What do they do?

An HR Manager is involved in all aspects that involve employees. In the beginning of their careers, they typically are involved with recruitments, employee file handling, staff inductions, administration, employee engagement and other employee activities. An HR Manager is supposed to work towards keeping the motivation levels and general morale high, by monitoring the pulse of the office floor. The range of problems one would face as an HR manager would vary from the most trivial ones like 'Bad canteen food' to the more serious ones like 'I Don't like to work with my Manager'. As an HR manager one has to ensure that they take all these complaints in the right spirit. One starts their career in HR involved in all aspects of the job including recruitment, employee company inductions, leave management, employee engagement and so on. Eventually you move towards more macros level things like organizational structure, employee policies and appraisals.

Skills Needed

• Ability to handle high pressure situations that involve other people
• Ability to remain unbiased and showcase ability to be discreet and fair with employee situations
• Strong domain knowledge for HR related theories - especially motivation, organizational behaviour and so on
• Ability to align organizational goals with employee goals
• Strong communication skills

How do I get there?

One could start at lower levels in an HR job after completing a graduation in a related field and joining as an Intern in an organization. One can get a bachelor's degree in Human Resource Administration and Management ffrom various colleges. Typical mid level to entry level management roles in fairly prominent organizations are reserved for graduates from Tier 1 or Tier 2 B schools in India. Anything below that would get you an HR executive profile to start with, which will expose you to HR tasks across the spectrum. If you aspire higher level roles in HR then an MBA or an HR specific Diploma can be very handy. In case you have a summer internship in a HR role during your Masters/MBA it will make things simpler.

Typical day in the life of a HR Manager - Building Organizations

While it is not really possible to list out how every single day will unfold in the life of an HR Manager, there are some typical activities that occupy an HR Manager most days. Some of these are listed below.

Pros & Cons about this career