Most Important Skills For a Startup HR at TriNet Inc.
Anthony emphasizes that "pleasantly persistent" mentality, involving consistent yet unobtrusive touchpoints is most important. This is achieved through social engineering, focusing on delivering value and building strong network nodes, rather than immediately "asking for things," to cultivate positive relationships and leverage collective influence for a more active pipeline.
Networking, Relationship Building, Social Engineering, Value Creation, Communication Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Anthony M. Gonzales
HR - Start-ups
TriNet Inc.
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey, MBA - Supply Chain
Entrepreneurship
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Insurance
Sales and Client Management
Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Pleasant persistence is key: Maintaining consistent contact without being annoying is crucial in HR, requiring a balance of presence and respect for others' time.
2. Value-driven networking: Focus on delivering value rather than constantly asking for favors to build strong, positive relationships within your network.
3. Strategic social engineering: Understanding how to evaluate and strengthen your network by building relationships with key influencers can significantly enhance your professional pipeline.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
I wouldn't call it a skill as much as a mentality: be pleasantly persistent. My job is to have touchpoints without annoying people. I want to be present in other people's reality as much as possible without pissing them off.
It's a fine balance. It's about saying, "Hey, don't forget about me. Look at me. I'm here for you," without being, "Gosh, he's always trying to get ahold of me." That is not a value-added relationship in my network. That node is a negative node.
The most valuable skill is social engineering: how to work and raise the value of your network by being a positive node who delivers value, not requests. So many people have a fallacy of starting new relationships by asking for things. "Can I meet with you? Can I have some time?" Can you, a stranger I don't know, give to me, a stranger you've never met before? And that's how they start the relationship.
The skill of social engineering is knowing how to be specific with your touchpoints and only reserving those touchpoints for delivering high-quality value. As we discussed, a high-quality touchpoint could be wishing someone a happy birthday on their birthday. Wishing someone a happy birthday when it's not their birthday is a good message but a bad touchpoint, right? So it's not always the absolute action.
The skill of social engineering is understanding how to evaluate the strength of your network and then build up powerful nodes, champions, and key opinion leaders. This way, you have a center of influence and can borrow and lend the credibility of other people's networks. That combined force will lead you to have more activity in your pipeline.