Friday, March 10, 2017

Advice From an HR Professional Friend



Somewhat of a tough day today.  I met my friend, a law school classmate who is an HR professional with a large national health insurer, downtown for lunch.

To do so, I took the train into the city for the first time after being released.  While on the escalator down from the platform level to the street level, the hurt of being let go sunk in a bit.  There are definitely going to be emotional ups and downs during these next few days. Entering the city again was pretty tough.

Like me, my friend is a Disney fanatic.  We both (at separate times) were on the Disney College Program, and have been to WDW, the Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland.  I think he goes to a Disney Park (they are all far from Chicago) at least once every quarter.   

My friend went on a similar path as me, started with a law firm and then went in-house a few times. Unlike me, he left the practice of law for an HR role.  He got tired of being a lawyer (with handling litigation in particular) and just left the profession.  Like us, he went without a job for a significant period of time. During the period of February 2015 to November 2015, he quit his in-house counsel position, studied up, moved from Minnesota to Chicago and found an HR role.  He is well-versed in employment law from his lawyering days.  While this experience helped him get the HR role, he still was able to transition into another field.  The golden nugget of this story is maybe our sudden job loss is a time for us to reflect on what we want to do…

Here and there amongst our Disney discussion we talked about our jobs and careers. One thing that stuck out was how he stressed the importance of connecting with and communicating with others during this job search.  At his health insurance company, there are two HR positions that have been open for almost six months. No one seems to fit the bill in the mass numbers of resumes they receive and people they interview. It has gotten to the point where he was personally asked if he knew anyone who would be suitable for the role.  Imagine if you were an HR specialist looking for a job and you knew my friend. There’s a good chance you would at least get an interview.  That said, go out and reconnect with friends and acquaintances. In addition to talking about your shared past and interests, there might be something out there just waiting for you.

Enjoy your Friday night.

Day Seven Lessons: 

1.  Use this Time to Think About Where You Want to Go with your Career


2. Reconnect with Friends and Acquaintances.  There Might Be An Opportunity Waiting For You.




Total Contacts Reached Out To: 29

Total Applications: 26

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