Upcoming Presentation: Why Should HR Care About Social Media?

by Bryan Chaney
(Reposted with permission by http://careerconnects.org)

As the founder of CareerConnects and producer of the second HR focused event, I am proud to feature Curtis Midkiff, Director of Social Engagement for SHRM.

Curtis and I met originally online, then in person at an HR event in Austin two years ago. He works tirelessly to increase awareness of the power of social media in HR, and to help practitioners leverage it more effectively.

Have you struggled with the technology, the time, or the legal ramifications of using social media? He will address the fears and failures that some human resources professionals have faced and overcome. Don’t miss his session “Why Should HR Care About Social Media.”

You can earn HRCI credits for attending the Austin HR strategy event. Tickets are limited, so get yours through AHRMA today.

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Bryan Chaney is a global talent branding and attraction strategist. He has most recently led employment branding and social media for corporate recruitment at Aon. He serves on the board of Social Media Breakfast in Austin and founded careerconnects.org, Find out more at http://about.me/bryanchaney.

You Are NOT Just Another HR Professional

by Angela Loëb, Career/Personal Vision Consultant, InSync Resources

(Reposted with permission by http://careerconnects.org)

There’s one underlying question on everyone’s mind during the hiring process.  And, as an HR professional, you know this is the big one, whether or not you’ve ever been involved in the recruiting function.

That question is… “Why Should I Hire You?”

Guess what?  The answer lies not only in what you can tell them about about your qualifications, your hard-earned degree or certification and your fabulous work history.  While those things are all important, what I’m getting at is that your answer needs to go deeper than that. 

Why?

Because there are many other HR professionals in the market who also have suitable backgrounds and qualifications for the job opening.

The deeper and most important part of the answer is how you are different.  

In order to answer the question well, you must know HOW you are different so you can articulate it clearly and according to their needs.  

What’s So Different About You?

There is definitely something unique about you. You were born with this uniqueness.  Others know what it is because they come to you for it.  Since you’ve had this uniqueness all your life, you might be too close to it to see it.  You live in the skin you’re in, and it’s hard to look at yourself from the outside.

But there is, indeed, something unique and different about you.

A client once told me that she is known for being the glue that holds everything.  Another said that she is very tenacious and that walls only appear when she stops.  

These are great examples of compelling and memorable ways to describe uniqueness.

Uniqueness Formula

Over the years, I've developed an easy way to figure out your uniqueness.  I call it the Unique Promise of Value Formula, which is Talent + Passion + Impact.

It’s simple.  You identify your unique core talent – the one that you are most passionate about using – and then cross check it by determining how you’ve made an impact using it. 

For the Talent part of the formula, make an inventory your special talents and skills.  Write down everything that comes to mind, even if it seems too obvious.  Chances are what comes easy to you may be just what makes you unique and special.

There is a distinction between talents and skills.  Talents come easily to you – they’re inborn abilities.  Skills are what you have learned to do.  Skills may or may not be related to your talents.  Some of your talents may still be raw and undeveloped.  For example, maybe you had natural music ability when you were younger but never had the opportunity or perhaps chose not to develop skills like reading and writing music or playing a musical instrument.  Start with the skills you enjoy using and see if they track back to a natural talent that you have enjoyed developing. 

When it comes to Passion, you should think about the talent that you have the most passion for when using it.  If you need help figuring this out, pay attention to what tasks you do that energize you or that you enjoy doing so much that you lose track of time (in a good way, of course!).  

If passion isn't a word that resonates for you, try approaching it as what makes you feel deeply satisfied and contented.  Like everything is right in the world during the time when you’re working or performing that particular activity.  Basically, you can’t not do this… whatever it is.  In fact, you’d do it (and probably already do it) for free.

When you're looking at the Impact part of the formula, look at those accomplishments that came out of the work you really enjoyed doing.  I’ve noticed that many of us have the tendency to be good girls and boys who get results because we are trained to be that way or because we need to get the gold-star recognition or because it’s the right thing to do when we’re on someone’s payroll.  What I’d like you to focus on is what you did to make a difference because you were all in.  

The core talent you’re so passionate about using that you can’t not do it will have a positive impact in some way.  So look for examples of results that validate the other parts of the formula.

You make a difference – and add value – when you do something that not only gets results, it ignites you and satisfies your soul.

Pull these three elements together, and you’ll be able to articulate why they should hire you.  You’ll be able to tell them why you are NOT just another HR Professional. 

“Everyone has been made for some particular work 

and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” 

– Rumi

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Angela Loëb has been in the career services field for over 20 years and is the author of two books about job search. Connect with her at http://about.me/angelarloeb.

And if you want to learn more about the importance of finding and leveraging your own uniqueness as an HR professional, please come to the 2013 CareerConnects event sponsored by AHRMA on September 26 at the Long Center.  Click HERE for more details.

Becoming an Human Resource Professional

By Carroll Menasco, MBA/HRM, PHR, Chair Certification Committee, Co-VP Career Development

Established in 1976, the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) is an internationally recognized certifying organization for the HR profession. Today, over 127,000 HR professionals worldwide proudly maintain the HRCI’s credentials as a mark of high professional distinction. Obtaining your certification is a career-long commitment that shows your peers, employers, and your organization that you have mastered the core HR principles and that you are dedicated to staying current in your profession.

HR Certification sets you apart by:

• Making your resume stand out from other job applicants;
• Earning recognition from your organization; and
• Connecting to an elite network of motivated HR professionals around the globe.

Compared with certificate programs, HR certification has three main advantages:

• Typically requires specific experience and education;
• Requires recertification, which makes sure that you stay current in the HR profession through continuing education; and
• Allows you to put the letters after your name – PHR or SPHR.

In other words, certification typically consists of the three “E”s: education, experience, and an exam.

However, in order to qualify to test so that you get to put those initials after your name, one must meet the following criteria:

PHR ELIGIBILITY

1. A minimum of one year of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a master’s degree or higher.
2. A minimum of two years of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a bachelor’s degree.
3. A minimum of four years of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a high school diploma.

SPHR ELIGIBILITY

1. A minimum of four years of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a master’s degree or higher.
2. A minimum of five years of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a bachelor’s degree.
3. A minimum of seven years of experience in an exempt-level HR position with a high school diploma.

Becoming HR certified is not easy.  I won’t lie, the exam is hard and requires dedication and commitment; however, the pride upon seeing that “PASSED” at the end of the exam make all the months and hours of study worth every minute! In order to assist those who desire to become PHR or SPHR certified, AHRMA offers a certification course each fall (August – November) and spring (January – April).  Each class is facilitated by a subject matter expert with years of experience who enhances the information presented in the SHRM Learning Module. AHRMA strives to bring only the best and most qualified instructors in order to augment the study and learning experience. By attending an AHRMA certification class, in addition to studying on your own, you are giving yourself opportunity to learn from experts and to enhance your study and retention skills through group study.

The next AHRMA Certification Study Class for open-enrollment is scheduled for June for the fall class.  Keep a watch on the AHRMA website for open enrollment!  We look forward to seeing you in the next class!

The Path to Workforce Readiness

Our Workforce Readiness Committee is passionately committed to the cause of creating a more work ready workforce for Central Texas. That’s why we have bumped into this topic in so many ways.

At work
Our hiring managers are begging us to bring in talent from abroad, and we can’t. The large corporations are lobbying Congress to expand the numbers of foreign visas. The reason is that we can’t find local talent; our universities are not producing enough graduates with the skillsets we need. They haven’t for quite some time. The universities don’t have enough high school kids who desire those fields where we need them most, whether it is high tech, health care or CPAs. The obstacles start early in middle school.

We have also observed a change in workplace skills when entry level candidates interview with us or start their first jobs. More and more, we need to talk about punctuality, attendance, patience. They are whizzes with technology, but do they teach writing paragraphs in school anymore? LOL – OMG.

We have seen veterans coming back home and struggling to translate their invaluable skills and experience to language that recruiters and hiring managers would appreciate. The least they deserve is a fair chance.

In the community
We have met wonderful community partners who working to plug the holes in the dike. Communities in Schools looks for mentors to work with school kids who didn’t get the greatest start in life, to meet with an adult role model once a week.

We have worked for a long time with Workforce Solutions to develop a certificate for Central Texas area for certify candidates that they have work place skills employers can count on. The WorkReadyAustin certificate program has now been launched with over 400 candidates available!

E3 Alliance works as a catalyst to bring Central Texas education to the level to increase the pipeline of talent for our employers. Our latest project is a Dell grant project to create an online system to bring employers and students together and create more opportunities for work-based learning.

Our latest discovery is Skillpoint Alliance which organizes job training programs and career fairs for critical industries.

You will hear a lot more at our Workforce Readiness Day on May 23. Workforce Readiness is critical for everyone in HR!

Keep Austin Work Ready! If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

Written by Liisa Pursiheimo-Marcks, Co-VP Workforce Readiness, Director Talent Management at EZCORP

Stepping Stones: HR Community in Action!

by Renee Polk, current Stepping Stones participant 10/19/12

Imagine this. . .

You leave home before the sun rises and travel to a hotel in central Austin for an ongoing leadership class.  You exchange warm greetings with others, quickly grab a continental breakfast and locate an empty seat.  You strike up a conversation at your table, anxious to share how you implemented a takeaway at your workplace from the last class.  You overhear participants at another table exchanging contact information to discuss a shared HR issue in their respective workplaces.  As the room fills, you settle in to begin a 4-hour shared strategic learning journey with an experienced facilitator and robust discussions.  Welcome to the Stepping Stones community!

Stepping Stones to Enhanced Leadership is a 2009 Pinnacle Award-winning program created by the Austin Human Resource Management Association (AHRMA) leadership to establish a pipeline for AHRMA’s Board of Directors, provide professional development from best-in-class subject matter experts, and enhance workplace engagement and strategic partnership of program participants.

However, Stepping Stones is much more to me and my fellow 2012 participants.  It is a community.

So, I asked my fellow participants if they would answer a few questions to give everyone an inside view of this year’s program.  Here’s what they said. . .

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO APPLY TO THE STEPPING STONES PROGRAM?

“I wanted to advance my career to the executive level, and I felt that developing leadership skills was exactly what I needed to get started.”

“I was encouraged to apply for the program by my mentor.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE GREATEST BENEFIT YOU HAVE RECEIVED EITHER PERSONALLY AND/OR PROFESSIONALLY FROM PARTICIPATING IN STEPPING STONES?

“I really have appreciated the insights gained from the DiSC training.  This has helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses as a leader, and how other people might be thinking.”

“I found the Credible Activist session particularly helpful to me in my efforts to make HR more visible to the other executives.”

“I have enjoyed putting my networking skills to work, and understanding the approach from the various participants with different viewpoints.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO TAKE BACK TO YOUR WORKPLACE FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN STEPPING STONES?

“Honestly, I have been able to take something back from every session.  They are all so relevant and very well presented.”

“Having this leadership training has given me more confidence to raise and advocate for HR issues within my company.”

“I was able to utilize the Credible Activist materials with the rest of the HR team.”

WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND STEPPING STONES TO OTHERS?

“This is an incredible opportunity to learn from experts in the HR field, and the information is presented in a personal way so that you can apply it to your own situation.”

“It’s a great way to learn how others have handled a similar situation.  There have been great discussions because of the differing viewpoints and approaches taken in various situations.”

WHAT OTHER COMMENTS AND/OR OBSERVATIONS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT STEPPING STONES?

“This is an amazing opportunity that you should not pass up.  It looks like a big time commitment, but the experience is so rewarding that you really don’t mind being out of the office because you bring so much back.”

Texas Governor, Rick Perry, proclaimed October 2012 to be Human Resources Awareness Month: