Bypassing HR for an Interview
I’m working on an project where I spend a fair amount of time talking with people who are looking for work. It’s interesting to talk with them because they invariably ask me, “How do I bypass the human resources department in the interview process?”
Ouch! Is this the perception of HR? I flashed back to my days in the corporate world. I thought we did a pretty good job of welcoming candidates and we followed up with every person who applied. Every single one. But then I read articles like “Ten Things Human Resources Won’t Tell You” and realize maybe candidates are right.
Sometimes human resources can be its own worst enemy. HR can be known for creating rules, policies and procedures that only make lives easier for human resources. HR needs to realize that, if it makes a candidate jump through a bunch of unnecessary hoops to get an interview, the candidate will figure out a different 
If managers think human resources is creating a lot of bureaucracy that’s holding up progress in terms of getting people hired, they will gladly take a call directly from a candidate. Managers aren’t interested in all of the paperwork it takes to hire someone. They just want a great employee who will work hard for the company.
Now to stick up for human resources pros (because I am one), there are some parts of the recruiting process that are there for a reason. And it’s important to understand those components and follow the process.
If you want to bypass HR, you run the risk of getting on the bad side of HR before ever getting hired. This is not a good place to be. Ever want to tick off an HR pro – don’t follow one of their policies. It’s a “do not pass GO, do not collect $200” moment.
So while there will always be candidates who challenge the system, the real issue is if you don’t want candidates to bypass HR…don’t give them a reason. Make your recruiting process easy to use.
Image courtesy of Dyrk Wyst
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