How many of you out there have read that you should follow your passion in your life? How many of you feel that you are really passionate about what you do/would like to be doing?
For me, I don't think the answer is quite as simple as follow your passion. For one thing, you'd better find a way to make your passion pay the bills, and for another, your passion better be something you are at least somewhat good at, or have the potential to be good at, if you want to spend your life doing it. And sometimes, doing what you love isn't enough. For instance, I think it's fair to say I'm passionate about food. I love to cook, and will happily spend the whole day preparing a meal for friends or family, trying new recipes. I delight in farmer's markets and funky little restaurants. However, I've never pursued a professional career in cooking, and I doubt I ever will, because there are too many other things about a professional career as a chef, etc. that I would not enjoy, and because I'm afraid my enjoyment of cooking for friends and family would be less as a result of a professional career in cooking for others.
What I want in a job is not so much the specifics of what I'll be doing, but that I have a job that I enjoy going to. Maybe not everyday, because we all have moments lying there in a nice cosy bed when that alarm is going off where all we want to do is go back to sleep, but generally. And for me, I've managed to figure out what that means. That means a job where I get to interact with people, for one. That means a job where I have some a variety of things to do, and a role that grows and changes as I do, because I thrive on a challenge and despise being bored. That means a role where I get some say in how I do things, and where I can constantly learn new skills. It means problem-solving, and using my brain and my skills to find solutions. It also means a job in HR because I really, truly enjoy what I do, and know that good HR makes a huge difference to the culture and working environment of any organization.
If you are passionate enough about what you do that other people get bored when you start nattering on about it, that to me is a sign that you're in the right place, doing what's right for you. So I'll continue to try to make a difference in HR, and I will continue to cook for friends and family, and that will make me happy.
What makes you happy?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
NKE Results
I am very pleased to announce that I am now officially a CHRP Candidate, having passed the NKE with 81%. The official pass rate was 65%, so I did quite well and am very happy with that.
I may write the NPPA next June, but I will wait and see as the CHRP program is being revised due to the new experience requirements. I want to see how that process works, but I may be able to obtain the designation through the experience assessment instead, so we shall see.
I hope everyone else did well, and I wish luck and good studying to all those writing next October!
I may write the NPPA next June, but I will wait and see as the CHRP program is being revised due to the new experience requirements. I want to see how that process works, but I may be able to obtain the designation through the experience assessment instead, so we shall see.
I hope everyone else did well, and I wish luck and good studying to all those writing next October!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Beer, Batman and Business
I had an interesting conversation about hiring the other day.
I had met up with my hubby and some friends at the pub, and was a little later getting there than everybody else, so that by the time I had arrived, they were mid-appies and mid-debate. I walked in on a rather spirited debate about compensation and ethics, and so naturally I jumped right in.
It's worth mentioning first that these were my husband's fencing club buddies, who I have met only a couple of times, and who have no idea about my background in HR. It's also worth noting that a fair amount of beer had been consumed already by the time I got there, and that, as far as I know, none of those involved actually do any hiring of their own.
When I first sat down, the conversation was revolving around the hypothetical situation of a billionaire business owner (and I am very sure that this one was a completely hypothetical situation, and that there is no hidden billionaire lurking in the university fencing club) with a business manager of some sort who is negotiating a new salary. The debate centered specifically around the ethics and advisability of paying him $70,000 a year (as he or she apparently has asked) while knowing that you would be willing to pay up to $150,000 per year for the value he adds to your organization. One point seemed to be that the decision to pay $70,000 per year was both ethical and advisable, as you (as the billionaire, though why the business owner should have to be a billionaire was not mentioned and may have had more to do with the quantity of beer consumed than anything) are paying your employee exactly what he has asked you for. The other side of the debate seemed to be that the decision was not ethical, because you were working from more knowledge than the business manager, as you knew you were willing to pay more than double his asking price.
My contribution? I asked them who had done the market research for jobs of this type, our billionaire business owner or the manager, because having a salary range that was that far apart indicated that one or the other of them must be too stupid to find out what a position like that is actually worth in the labour market.
They told me that wasn't the point of the exercise, and the conversation segued into a discussion about the ethics (from a utilitarian standpoint) of being the man who murdered batman's parents. Which maybe explains the billionaire.
I had met up with my hubby and some friends at the pub, and was a little later getting there than everybody else, so that by the time I had arrived, they were mid-appies and mid-debate. I walked in on a rather spirited debate about compensation and ethics, and so naturally I jumped right in.
It's worth mentioning first that these were my husband's fencing club buddies, who I have met only a couple of times, and who have no idea about my background in HR. It's also worth noting that a fair amount of beer had been consumed already by the time I got there, and that, as far as I know, none of those involved actually do any hiring of their own.
When I first sat down, the conversation was revolving around the hypothetical situation of a billionaire business owner (and I am very sure that this one was a completely hypothetical situation, and that there is no hidden billionaire lurking in the university fencing club) with a business manager of some sort who is negotiating a new salary. The debate centered specifically around the ethics and advisability of paying him $70,000 a year (as he or she apparently has asked) while knowing that you would be willing to pay up to $150,000 per year for the value he adds to your organization. One point seemed to be that the decision to pay $70,000 per year was both ethical and advisable, as you (as the billionaire, though why the business owner should have to be a billionaire was not mentioned and may have had more to do with the quantity of beer consumed than anything) are paying your employee exactly what he has asked you for. The other side of the debate seemed to be that the decision was not ethical, because you were working from more knowledge than the business manager, as you knew you were willing to pay more than double his asking price.
My contribution? I asked them who had done the market research for jobs of this type, our billionaire business owner or the manager, because having a salary range that was that far apart indicated that one or the other of them must be too stupid to find out what a position like that is actually worth in the labour market.
They told me that wasn't the point of the exercise, and the conversation segued into a discussion about the ethics (from a utilitarian standpoint) of being the man who murdered batman's parents. Which maybe explains the billionaire.
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