Lauren LevineWhen you first enter the HR department in an organization, you may feel overwhelmed. You play an integral part of the company’s success, and you want to be sure you know how to handle this responsibility. If you have just begun a career as an HR professional, here are some tips and tricks that you should keep in mind in order to ensure success in the field:
Understand the fundamentals of business deeply
The best human resources professionals are those who have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of business. You should understand business as a whole, and should also be intimately familiar with the industry that your company is in. Whether your business sells clothing, manufactures computers, or sells insurance, you need to know everything there is to know about that field in order to serve your company more effectively.
This means learning what various departments within your company do. If you have no idea what accounting is up to or how sales works, it makes it a real challenge to serve these various departments effectively. Make it a point to take some time and learn about the goals and struggles that various departments face. This allows you to be much more effective in your own role.
Network nonstop
Human resources professionals who are in charge of hiring will want to focus on networking in order to remain aware of the field’s top talent. If you don’t know anyone in the industry, it will be hard to recruit tip-top talent for your business. Make networking a priority each day. Send a few e-mails, make some connections on Twitter, and keep your LinkedIn profile updated. When you know people in the industry, it makes it much easier for you to do your job when it’s time to make a hiring decision.
Know what’s going on in the industry
Part of an HR professional’s job is to make sure that their company keeps up with current trends and changes. If you have no idea what other companies in your industry are doing, it makes it hard for you to guide your own business accordingly. Make it a point to read blogs, trade publications, newspapers, and other materials in order to stay abreast of developments within your field.
Think on your feet
HR professionals are often tasked with solving problems that other people are struggling with. In order to do this effectively, you will need to be able to think quickly on your feet. If you take weeks to hem and haw over a decision, you will become an inefficient employee. The right HR pro can quickly make a logical decision based on the facts presented to them at that time.
If you’re in HR, how did you get started? What have you learned along the way that you wish you knew in the beginning?
Guest Post
Josh Tolan
