Whether you’re looking for a new job or you’re in a company with an HR department, knowing about the HR operations can give you a big edge. A recent article on Yahoo! Finance explains some of the current dynamics in the HR world. One issue is that HR departments are shrinking, so they also have fewer resources and rely on outside help.

One issue involves catching their attention at a time when HR departments are getting flooded with resumes. Your cover letter and your resume need to be targeted to the desired position.

With unemployment hovering around 10 percent, HR managers are inundated with responses for every job posting. In fact, some companies are hiring outside firms to post jobs and sort through resumes, presenting only a dozen or so qualified candidates for consideration. How to make the cut? Be sure your resume and cover letter highlight the skills asked for in the job posting; HR tosses applications that don’t meet all the basic criteria. And ask yourself what in your background fits the company’s needs, says Mike Wright, senior vice president of outsourcing sales with Hewitt Associates.

Another angle: Approach an in-house recruiter or hiring manager before they post a position. Try using business-oriented social-media sites like LinkedIn.com to meet contacts, says O’Donnell. Judi Perkins, founder of FindThePerfectJob.com, says she found most of her clients jobs this way. When you score an interview with HR reps, take it seriously — you never know how much say they have in the process. And ask them what qualities they look for in employees. “You really need to sell them on your abilities,” says O’Donnell.

There’s also all sorts of privacy issues in the workplace today as well. Just assume that HR is watching you, and that your actions in and out of the workplace can impact your career.