[Revolting cat!]

HR doesn't hire, the hiring managers do. What does the HR do? I don't remember any layoffs in the HR Depts. of companies I worked for. I recall seeing many poofters there, but that's really irrelevant. (Or is it?)

Still, the function of HR is to (underlined) reject candidates, and to handle the layoffs. When a company, like say, Google, receives thousands of resumes a day, who do you think screens them and rejects the majority of them? HR. When your main function is rejecting (the hapless applicants and those laid off), that kinda affects your thinking, doesn't it. Let's not kid ourselves about the true function of HR.

[usconservative]

HR doesn't hire, the hiring managers do. What does the HR do?

Somehow, some way, HR almost always manages to filter out the truly good candidates and send the really crappy ones through to the hiring managers though.

I've been a hiring manager in my career and that's typically been my experience. I've only managed to find good people by BYPASSING H.R. and doing the recruiting myself.

H.R. Sucks, period. Typically staffed by a bunch of college "C" grade morons who know nothing more than to search resumes for buzz-words and acronyms because they have no real technical (or other) skills to speak of.

Again, just MY experience.

[buccaneer81]

I recall seeing many poofters there,

So true. In my company of roughly 1000 employees, the HR staff numbers about 15. Exactly ONE is a white male, and as you can guess, he is the spitting image of Harvey Fierstein.

One other function of HR is that of "hatchet man." I don't discipline my guys, by policy I have to tell HR what they did wrong, and then HR passes judgment and imposes sentence. I can't suspend anyone, or even tell them to go home early and cool off. It's like being a teacher and sending an unruly pupil to the office.