HR people just aren’t what they used to be

I have always prided myself as a bit of a ‘picker’ – give me any shortlist and I reckon I’ll pick the good ‘uns at 20 paces.

And the best part of all is picking new people for our own team.

Happily, we’ve had sign-off for a couple of new roles, and I’ve really been looking forward to beefing up the team with some fresh talent… or rather I was looking forward to it.

Okay, we’re only four weeks in to the recruitment process, but it’s turning into one of the most dispiriting selection exercises… ever.

After 10 interviews, I can honestly say that I’ve met some of the most lily-livered, limp-wristed, ineffectual, wishy-washy candidates it’s ever been my displeasure to waste my time with. But do you know what? Their CVs all looked fine – apparently good jobs with apparently good employers.

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Now I’m not usually one to hark on about the good old days, but they don’t make HR people like they used to. You see, when I were a lad, you were brought up on industrial relations where you developed a hard edge – and ended up on News at Ten if you were lucky. But this lot? They’ve been brought up on all the namby-pamby, touchy-feely stuff, and wouldn’t know a hard edge if it hit them between the eyes.

But I’m not giving up – far from it. We’ve now dumped the recruitment consultants and started looking internally – but not in HR, of course.