DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST HR JOBS

Name: Nitin Sanker
Is the CEO of Middle Earth, a graduate of IIM Calcutta and IIT Roorkee ( ertstwhile Univ of Roorkee ), has been a HR evangelist for the last 30 years and is an accomplished international Trainer in HR related subjects. He has taught subjects related to HR at IBS, ISB, IIM Indore and other institutes both in India and Abroad, he has won awards for Outstanding contribution to Global HR as well the HR champion award from leading global organizations.

This article is meant to look at how to crack your first job in HR, how to build competencies for your first HR Job and how to go about your Job search if you are interested in HR

It was year 1991 , I had just finished my prestigious PGDM program from IIM Calcutta and after two years was not clear about my career, I had completed my BE in Computer Science from IIT Roorkee ( Then called University of Roorkee ) in 1989 and all my friends had gone abroad to do their MTech programs from some of the top universities ( 24 out of a batch of 30 ) , I had not wanted to spend the next few years in Computer Science , I had enjoyed programming and in fact had devised a popular cricket playing game on campus which many of my friends played regularly . But being someone who enjoyed Debating and Quizzing ( will be important later ) I had not enjoyed programming as much and had instead opted to do my MBA from IIM , But even after two years was just not sure what I wanted to do , I had taken Marketing , HR , Sys Ops and even subjects in Supply chain management.

My performance during placement week was pretty poor, I alternated between doing a marketing interview with P&G to a manufacturing interview with Madura Coats and was uniformly rejected by all of them as they sensed I was not clear what I wanted to do. I had finally been selected as a Management Trainee with a large diversified group. But even after that had left the job within a few months and was back home. My father was shocked and not particularly flattering as you may imagine.

It was then I joined NIIT , initially it was a corporate sales job but I was shifted to the international division where they asked to help design some of their international program and then help set up their international centers , I was responsible for ensuring recruitment , training and ensuring the learning practices were followed as per international standards. This was the beginning of a long love affair for HR and L&D which I believe are the heart of great organizations, these also fit in well with my interests of debating and quizzing. I was after many loops and twists where I really belonged.

After talking and teaching HR students in many institutes I realized that there is a clear path to getting your dream job in HR and you need to be focused and effective in your preparation and one does not need to go through such a long process . This blog will focus on 4 aspects

What will your second career in the Gig economy world look like
Understanding how HR and various sub segments
Help understand where are entry levels jobs easily available in HR
Discuss What competencies and qualifications would help me get my first jobs
How do you prepare to get your first job in HR

1. Understanding how HR is really divided into 4 sub segments

While HR looks one large unit in a company it is normally doing four quite different things

Each department requires fairly different competencies and personalities and hence it is good to plan which department you would like to enter into

2. Understand where entry level jobs are available in HR

Luckily with such a wide array of sub departments Hr offers a variety of entry level jobs, it is important though to understand that each entry level job requires different competencies and skills.

1. Recruitment Jobs -
for these jobs you need to have an outgoing personality, often working hours may be long and in some cases travel may be required. Recruitment consultants work for a variety of companies working within a recruitment firm, the advantage would be that you would get to often work with a variety of industries, pay be low but you would get incentives. Corporate recruiters work with one company and often in smaller companies may be asked to work in other areas as well. Us staffing recruiters work with specialist US staffing firms.

2. Learning and development -
The Training coordinators work in training companies or large corporate and normally the work may involve very detailed working and ability to work with a variety of people , they would be responsible for scheduling, managing faculty and ensuring programs happen in time and taking feedback. Training executives in some of the companies may get the opportunity to conduct training especially during induction

3. Compensation -
Payroll executive is the entry level function here, the work would involve often working in HR outsourcing with HR BPO companies or specialist payroll firms or as part of a payroll team in large companies

4. End to end HR -
These jobs require you to have a variety of skills, you need to conduct induction, ensure that employees are engaged, conduct some engagement activities, ensure employee documentation etc so this job has more variety than other jobs, HR generalist jobs go to people from premier MBAS from good institute or is given to Hr people with a couple of years of experience

3. What competencies and qualifications are key to build

For each Entry level HR job having strong competencies would be critical, having a good certification which supports these competencies does help you acquire to stand out and at least get an interview call. People with certifications have been shown to have a 50% better chance of getting an interview call. I believe having a strong certification in the portfolio area of your choice may be the best. I would like to present the table of certifications which I believe may be most valuable

Job Area	Qualifications and Personality	Best Certifications I Would Recommend
US staffing recruiter	Assertive personality types do well , qualification is normally graduation	MEHR Certified Global Recruitment Analyst Professional Recruiter Certification by AIRS Linkedin recruiter qualification
Recruitment consultants and Recruitment executives	Assertive personality types do well , qualification is normally graduation	Certified Talent Acquisition Specialist Certified Global Recruitment Analyst
HR generalist HR executive	All Rounders with pleasing personalities Graduates with a year or two of HR experience in other Areas, HR MBAs from premier institutes may get an edge especially in MNC companies	Certified HR Generalist by MEHR
Training Executive Training Coordinator	Good communication skills and some ability to speak before an audience is required A graduate in any line is acceptable	Certified L&D consultant
Payroll executive	Some aptitude in maths and a commerce degree may help	Certified payroll specialist

4. Steps you must take to get your first career job

I strongly recommend the following steps to build your second career

1. Build your knowledge base
Invest in completing one or two certifications to build your skill and knowledge base, take care that the certifications you do are practical and have a built in project process, where you are coached to do practical projects, read extensively and try to build a stronger understanding

2. Build your skill Base Do internships in variety of HR areas , using a site like internshala would help you in getting your internships , do not worry even if they are unpaid as they will be very helpful in getting jobs in HR

3. Build your Communication and English language Skills If you have poor spoken communication or language skills it will definitely be a hindrance to you to get your first job. Spend at least one hour a day reading English or watching an English show, practice talking and writing to friends in English. Join organizations like toastmasters to master your communication skills, go to meet ups and listen and talk to people in English

4. Build a portfolio of extracurricular activities
Be an active participant in activities in college especially cultural events, try to organize some events in your college

5. Job search for HR
Ask your friends to get you referred at places they work, build a good LinkedIn profile , be part of recruiter forums on linked in , of course upload your resume on sites like Naukri or Monster. Do ensure that you contact all the places you did internship with and follow up, talk to your placement officer and he may be of help.