Preparing a Career in HR management - Essay Example

Preparing a Career in HR management Lecturer: Preparing a Career in HR management In an organization, the human resources specialist role is to manage the relationships between the organization and the employees. The human resources professionals are also mandated to train and recruit new employees. Other roles of human resources specialist within the organization are to deal with employees’ compensation and administration issues. Human resources management profession has for long provided individuals with job opportunities in the modern dynamic global society.

The field continually provides employment opportunities to graduating college students. Competency is a key factor that leads to a successful career in human resources management. The relevant human resources, competencies required are obtained through attending formal institutions and through work experience. Labor management is all that a career in human management entails. Interpersonal life skills or competencies on how to handle and deal with people are not the only qualification of pursuing a successful career in human resources management.

Excellent interpersonal skills or competencies are important for a career in human resources management; however, for success purposes they are insufficient. With the increase in employees and employers expectation in the modern, dynamic global corporate society, the human resources careers and jobs continually become sophisticated. This implies that learning should be a continuous process for human resource management professionals. Learning to gain certain skills or competencies for human resources is both formal and informal.

The former has to do with enrolling in a learning institution while the latter has to with gaining the relevant workplace competencies or skills through workplace experience. Both the informal and the formal learning to attain the relevant human resources, competencies are important to prepare one to deal with future challenges. Education and experience are crucial for a career in human resources. Just like in most careers, the human resources, careers have some minimum entry requirements. However, one has the opportunity to further his or her skills, competencies and experience in the process of working.

This implies that its possible for one to start at a lower level and continually get promotions to higher levels. Within the human resources management field, there are a variety of positions depending with ones academic qualification and skills gained. The more skilled and qualified a person is, the higher the chances of getting employed and promoted to more responsible duties. To prepare for a career in Human resources management, it is of paramount importance for one to pursue a course in finance, business related courses or a course in social science that is either on sociology or on psychology.

According to the Labor Department of U.S 2008, to prepare individuals for jobs and careers in human resources management, many universities and colleges in the United States have degree programs in human resources, personnel management, and in labor relations. “Depending on the school, courses leading to a career in human resources management may be found in departments of business administration, education, instructional technology, organizational development, human services, communication, or public administration, or within a separate human resources institution or department” (Labor Dept of U.

S, 2008, p. 62). This is an implication that the educational fields that lead to a career in human resources management are diverse owing to the wider scope of coverage of the human resources field. Among the most relevant courses for human resource management professionals are courses in recruitment, compensation, development and training, principles of management, industrial psychology, performance appraisal, statistics, organizational structure, public administration, economics, business administration, and a course on political science.

Other courses that one may take to prepare for a career in human resources management are courses in labor history, labor economics and a course of collective bargaining. These entire courses provide aspiring and practicing human resources specialists with valuable human resources management background and insight. When planning or preparing for a career path in human resources management, it is important to bear in mind that just like in any other career, there is competition. There is competition in terms of educational achievement, competition in terms of performance and as well competition in term of work place experience.

The notion that there is competition in terms of education achievement implies that one should prepare to achieve a master’s degree in a relevant area of study. Many human resources professionals today are holders of masters’ degrees in human resources relevant education fields such as Business administration (MBA), Organization Development, Human Resources s, and as well as in other relevant human resources management fields. This is an implication that when one is planning or preparing his or her career path in human resources management one should prepare for further education beyond the attainment of a bachelors degree.

This is for the purpose of remaining competitive in line with other human resources professionals (Tsui and Lai, 2009). The other aspect that one needs to prepare for when considering and preparing for a career in human resources management is experiencing. Experience in human resources management has been important just like in other professional career. Human resource management skills are as a result of the experience one gets over time. This implies that human resource management specialist acquire experience from the workplace.

When preparing for a career in human resources management it important for one to bear in mind that internships while in college or upon graduating is important. The internship provides one with the opportunity to gain the much needed workplace experience under the watch of a qualified senior human resource management specialist. Through the internship program, one gets to familiarize him or her with the nature of human resources management career or job. Such internship programs can even be voluntary.

One can even end up being employed by the organization s/he is doing an internship with. The recommendation is also important for future employment search (Saiyadain, 2009). Human resources management is a demanding career owing to its dynamic roles within an organization. Educational attainment and experience are important areas of consideration when one is preparing for a career in human resources management. Attaining a bachelor’s degree might not be enough for a human resources management specialist due to competition.

Regardless of the level of academic achievement, workplace experience is important for a human resources management specialist. References Saiyadain, M. S. (2009). Human resources management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Pub. Tsui, A. P. Y., & Lai, K. T. (2009). Professional practices of human resource management in Hong Kong: Linking HRM to organizational success. Aberdeen, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. U. S. D.L (2008). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Maryland: Bernan Guaranteed Reprint.