Your HR Career

Get Ahead by Drafting Your Own ‘Career Annual Report’

07/01/2006

What have you learned and accomplished in the past five years? If you can’t answer that question, you’ll have a tougher time selling yourself to potential employers. Use the following template to create an annual report that can help collect your thoughts each year …

Check your ‘ethical pulse’: 4 indicators of a bad decision

05/01/2006

Before you act on a hastily made decision, ask these questions to see if it passes ethical muster.

Get the troops on board

04/01/2006

In a recent survey, nearly half the workers responding felt their organization had failed to provide clearly defined goals for their jobs. To help your employees get back into the game, Joanne G. Sujansky offers this advice to create a goal-oriented culture.

Play it smart by aligning yourself with the CFO

03/01/2006

Corporate pressures now call for closer ties between HR and top finance. Winning the CFO as an ally can help earn funding for HR projects, and your strategy smarts will draw attention. Take steps to cultivate the relationships and learn the numbers he or she thrives on …

Capture knowledge from key people before they exit

03/01/2006

Your organization could lose critical knowledge if certain employees leave. Yet, top management often hesitates to address that risk. By taking steps to capture "at risk" information, you build a stronger organization … and boost your own standing …

Increase your value by helping to spot rising managers

02/01/2006

Your unique vantage point in HR equips you to identify managers with the potential to become company leaders. By sharing your insights with top execs, you’ll help build organizational excellence and make yourself more valuable. Use these tips to alert top execs to possible future leaders they might be missing …

Turn your paper HR forms into electronic versions

02/01/2006

Issue: You can use Adobe Acrobat’s PDF Creator to convert old typewritten forms to digital ones.
Benefit: Save time (for you, employees and applicants), save paper and impress the boss …

Are you wired for field HR or corporate HR?

01/01/2006

Field HR or corporate HR: Neither career path is necessarily better; each has its own challenges and rewards. But there are important differences between the two that influence your career direction. Knowing those distinctions is a key step in any HR job move …

8 steps to being an effective witness in court, depositions

01/01/2006

Many HR professionals (and most supervisors) aren’t prepared when called to serve as witnesses. One simple mistake can hurt your organization’s chances and damage your professional image. Use these eight tips to create practice sessions for yourself and other employees who serve as witnesses.

Candor: Apply with extreme caution

12/01/2005

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying— a bit defensively—“I was just being honest,” rest assured that you’re not the only person to have offended a colleague, customer or staff member with your candor. But effective leaders smooth out the rough edges of their candor, with these techniques.