If you like dealing with people (mostly angry, grumpy people), have good communication skills, and are a good listener, then you should probably consider getting into HR (Human Resources).
Most people when they think HR, think recruitment. Let me clarify that the job of an HR professional is not just recruitment. Yes recruitment is part of the HR function, but a HR professional’s scope of work involves a lot more than just recruitment. Broadly speaking, HR professionals:
- Manage recruitment for the company
- Manage employee relations and cater to employee grievances
- Identify training and development needs of employees and introduce suitable programs for the same
- Decide on compensation policies and other employee benefits
- Help define and update company policies
- Manage employee appraisals
- Maintain employee records
Qualifications required
For a junior HR related position, companies generally prefer hiring candidates who have a Bachelor’s degree in business (BMS or BBA or related degree), with a specialization in Human Resources. Alternatively companies also hire students with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. For intermediately or mid level HR positions, companies hire students with an MBA degree specializing in HR, or with a specialized degree such as Masters in Human Resource Management or Masters in Labour Studies. Some companies also hire students with a law, especially if the position requires a sound understanding of labour laws.
Who should get into HR ?
To be a good HR professional you need these skills
- Decision making skills: Be it making hiring and firing decisions, resolvingdisputes, or deciding when to take a disciplinary action, you need to be a good decision maker.
- Organized and detail oriented: Since one of your tasks as a HR person would be to maintain records, you need to be organized in your approach.
- Communication and Interpersonal skills: Your job would involve interacting with company employees as well as applicants on a regular basis thus requiring good communication (written as well as spoken) and interpersonal skills.
- Listening skills. Listening skills are essential for any human resources personnel. When interviewing job applicants or listening to employee grievances or resolving disputes, being a good listener matters.
If you think interacting with diverse people excites you, you are a fairly rational decision maker, and can create a healthy fun environment around you, then a job in HR (Human Resources) awaits you.
Jothsna is the co-founder of Academy One, a career guidance and study abroad counseling venture. Prior to founding Academy One in 2005, Jothsna worked as an IT and business consultant with companies like Motorola and Trajen Inc. in the USA. She holds an engineering degree in computer science from Andhra University and a MS from the University of Texas. She also received her MBA from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA.