Personnel - Ooops - Human resources - don't know which way is UP! C'mon, Terry - I were one of them for 25 years, and I don't think you're giving us/them enough credit. Of course we do - "UP" is the side the butter isn't on when you drop your bread on the floor!

Generally, the Personnel office doesn't make personnel-type decisions - they may determine basis qualification ("Yep - this guy applying for a job as a physician has a medical degree, alright.") but they mostly process paperwork. The real decisions are made by the direct or second-line supervisor of the work unit where the job is located, according to whatever criteria are most important to him/her/them. The geeks in the HR shop are the ones with the thankless task of informing the unsuccessful applicants and, often, trying to explain to a very highly qualified applicant why he or she wasn't the "best qualified".