Meet Alex Joseph—your future HR Intern

One day Alex emailed me using LinkedIn, to ask me some questions about HR subtleties. Alex was not a direct or “first” connection, but he had found my profile by poking around looking for HR professionals in his extended network. On closer inspection, Alex and I share a connection, a former intern of mine had been a classmate of Alex.

Alex explained in his email to me that he is currently studying at the University of Massachusetts and he wanted to know a bit more about what I handled in HR, how I got into the field, and how he might be able to break into HR management after finishing his university studies. His principal concern centered on that fact that he did not have a plethora of experience in the actual HR field. While a student, he had been working part-time in retail store and had also been the founder of a car detailing business.

In our conversation, Alex explained to me that UMass had not had a specific HR major, so he had gotten special permission to build a Human Resources Management curriculum. To put together such a curriculum, he had had to get special approvals and permissions, no small task in itself, and he had had to persuade professors to shoulder the burden of teaching specific new courses.

I advised Alex to get his foot in the door by getting some sort of internship in any type of HR. I told him to look into HR Data Management and Analysis, an aspect of HR Management that was growing rapidly, driven by the increasing sophistication of software tools that better enabled a business to capture and analyze data, and establish metrical criteria that could enhance a business. I conjectured that it would suit him well. It is for people who like working with data, organizing systems that fit that data, and gathering insights from properly organized data. Commercial organizations have recognized the field as the means by which they can bridge the gap between metrics and the manpower.

When we talk about the intangibles, we are specially talking about things that need to be expressed or mentioned in cover letters or in conversation. When I think about Alex, I recognize that whether or not he has had formal HR experience, he is nevertheless a superior candidate. He was able to put together a custom made academic program to suit his interests in school, he was able to locate and connect to someone in the HR field when he needed more and more precise answers.  He is completely open to knowledge.

Contact Alex on Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alex-joseph/7b/a7/926

The right stuff

This blog is dedicated to getting the word out about talented folks who are looking for their next position. While they might not have direct connections to people in power, I believe that they have the right stuff—and ultimately that is all that should really matter in propelling them to success.

I have observed a great many people entering the job-market, and I have distilled from my observations the markers of success—character traits that generally entice success. It is my considered belief that an organization does well to employ people with an inquisitive nature, with immense quantities of passion, and an indomitable spirit. They should preferentially be offered employment even if they do not fit the exact job specifications. Such persons often do more, live more vividly, and fight their battles harder. They are the reason that companies thrive; they have a point of view that companies need. Most importantly, they have the determination and the discipline to execute their vision.