HR Pro Offers Job Search Tips, Career Advice

• Stay current and continually learn. Attend webinars and conferences, listen to podcasts, and earn SHRM certification.
  

• Showcase the impact and results of your work on your resume, not just the tasks—even as an intern. Be specific. For example, instead of simply noting your work involved training new employees, indicate the number of new employees you trained per month, which led to coverage during the company's busy season or reduced customer wait times. This approach "differentiated me from other candidates," Petrie said.
  

• Demonstrate an understanding of the business, not just HR. Know about other areas such as accounting or IT and demonstrate a general understanding of how HR can support those areas and their people.
  

• Build relationships. Following through on commitments and being trustworthy contributes toward your credibility and helps build workplace relationships.
  

Successfully Starting a New HR Position

• Take time to learn the business. When starting a new HR role, Petrie spends at least the first few weeks—or longer, depending on the role—setting up meetings with different people in the areas she will be supporting.
  

• Spend a lot of time with your HR team. This includes gaining an understanding of other HR areas or business sites if your employer has multiple locations and becoming familiar with the company's various offerings, such as compensation and benefits or training systems.
  

• Don't let the to-do list bog you down. "There will be a million little things in all these notes that you take in your first couple weeks. Take the time to prioritize those and don't get so focused on checking off the list [that] you forget to … focus on relationships and learning the business," Petrie said.
  

• Get the lay of the land with current tools, systems and vendors. There are many vendors you might use in HR—for recruiting platforms, applicant tracking systems, assessments, payroll, L&D, benefits providers and the like.
  

• Get organized and track successes. "It's really important to always keep track of everything you're doing and all your successes," Petrie said, including completed projects and to-do items. This allows you to quickly show the value you're adding to the organization.
  

• Listen and don't assume anything. Ask a lot of questions.   
  

• Remember that people are the most important aspect of your organization. "As you're walking the hall or attending a virtual event … say hello. Introduce yourself and say hi to every new person you meet or is on the meeting invite. Really take the initiative to reach out to them and introduce yourself," Petrie said.
  

• Get involved. Does your company have a charitable or community involvement group, a young professionals networking group or other employee resource groups? Is there a mentoring program you can join? If your organization sponsors events—whether it's a poster contest or loading trucks with supplies for hurricane victims—volunteer to help with the planning or judging even if you don't participate in the event itself, Petrie advised.
  

• Pay attention to who is on company meeting invitations. Consider following up by asking for a 15-minute one-on-one chat—in person or virtual—to get to know each other and to learn more about the other person's role. "That goes out a long way for in the future when you need to roll out an initiative or someone needs to come to HR with something they really need to discuss; you've started off that relationship on a really good, positive note," Petrie said.