Over the years, the Human Resource profession has changed greatly. Traditionally, it is seen as an administrative. Today’s HR though plays a pivotal role in terms of helping the organization run better and the employees to become more satisfied. The Human Resource Management being a career field has grown and matured. With its growth, human resource managers are elevated as business partners as well. Thousands of new workers every year find their employment in the human resources. Career can be stated up at the bottom of the career ladder and work up to the top level to achieve high salaried positions. Suitable positions in the organization can be attained through education and the related experiences in the field (McKenzie & Traynor, 2002, p.2).
Starting a career is a tough decision. One does not like to start in a job that she doesn’t like and then start over again with another. The identification of work expectations as well as the competencies and areas of expertise can be use as a basis for the job description. As someone who aims to start a career in HR, it is crucial to determine which side I would like to work on: the Human Resource Management (HRM) or the Human Resource Development (HRD).
First it is necessary to understand the HRM side of Human Resources which is the area I chose to build a career in. The HRM primarily deals with the management of people and resources within the organization. The basic employee management tasks of an organization are assigned to the HRM staff. Traditionally, the HRM encompasses the basic areas of the HR which includes compensation and benefits, recruiting and staffing, employee and labor relations and occupational health and safety (‘HRM vs. HRD’, 2007).
As a starter in the HRM profession, I can start out as a generalist and then choose an area of specialty such as benefits and then become a benefits manager. As such, I can have the choice of remaining in this area of specialty to run all the benefits program of the organization. The career in these areas can be further progressed into a HR leadership role in which I can act as an HR director or a VP that oversees that tasks for both HRM and HRD.
The career in HRM includes systems, analytics and processes which I am greatly interested in. HRM professionals are typically given a specialty area or task. For example, as a recruiting manager in a consumer product firm, I may be tasked to recruit activities in one department. Thus, the responsibility of the entire process is put on the manager which includes the locating of potential candidates, conducting phone screenings, scheduling interviews, negotiating job offers and ultimately completing the hiring process and paperwork. Indeed, a great deal of interaction with different kind of people will be part of this job.
This choice of route in Human Resources will certainly provide a clear path for my career. However, the choice of specialty does not readily mean I have to remain in this area. Many of the HR professionals start out their career in HRM to gain an understanding of the field. As such, I can use this area to acquire basic knowledge and then improve my expertise by moving to HRD where I can develop my development and coaching skills.
Furthermore, HR workers succeed in this profession by responding to the needs and the directives of the management. Hence, HR personnel must possess the qualities of cooperativeness and supportiveness to the management efforts of utilizing human resources to the fullest. In addition to this, they must ensure a fair treatment for all the employees of the organization. HR personnel must realize the responsibility of running the organization and keeping the business. Those who aim to be in the Human Resource work must support this effort of the management (McKenzie & Traynor, 2002, p.89)
We know for a fact that people with graduate degrees land in a wide variety of jobs and careers. Graduate education prepares the students for their professional activity for careers which they can utilize their knowledge and skills. Many employers understand that graduate education does not necessarily produce completely formed professionals that can readily contribute on their first day of job (LaPidus, 1997).
The acquired education is clearly the stepping stone in attaining my desired job. Fundamentally, it will help me land a job in the Human Resources and eventually in the performance of my work. However, such may not be sufficient especially in a fast changing and competitive environment. Further experiences in the field will contribute in the improvement of my HR skills and knowledge. While starting out at the bottom, the great deal of experiences will contribute in my expertise and in due course climb up to higher positions.
Having this in mind, the way to my career progression will be easier if only my potentials are used to the fullest. Aside from my personal efforts to draw up a career plan, the organization can also help me towards achieving it. What is needed is a sense of motivation to grow and explore the limitless boundaries of my career.
Organizations have come to realize that their success depends on well-trained and highly motivated human resources personnel. Sustainable development and success of the organization in the challenging business environment is attained through the commitment of the top management in implementing HRM practices that will develop high performing employees (Sims, 2002, p.2).With this, organizations have aided their employees towards career progression and the attainment of their interests.
Many organizations today facilitate the employee progression by spending on the training and development of their employees. The training focuses on the present jobs whereas development prepares the employees for the possibilities of future jobs. Career development programs are also actively practiced by most organizations. Such programs are designed to increase the overall performance of the organization as well as the employees’ productivity in order to attract, develop and retain the most qualified employees (Sims, 2002, p. 6).
Aside from their own interests, organizations are becoming concerned about the long term goals of their employees. Moreover, individuals are expected to increase efficiency by accepting more responsibilities and managing their own careers. This simply means that employees must do all they can to grow and realize their full potentiality to improve their value. Indeed, career are viewed to be ‘boundaryless’ as well as employers and other occupations (Sims, 2002, p. 6).
Career Management Portfolio
Understanding the Labor Market
At the end of 2006, there were about 29.01 million people in paid employment across the UK. The population of the working age constitutes about 74.5 percent of this figure. At the same time, there were about 607,000 unfilled job vacancies and 1.68 million people that remain unemployed. When there is a high demand, the labor market is ‘tight’ which lowers the rate of unemployment. However, when the supply is relatively high, the market becomes ‘slack’ and thus few vacancies are available to a great number of job seekers (Understanding the economy and the labour market’, 2007)
The UK labor market has been a tight over the recent years but developed to be slack in 2005 and 2006. This shows the rise in labor supply relative to the demand which is mainly attributed to the influx of migrant workers. While the level of job vacancies remain stable, the number of people who are unemployed increases (Understanding the economy and the labour market’, 2007).
Another factor contributing to the unemployment is the skills crisis facing UK. With continued globalization, the workforce needs to be highly skilled fro the economy to remain competitive. However, current education and vocational training fails to provide workers with the adequate skills that businesses require (‘UK facing skills Crisis, 2006). Thus, there is the need for skills development to suit the requirements of the competitive business environment. This will also help in improving one’s employability especially since the labor supply is relatively higher then the demand.
Such condition implies a tremendous effort on the part of HR professionals and those seeking a career in this field to demonstrate their value on the organization. Since the expectations for HR functions changes, the labor pool can be expected to be more competitive. Organizations will most certainly prefer those candidates that could demonstrate added value to them along with their education and experiences.
Indeed, the contribution of HR to the development of career has been altered following changes in the corporate environment. The individual’s employability flows from different sources ranging from experiences, skills, knowledge and continuous development. Clearly, the market for talent is a wide and rich. Also, learning flows from various resources such as vocational qualification, traditional training and development activities (Scott, 2006).
With the development of the HR profession, the career paths attached to it also changes. Among these are administration, recruitment, business partner, management and other areas of specialization such as management development and leadership. Companies today make different offerings and hence individuals continue to seek experiences that will improve their employability. Recent UK press articles reveals that a number of young professionals in their 30’s are taking late gap years in which they walk away from their careers at the time when they should be focused on it (Scott, 2006).
In the UK, business partnering is seen as a vehicle to reduce HR cost with the development of services shared to achieve savings. Another is the accelerating competition which drives the organization to use HR functions that will deliver skilled, creative and committed people. The concept of a world class HR has become a necessity for various organizations. Lastly, HR is expected much in terms of contributing to the strategy and the execution of the business plans. In the United Kingdom, the demand for business partners and the salaries offered to them have significantly increased (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006).
HR careers are likely to be impacted by these business partnering. While HR generalist jobs will be available, there will be fewer of them. Because of this, HR professionals are compelled to select specialist business partner role that is suited for them. They must be able to discover more about new roles and make choices on them. HR professionals who will add significant value to the organization are likely to be preferred by the HR directors. Even the qualifications, years of experience and leading edge projects may count very little unless their added value is proven (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006). Thus, there is the need for one to specialize in a specific area. This would mean exploring the various aspects of Human Resource Management in order to adapt to its changing environment. Participating in new roles will pave the way for the discovery of other potentials and therefore adding value to the organization.
Moreover, the knowledge on a particular business will gain significant value on the part of the HR professional. However, they will not be able to easily switch from one organization to another. The experience to perform senior HR roles will entail more attention for individuals to acquire it (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006).
Taking into account the current labor market that shows a higher supply of labor force, it becomes crucial for job seekers especially for new entrants like me to review the skills that would qualify me for the job in Human Resources. Given the probability of more candidates applying for the same position reduces the chances of getting the job. However, one’s employability will increase by demonstrating the competitive advantage against other applicants. The vocational training and traditional education are some of the basic elements that qualify one for the job.
Skills development is also necessary in this area especially since the business environment becomes increasingly demanding. The onset of career paths aside from administrative entails the specialization in a key area. Indeed, HR functions would necessitate personnel that will contribute significantly in the business strategies and the increase in the overall performance of the organization.
Additionally, the crisis in generating highly skilled employees’ results to organizations offering various benefits and increased salaries to qualified candidates. To some extent, this can be taken as an advantage. It goes to show that there is a promising career awaiting those who have the potential in Human Resource jobs. Moreover, HR personnel must continue to seek self and skills improvement if they want their careers to progress. Making the way up to the top is a possibility but only to those who excels in whatever they do. Ultimately, one’s performance will be determined with the valuable contributions made to achieve the organization’s effort of utilizing the human resources to the fullest.
Personal Career SWOT Analysis
This analysis identifies my key strengths and weaknesses, and also examines the opportunities and threats that I might face in the future with regards to the attainment of my career plan.
Strengths
v Earned a degree in Human Resource Management from a reputable university
v Excellent analytical and communication skills
v Ability to adapt in a fast paced environment
v Cooperative and innovative
v Highly motivated
Weaknesses
v Lack of Work Experience
v Low level of leadership skills
Opportunities
v High Salaried HR positions
v Diversity of HR work
v Development of new HR trends such as business partners
Threats
v Competition from experienced applicants and new graduates
v High supply of workforce in the labor market
v Skills crisis in the country
Employability
As the business environment becomes increasingly complex, new ways of thinking, managing and working are demanded. Hence, individuals are employed based on the perceived skills and the future contributions they can make to the organization. The employability of an individual includes her academic skills, personal management skills and teamwork skills. Skills are the set of characteristics which makes an individual employable such as knowledge, know-how, attitudes and behaviors towards work. In addition to skills and talents, one must be able to have the creativity, initiative and knowledge of her industry to be able to land a job.
Individuals are imposed with new skills demand with the changing nature of work. For this, people need to be continuously learning to prepare for the future of the present careers or even new careers. Also, one’s employment security which encompasses the extent in which their skills and talents are demanded in the labor market must be carefully considered. By knowing the abilities and skills that are required in the future in the job, career failures can be easily overcome. This would mean assessing the environment where there are career opportunities and being able to match oneself to those perceived opportunities (London, 1998, p. 133).
The key element for this is the ‘self’ since no one will do things for you. The responsibility for career development is dependent on oneself even if resources are provided by other people. This requires properly utilizing the strengths to achieve the career plan.
Since the work demand in the Human Resource is changing, HR personnel need to become more open to innovation. In this sense, the capacity to accept changes and new practices is essential in the performance of the job. The high degree of motivation and openness to innovation are my key strengths to survive this demanding environment. This means embracing the idea of developing and acquiring new skills to increase efficiency. While the academic skills are important factors, the ability to cope with the demands of the environment and the willingness to adjust will be far more relevant.
With this, one are which needs to be strengthened will be addressed. As an entrant to the labor pool, one serious concern is the lack of training/experience in the field. Of course, employers cannot expect new graduates to have full contribution to the organization on her first day of job. However, this weak area must be strengthened since the lack of experience may hamper career opportunities and decrease performance.
Indeed, continuous learning is needed to cope with the advancements in technology, competition and changing organizational goals. People who fail to keep up in their field are unable to learn other disciplines and run the risk of losing career opportunities (London, 1998, p. 13).
Professional development plays a pivotal role in managing a good career. To be able to excel in a chosen profession, one must initiate a self assessment. This would include goal setting, self assessment and planning for future challenges in the workplace.
Perhaps the most exciting and tough challenge after earning a degree is the process of job hunting. It is because you are fully in charge of your own career and your future lies on the path you would choose. A wrong decision could lead to regrets that may affect you for the rest of your life.
Competitors like fellow graduates and even professionals could become a threat. So it is greatly important that before deciding to get a job that you ascertain your career path. Self preparedness and a strong drive are needed to surpass the challenges that you would encounter along the way.
To gain the much needed career motivation one should know the three parts. That leads to it. These are resilience, insight, and identity. Career barriers are to be overcome through career resilience. The ability to face and withstand difficult situations in the work place would add to greater motivation. Another is career insight which pertains to the way you perceive and understand yourself as well as your working environment. By knowing yourself fully you will get a clearer picture of your strengths and weaknesses. You would be able to distinguish which skills are needed to be improved and take advantage of your best qualities. Identifying the factors that deter your work performance is also part of your personal insights. And lastly, career identity which serves as your direction in achieving the goals you set for your career (London 1998, p 58).
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment