One of the most sought after jobs seems to be HR. Currently, this is based on informal analysis of candidates and their job preferences. Usually the reasons given for seeking a job in HR is because:
- it is a cool job (i.e., it is tension free)
- it is an ‘office’ job (i.e., there is no need to step outside the office)
- the candidate likes interacting with people and so HR is a perfect fit for him/her
- they were afraid of taking finance as a specialization in MBA because they are not from a commerce background so they are afraid
- they cannot take marketing specialization either because their parents and others discouraged them
Some of these may be valid personal reasons but none of them are the right reasons for getting into a career in HR.
So, what exactly do modern day HR people need to be successful, you may ask? What you need:
- Effective communication skills – verbal and written
- Ability to retain, motivate and develop people
- Ability to walk the fine line between the interests of the company and employee interests
- Ability to work with senior management to enable business strategy
- Negotiation Skills
- Conflict Resolution Skills
- Familiarity with technology whatever be the domain of business – at least demonstrated ability to learn quickly
It is important to not look at HR as a “low workload-good pay” career. You should learn and build some finance and strategy capabilities so that as a HR person you can enable business growth. That will not only help you grow and be appreciated but also enhance the reputation of HR.