What Are Today’s Companies Looking For?

1/25/2012  By Lin Grensing-Pophal      For HR job seekers who find themselves in job search mode for the first time in several years, the environment may look startlingly different than it did the last time they were seeking a job. The game has changed—and so have the players.Today’s job seekers are competing with a broad-ranging and diverse group of competitors that span every generation and offer a mix of talent and skills that encompasses everything from strategy and leadership to advanced skills in technology and social media. Even the terminology is changing. Raellyn Kovich, an associate partner with Bell Oaks, an executive search firm based in Atlanta, says the term “HR business partner” has replaced the popular “HR generalist.” That change represents more than simply semantics. “It comes with an expectation of understanding business and partnering in ways beyond benefits, recruiting and employee relations,” she says. HR leaders who hold an MBA or who have spent time working in operations, marketing or the customer side of the business are becoming highly desirable, she notes. The ability to create employee engagement and to manage change effectively are two additional skills that successful HR job seekers must have, Kovich says. But these skills have also evolved. “HR leaders must have experience in driving employee engagement beyond just executing employee surveys,” she says. And, when it comes to change management, HR professionals need to be able to see the big picture and act quickly. Businesses hit hardest by the recession, such as manufacturing and building industries, she says, have taken advantage of this time to “invest in their own infrastructures in order to proactively tackle new market share when things turn around.” Those changes represent challenges for employees and the HR professionals who lead them. “Some employees who have been successful for years may not be able to make the leap forward into the new way of doing things. Helping people through the transition into success on the other side will typically fall to HR.” Technology, of course, is a big game changer and can represent big benefits to HR job seekers, says Tracy McCarthy, senior vice president of HR at SilkRoad Technology in Chicago. “Social networking is the latest and greatest way to connect and network,” she says. “If you’re not a part of the online networking communities, you are at a disadvantage.” Networking and technology can help HR job seekers build their personal brands, she says. “Proactively reach out to people you know and get your name out there. Even acquaintances can help you find good leads.”