Present Career, Career Interest And The Importance Of A College Education

Abstract

The author is a 35 years-old, single, African American female. She is currently employed as a Senior Finance/Accountant Recruiter for Manpower Professional. She states her difficulties with communicating with top executives when submitting her candidates to clients, whether verbal or written. Her goal is to become a human resources manager one-day. She is aware of the educational background and knowledge required for this type of position. The author has enrolled at the University of Phoenix and is pursing her business management degree so that she can gain knowledge to assist her with communicating and to be better prepared for a position as a human resources manager. The value of a college education is very important to the author and she knows this will open better opportunities for her. This piece of paper is something she will be proud of personally and no one can take her degree away.

Living life as a Recruiter

The author is presently employed as a Senior Finance/Accounting Recruiter with Manpower Professional. On a daily basis as a recruiter, she communicates with many people both verbal and written. Recruiters not only communicate with people searching for employment, but also their clients who range from management to top executives. Her clients are usually searching for top notch professionals to add to their growing organization. The recruiter is responsible

for finding candidates that will be a good fit for the client or the client may decide not use her services again. Plus, clients generally are paying a staffing fee ($15k - $25k or more) to hire a candidate that the company seeks stated by one talent scout (Scout, 2005). Once she gains knowledge of the company, she begins to search for degreed professionals for her clients openings. Qualifying a candidate consists of matching skills sets to what the client is requesting such as a specific degree, career experience, and technical knowledge. Once the candidate is qualified, the author contacts past employers attempting to check references. Three good references are usually all that is needed to qualify her candidate. She has one final step and the candidate will be set to be presented to the client.

Recruiters in a specific vertical must have industry knowledge in that vertical. In the author's field, knowledge of what the going rate for a CPA is imperative. Stating a pay rate outside of what the economy is paying may cause her to damage her relationship with a client she writes. Since the fall of Enron, most companies require employees to possess Sarbanes Oxley knowledge. As stated in the Webopedia (2006), President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on July 30, 2002 due to the Enron scandal. The Act is designed to oversee the financial reporting landscape for finance professionals. Having this knowledge sets accountants aside from other degreed accountants without the knowledge (Webopedia, 2006). This knowledge allows an accountant to request little more money than other accountant without the background. Some companies will contact an agency and inquire about pay rates for these degreed accountants or CPA's. Knowing the industry is the responsibility of the recruiter. Once the author comes to an agreed pay rate for the candidate, she is now ready to present this candidate to her client. All information obtained is presented to the client via email.

When submitting a candidate to a high top executive the author states she is sometimes a little nervous. She must ensure when submitting candidates, she is using correct word usage, grammar, complete sentences, and correct spelling. She must also ensure she is presenting the information correctly as she is representing herself, the candidate and the company. Sometimes the author may be contacted via phone by the executive and asked to discuss more qualifications the candidate possesses via telephone. Holding a professional conversation with her clients is vital states the author. A recuiter must ensure the client has confidence in their ability to locate qualified candidates for the clients organization. The author states at times this is a little intimidating to her, as she is not abreast on language using elaborate words. This final step is the main cause of the authors persistence in gaining a college education and knowledge to guide her through her career. She states, she wants to feel comfortable and more at ease when speaking to these top executives and confident that her writing skills are up to par.

My future as a human resources Manager

Managing people is a pertinent skill for a human resources manager to possess in any type of industry. Human resources managers not only have to manage their team, but also other employees that do not necessarily report to them. They sometimes have to manage and reprimand line level managers. Company executives rely heavily on recommendations from human resources managers. Human resources managers assure compliance with federal, state and local regulations concerning equal opportunity practices and employee safety regulations, and settle grievances of employees within the company. The duty of a human resources manager is to keep the employer in compliance and abreast of all laws concerning employees.

Being employed as a human resources manager at a small company requires knowledge in areas of compensation, benefits, employment, safety, and compliance laws, to name a few. Being knowledgeable in these types of of laws is vital to a human resources manager, simple mistakes can cause a enormous

effect to the employer. Human resources managers in a small company must be flexible to jump around in different areas and give their expert advice to department managers. On the, other hand, a human resources manager working in a larger company may only be assigned to a specific area in human resources. A benefits manager is skilled in such laws as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA, Title II) which requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health plans, and employers as stated by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (12, 2005)

Human resources managers put in a great deal of hours handling employee conflicts, terminating employees, and strategic support for the company. They sometimes have to contact family members if an employee is injured or dies on-the-job. Working as human resources manager also has its happy endings. Watching and employee grow in the company because the human resources manager placed them in a job that an employee loves and thrives in is always a reward.