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The companies I've been hired by actually didn't have HR departments at all - but then I work in a highly skilled professional capacity, to the extent where the hiring procedure consists of determining not merely whether you are competent, but whether you are in the top 1% of your field. HR matters were basically handled by management and senior engineers in tandem.
That said, I've had a glimpse of "corporate HR" practices. One large corporation rejected my CV because my English grade was one notch too low, having ignored the standard of the cover letter and the fact that several years had intervened since that grade. Okay, they probably received a huge number of CVs and had to whittle them down *somehow*, but I didn't bother reapplying for another position at the same place.
One of the companies I worked for was absorbed by a much larger American one. During that process, the new "overlords" sent a HR drone to tell us what would be changing. Now, just imagine a typical American HR drone, who has had success with dealing with Indian subsidiaries, now using the same techniques in Finland. After the first disastrous whole-office meeting, during which she blithely made several statements that went contrary to Finnish law - and several of the engineers had called her on it - she was packed off back to America and replaced by a European HR drone, who was much more pleasant to work with.
That said, I've had a glimpse of "corporate HR" practices. One large corporation rejected my CV because my English grade was one notch too low, having ignored the standard of the cover letter and the fact that several years had intervened since that grade. Okay, they probably received a huge number of CVs and had to whittle them down *somehow*, but I didn't bother reapplying for another position at the same place.
One of the companies I worked for was absorbed by a much larger American one. During that process, the new "overlords" sent a HR drone to tell us what would be changing. Now, just imagine a typical American HR drone, who has had success with dealing with Indian subsidiaries, now using the same techniques in Finland. After the first disastrous whole-office meeting, during which she blithely made several statements that went contrary to Finnish law - and several of the engineers had called her on it - she was packed off back to America and replaced by a European HR drone, who was much more pleasant to work with.
Shouldn't ones' qualifications be more important than if the paper and envelope are exactly the same shade of off-white?
To be fair, tho, she was really just trying to discourage people from turning in resumes and cover letters in white lettering on neon green paper. She also related horror stories to us about people whom she had interviewed who did hand-written resumes (not always in pen...), people who could not spell their own names properly, those who cam in in jeans and clogs, then propped their feet up on her desk while eating a sandwich during the interview session...
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