PoppaRob nice to see you on here.
Human Resources - the scourge of every organisation! In Australia, you have higher requirements of qualifications - not many clinical psychologists, or occupational psychologists for that matter, knocking about in HR in the UK. More likely business diplomas, young college leavers, people still studying and gaining experience on the backs of employees whose lives get turned upside down by these transient, ambitious numpties who have no empathy and little understanding of the impact of their casual rhetoric about redundancy, demotion, suspension, disciplinaries and health worries.
As a manager, I sat with many a weeping employee who had given years of loyal service, being told by some new HR entrant to the organisation that their job was in jeopardy because of absence through illness, or potential changes in infrastructure, with no hint of compassion or understanding.
They had little training, but felt able to give out bad advice about CVs, 'help' with moving to more suitable posts after long-term illness, or in over-riding policy and proedure when there were clear reasons to do so, such as enabling very sick people to retire without having to fight for the right. And, when you phoned them a fortnight after they had wreaked havoc, where are they? Oh, they left last week - did no-one tell you!?!?
Apologies to the good old personnel officers who got caught up in this move into bureaucracy - good pastoral care of employees, faces that we all got to know and who were on hand to help when we needed it. There were two left in my organisation when I retired, and both continued to offer help weeks after I left. The other half dozen or so were too busy chatting on Facebook, re-writing complaints about their department in order to avoid being found out for their ineptitude, and writing their academic essays in work time so they could get their ambitious feet further up some other organisation's promotions ladder.
Never listen to an HR person giving advice about CVs!
