A major pet peeve of mine is people getting or taking credit for things they do not deserve.  Think Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott giving himself the “World’s Best Boss” mug.  Unfortunately this shameful self-promotion is pretty common, especially with the advent of social media as an aid to personal branding.  Think about it, social media provides a way for individuals to build a reputation without ever physically meeting anyone.  Some may say the concept is pure genius.

Too frequently I see people claiming they are subject matter experts when they have no more experience than the average person.  Ben Eubanks of UpstartHR knows what I’m talking about, as illustrated in his post on Jobacle.com! Yet for some reason these individuals win over fans by commenting on blog posts, making public comments in an open forum or getting quoted in an article.  Guess what?  The people you interact with online may not be the same people if you ever meet them in person.  An online persona can be much more grandiose due to the lack of interpersonal communication.  Think online dating sites like eHarmony!  Some take advantage of electronic communication, knowing full well of how different one can portray themselves in an electronic versus in-person format.  His or her commentary may be nothing but a baseless attempt to garnish some form of credit for personal and/or professional gain.

My love of writing and obsession with technology are what ultimately led to the creation of HR Gumbo.  I am not here to get you to buy something from my company or claim that you must hire me to come speak at your next event.  In blogging my goal is to give a different perspective on the human resource industry, that of a Millennial.  I hope to be able to inspire others to recognize areas of improvement and engage in conversation aimed at making change in the workplace. 

I would say that a good number of bloggers are interested in developing their personal/professional brands, including myself.  That’s not a bad thing.  We offer our posts to initiate conversation, to share valuable information, to educate and learn from colleagues.  Unfortunately, there are some out there who would do or say anything to come out on top. 

Now to get to my point…I urge those involved with social media for professional purposes to heed to their gut.  I believe I am a good judge of character but I cannot speak for all you readers out there as I’ve never met most of you.  In that respect I want to share some suggestions with you regarding developing trust in those bloggers you choose to follow.

First, please don’t take everything I say at face value.  Unless I cite something, the content is based on my opinion.  It needs to be said that you will not necessarily know if you agree with something or if it applies to you until you try it out for yourself. 

Second, I urge you to get to know someone you follow on Twitter or someone whose blog you frequently read.  Engage him or her in discussion to make sure you really do want to follow that person and respect their opinion.

Third, know that some people have ulterior motives and what they say or do may be hogwash and designed to inflate their egos and/or their wallet.  It almost seems as if there should be a reference check in the process of whose blog you decide to trust.

Lastly, have fun.  This is an ever-changing interactive process.  Your thoughts and comments frequently create some of the most fascinating conversations among peers across the globe.  We really appreciate the feedback!

[For interest’s sake, if you are a blogger, answer me this one loaded question:  “Why do you blog?”  Share your answers in the comment section along with your name and blog address.]

“It starts from the top down.”  We hear this expression used in so many ways.  Whether it’s referring to a manager’s need to supply the fun, positive attitude at the office in order for their staff to reciprocate, or how business tax cuts are supposed to, in turn, create more jobs.  Currently, the HR industry is failing to follow this time-proven model.  Starting at the top with corporate America, we as HR professionals need to encourage companies to demand graduate degrees from their exempt-level HR staff.  This will filter down, benefiting all HR professionals, current and future, by earning us more respect, more decision making power, and by helping to recruit the best and brightest college students who may still be undecided about which field to enter.

If corporate America does not encourage its exempt-level HR staff to earn graduate degrees, then the HR profession will be severely limited in how far it can develop and grow.  In its current form, the HR function will never be considered as an equal by the other facets of business, most of which are required to have those graduate degrees for employment consideration and promotion (i.e. finance, accounting, marketing, etc.)  This transition needs to take place before we get left behind just like bookkeepers have.  Before the college degree boom 10-20 years ago, a bookkeeper was a prominent, respected occupation that did not require any education, just experience with ledgers.  Times have changed.  Nowadays, who would hire someone to handle your ledger without a college degree?  Businesses used to value experience over education, but that view has reversed and industry-specific knowledge and formal education training are essential. 

Welcome to my conundrum.  As a soon to be Florida State University grad, majoring in HR, I am looking for graduate schools that offer an MBA with an HR concentration.  Unfortunately, out of more than 2000 universities in the country, there are only 13 HR graduate degree programs that are fully aligned with the curriculum standards established by SHRM!  How can this be possible you ask?  There is a direct correlation between what degrees businesses demand from their employees to what universities offer.  Because most companies are not promoting the pursuit of HR graduate degrees by not demanding it from their staff, schools do not offer it.  In turn, students are not encouraged to further their education HR.

This is preventing us from lassoing the best and brightest college students into our field.  They might end up choosing safer, more well defined routes such as finance and accounting.  After graduation from a top program, finance professionals are offered an average starting salary of $20,000-$30,000 more than someone with a degree in HR, depending on prior experience.

In order for our profession to be respected as equal and for us to be trusted with the decision making power we so deserve, this change needs to take place.  Whether personally considering earning a graduate degree or not, all HR professionals should encourage their companies to start demanding these degrees from their HR staff.  Otherwise, we may end up obsolete,  just like the bookkeepers.

There has been a lot of focus on social media marketing over the past year.  I get at least one email per day stating that the sender is an expert in the use of social media marketing yet I doubt they have any more experience than the average user.

The entire concept of social media marketing is an ever-changing, unstoppable force.  It’s like the Lance Armstrong of marketing strategies.  It seems as if a new idea is unleashed every day that makes social media more enticing to its users.  How therefore can one become an expert?

Many companies have jumped on the band wagon and started pages/groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.  Some have even succumbed to peer pressure and created their own Twitter handles.  Why are they doing this?  Some say it is to broaden their reach into their marketing pool.  Others say they have developed a social media presence in an attempt to woo potential candidates for employment, especially Generation Y.

Let me remind you that I am a member of Generation Y.  If we had cards, I would even be a card carrying member, that’s how proud I am! 

Now I appreciate your attempt at catching my eye by bombarding me on Facebook but your ability to set up an account isn’t going to quite cut it if there is nothing to back it up.  Companies need to realize the importance of developing a complete social media marketing strategy, even if it means reworking their mission, vision, values and goals.  I recently read an interesting post on this subject by Laurie Ruettimann over at Punk Rock HR.  Take a look, I’ll wait, it’s not that long. 

In Laurie’s post the company describes itself as a “traditional manufacturing company with a conservative approach to policies, politics and principles.” Gag me. 

Now I cannot speak for all Millenials but that sounds boring and stuffy.   I want to work some place innovative and flexible and that offers a technologically advanced working environment, like Google.  If you are going to try and recruit me with your social media applications the least you could do is jazz up your corporate culture to make it more enticing. 

Sure, reach out via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but if the sparkle ends there and you fail to let change filter through your organization you’ll probably drop off most of us Millenials’ radars.