recruit talent. They are trying to find ways to reach out to customers and sure, they will also use it to make assessments. Its smart business, you have to change with the times, there will be online interviews through social media, I am sure of it so get ready.
If you are asked about having an account I wouldn’t lie about it because they could search by name or email address. Its not having an account, its the content of the material on the account that may cause you to miss an oppurtunity. Your content may not be in alignment with their social media policy or offensive.  Politically incorrect posts, pictures, organizations or tags could cost you. When you have an online profile that is your brand, which is your identity to the world. If you like salacious stories, rumors and entertainment information fine, you might want to have two accounts, one for business and one for dirt, unless dirt is your business and where you make your money then hell, go for it. Remember nothing is truly anonymous, things you send and post can be tracked. So if you don’t know, now you know!