In Other Words

Hell's Recruitment

I’ve noticed something decidedly odd about HR people. They are a separate breed from us normal humans. They act differently, behave different, have different ideas, beliefs, priorities. They are an interesting species to observe, especially now that I’ve been a part of their culture for nearly two and a half months and they are slowly starting to believe I am one of their own (I feel a bit like that researcher that lived among monkeys and was slowly accepted into their clan).

One thing I’ve noticed, above all, is that HR people seem to be very proper. They don’t seem to drink, smoke, go out or skive. They just seem to do their job. Truth be told, almost all the people I have met that are in HR seem naturally, well, boring. The few exceptions that I’ve come across have almost always seemed to want to leave.

I guess you would have to become boring if you realize that you’re stuck in a dead end job that isn’t going to get you anywhere useful, really. I mean as long as they are HR they will always be supporting cast. They will be one of the thousands of extras that roam around doing their little bit, while never getting centre stage unless there has been a real f*ck up. (in which case nobody /wants/ to be centre stage).

(“Hey, Charlie screwed it up big time, cost us millions of dollars!” “Must be HR’s fault, they hired him”)

While they never get any credit for the big thing. Its not like when the big boss clinches a billion dollar deal he mentions them in his thank you speech.

Maybe the word is uptight? Knowing how high you can go in the company is pretty limited and that there are dozens of other girls (HR is always predominantly female) vying for the same position. I guess they have to be careful if they want to get promoted anywhere worthwhile.

I wonder if they ever think to them selves ‘I wish I could get out and do something exciting, like cook rice’. I mean people don’t talk to them unless they are complaining about something. More money, more leave, less work, better benefits, more education, nattering about small print. I imagine some staff just use HR to bitch at (Oh sorry, this is HR! I honestly thought it was the bitch number! My mistake, give me more money.)

Alright, this isn’t going anywhere useful, I might write something later, I still have some more interesting stuff to talk about. I actually had some revelation about HR, but I’ve forgotten it since then. I think it was something like ‘we should try to be nice to them, its not their fault that they are lesser life forms’. You think they would be insulted if I told them that that is what I’ve decided?

posted by Symbol @ 13.7.04