Investigative Report on a Human Resource Career
Born and raised in the United States of America, my passion since childhood has been centred on socializing with others, making new friends, helping people and to higher levels, learning about different cultural diversities. Through socializing, I have learnt and understood more about the people I meet, something that has made my life as exciting as possible. My love for people has pushed me into developing a greater passion for being a Human Resource manager once I complete my studies. This paper explores an in-depth understanding of the human resource management career and the role of writing involved in the job therein.
Overview of the HRM career and the roles
HRM is generally used in describing various tasks in an organization, with a substantial focus on employee management/human capital (Rihan). Human resource managers play a vital role in overseeing and managing people in an organization through various activities such as compensation, benefits, training, rewarding, staffing and strategic management, among other organizational management functions. Human resource managers contribute immensely to the viability of a given entity and success since they strategically manage human capital. Furthermore, in the current marketing world, the human resource profession is highly growing and competitive since its stature has dramatically evolved over the years (Price). According to the Money Magazine published in 2007, human resource management career was listed in the fourth position of America’s top ten jobs. The ranking was based on a variety of aspects such as the possibility of the career advancement in the coming decades, potential for increased earnings, the creativity involved in the career and the flexibility available to HR professionals in general.
Human resource professional plays a vital role in every organization. They lead and structure the organization’s staffing and recruitment requirements. This is done through recruitment and retaining of the best employees. The employee retains is not easy in companies, however, through a strategic human resource manager, the company can be attractive and competitive to the extent that the employees will feel safe to continue working and serving their em0ployer diligently (Price). Today, the business environment is highly competitive; therefore, this has made human capital management a critical aspect to consider and make viable both locally and globally (Paauwe). Therefore, human resource managers are essential in the global world since in organizational settings; people are the only asset that differentiates business entities. In organizations, materials, processes and structures can be replicated; however, the organizational talent (human capital) is unique and distinguishable among the competitors.
In an organization, the HRM provides a solid component under the senior management crew. The common understanding about the HRM is that they conduct interviews in organizations, explain the benefits of a company, manages the relationships of employees, and provides training opportunities to the employees and hiring of professional and qualified staff members to ensure high organizational productivity. However, in the current business, the HRM has a more vital role to play in business that the obvious thoughts listed above. Back in the 20th century, the HRM professionals worked from behind the scenes, but today, they are taking active roles in corporate policies that ensure higher productivity in organizations (Paauwe). The human resource manager today is involved in contributing strategically to the functionality and management of the talents in an organization. The career pathway below will let you understand that HRs are never satisfied with their degree-level education, many of the HRs pursues further education which has seen most of them into the position of CEOs.
Preparation for the career and the prospects
As I will explore the roles and duties of a human resource manager below, it is ideal to understand that the duties and challenges ahead in this profession require a formal human resource education and certification. The current competitive market requires professionals; therefore, there has been a higher demand for knowledgeable career personnel in the HR positions hence making it a necessity for the SHRM to review its guidance provisions towards the HRMs. Furthermore, the SHRM has also stipulated the type of formal education that can be dimmed as appropriate for one to handle the Human Resource office as a professional (Kumar). Thus, this organization has a designed HR curriculum guidebook as well as the template used by various universities in standardizing the Human resource course requirements (Paauwe).
This implies that qualified Human Resource professionals a human resource certificate from a formal business facility. Thus, one needs to enrol in a university program or a business college that qualifies under the SHRM guidebook. Undergraduate HRM students are required to undertake a balanced curriculum that is inclusive of the behavioural and social sciences as well as liberal arts. More so, HRM students are required to pursue courses that involve both oral and written skills. But in overall, anyone who wishes to pursue a career in HRM should study business, that is, economics, business and labour laws, accounting, marketing, quantitative methods and management in general (Kumar). More so, like any other career advancements, the human resource manager can also advance his or her education by taking master’s degree in HRM either in Business Administration or science are essential in the complex market of business today. These are preparation measures for one to pursue a career in human resource management.
Career pathways
In most organizations, the minimum entry-level is a minimum of one year experience, while other organizations require two or three years in general. According to the survey taken by the SHRM in 2007, the HRM professionals who secured their current HRM positions in organizations used internship as a way to prepare them into their careers. SHRM does not offer placement to HRM students; however, it creates an opportunity for them to meet potential employers through internships. It also has chapters that advertise on placement and career positions which if enrolled; one is likely to bump into a vacancy. Therefore, an internship after graduation is ideal in preparing a student to the real job ahead through career development opportunity (Iles).
Currently, the HRM field requires creativity. Thus, one can start as an HR assistant and advance to the HRM professional while others will start in small entities that do not have HRs, but after growth and development, he or she is accented to power as an HR. More so, during job hunting and placement studies, a higher percentage of the job vacancies are found through networking and contacts. Human resource management is a tough career that requires a network of contacts essential for the location of a first employment opportunity (Iles). Besides, the internet is also essential for HRM job seekers since big companies such as IBM and Accenture have websites that they use to advertise job vacancies. Universities and business colleges also offer guidance towards job search. Most importantly, it is needful for anyone anticipating taking up a human resource management career to enrol for internships and part-time jobs in HRM. It boosts your experience, acquaint you with the requirements of the field and also realistically provides you with a preview of what is ahead of you as a professional (McCarthy et al.).
Role of writing in HRM
In every business role, written communication essential; however, the HRM professional needs writing communication skills in his or her role and duties. HRs represents their organizations; therefore, the written skills are essential to present the image of the organization and attract both the inside and the outside world. Currently, business entities constantly rely on emails and message services instead of face to face meet-ups. Therefore, the success of the business in the current competitive and technologically advancing world requires managers to be up-to-date with the current dynamics. Human resource managers need special writing skills in writing job applications, manage employee needs and oversee the organizational l goals and objectives. Therefore, to improve their professional performances, human resource managers should ensure that their writing skills are out of this world.
Excellent writing skills are necessary for saving time for HR as a professional as well as the employees. Unclearly written messages or communications lead to misunderstanding, elongate processes and creates grievances between the staff and the employees. Managers require excellent writing skills because it is crucial in passing across a message concisely and effectively to the employees and the staff in general. Keeping a written message short and precise is essential in HRM career because no one will be happy to read an essay that was ideal and communicable in two sentences (Bambacas et al.). Long documents should be made readable to the target audience because an HRM with excellent writing skills will understand the subject matter of his or her message and write the message in an interesting way for them to read. Thus, HRMs need to develop writing skills through online tools available and sharpen their know-how on writing essentials (Paauwe).
In conclusion, the Human Resource Manager plays a vital role in managing the human capital of a given business entity. They manage organizational employees (talents) which results in higher productivity and success of the business in general. More so, a human resource manager requires formal education certification as indicated in the SHRM guidebook, to navigate through the HRM career. These preparations include but not limited to enrolling in a business college or university (proposed under the SHRM) to pursue a degree in HRM, take an internship before or after graduation, register with the SHRM for connections and contacts and working as a part-time employee in any organization. They are meant to improve someone’s knowledge of the career ahead and acquaint him or her with the specifications of the professional roles ahead. Lastly, as an HRM professional, it is essential to possess excellent writing skills because businesses thrive through their ability to written communication both internally and externally.
Works cited
Bambacas, Mary, and Margaret Patrickson. “Assessment of communication skills in manager selection: Some evidence from Australia.” Journal of Management Development (2009).
Iles, Paul. “Sustainable high‐potential career development: a resource‐based view.” Career Development International (1997).
Kumar, Arti. Personal, academic and career development in higher education: SOARing to success. Routledge, 2009.
McCarthy, Alma M., and Thomas N. Garavan. “360 feedback process: Performance, improvement and employee career development.” Journal of European Industrial Training (2001).
Paauwe, Jaap. HRM and performance: Achieving long-term viability. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2004.
Price, Alan. Human resource management in a business context. Cengage Learning EMEA, 2007.
Rihan, Ibrahim. “What is Human Resources Management.” (1998).