Human Resource Executive (HR) - As A Career Option

Organizations big and small are made up of people. From a clerk to the Chairman, these resources are any company’s biggest asset and requires delicate handling.

In companies that span continents, and have employees that resemble the size of a small country, this becomes especially tricky.

Everyone wants to attract, retain, and promote talent within their organization. Motivation levels of employees need to be kept high, salaries need to be negotiated, promotions and career growth need to be overseen, and in some situations, lay-offs need to be made.

All of this is where Human Resource Management (HRM) comes in.

To be a successful Human Resource professional, you should have wonderful interpersonal skills. Human Resource executives regularly interact with people, and strong speaking and interpersonal skills make them a more effective professional.

Organizational skills, decision-making skills, and any leadership skills that you might possess will help you even more in your growth.

Eligibility Criteria to Become an HR (Human Resource) Executive

12th standard: No restrictions. Students from either stream (Science, Commerce, Maths) are eligible.

Bachelor’s Degree: Most organizations demand at least a bachelor’s degree in human resource management. A lot of schools are offering specialized courses for students interested in this field.

Master’s Degree: For advanced job titles (Global HR Head, HR director, General Manager HR, Labor Relations Manager, etc), an MBA in HRM is preferred.

Beyond this, students are advised to take additional courses in accounting, psychology, economics, employment and labor laws, etc, to gain specialization in this field.

It is a career that demands integrity, confidentiality (employee information is sacrosanct), and a high level of interpersonal interaction capability from its practitioners.

Responsibilities of an HR (Human Resource) Executive

• Handle employee relations, regulatory compliance
• Draft contracts.
• Negotiate salaries.
• Mediate personnel conflicts.
• Design and oversee recruitment drives, employee training initiatives and compensation negotiations

In smaller organizations, all of these functions are performed simultaneously by one or two HR, while in bigger companies, each of these requires a specialist of their own.

Various Roles of a Human Resource Manager

1. Payroll Manager

They supervise the operations of the payroll department. They are responsible for making sure the employee gets the bank alert on the 30th of every month (Rs. XXX amount has been credited to your account 1234555xxx!), all reimbursements are checked and duly processed, reports for the higher-ups and accounting department are sent on time, and any discrepancies are taken care of.

2. Recruitment Manager

They oversee the hiring of new employees, as well as their roles and responsibilities. They do campus drives, or meet with head-hunters to find eligible candidates for the vacancy, and undertake the selection process to find the right person for the right job.

3. Employee Relations Manager

They are responsible for the overall functioning of the employees. They set down policies regarding compensation, benefits, harassment, grievances, and other management practices. They handle complaints and mediate negotiations.

A Day in the Life of a Human Resource Manager

I’m a psychology major who has always been fascinated by people. When the time came for an MBA, it was a no-brainer that I chose to specialize in Human Resource Management.

I am currently working with a 3-year-old IT consulting firm that employs over a hundred people in two different offices in Delhi and Bangalore. Apart from a payroll manager, I’m the start and end of our HR Department, which means I have my hands full.

Keeping in mind that we’re planning another recruitment drive soon, we have decided to start looking some support staff for me, but until then, I shall run ragged!

After a quick breakfast and a yoga session, I’m at the office by 9. A typical day for me goes like this:

9:30 AM: Meeting a senior VP that’s been asked to resign because of too many complaints about sexual harassment. These are never easy, and I regret scheduling them for the first thing on a Monday.

Before he comes in, I review my notes and try to plan the conversation. This exit interview is going to demand every ounce of my interpersonal skills.



11:00 AM: Meeting ends, and I try not to sigh with relief. A handsome compensation package ensured that things didn’t get too ugly, and I could prevent a potential lawsuit that we would have won for sure, but might have cost us good brand goodwill. I open my emails and start responding to them.

11:30 AM: I meet a Training & Development consultant to plan employee training for the new time sheet booking software our IT department has developed. Our COO also sits in, and we decide to go for an e-learning module because the training is largely repetitive, and our employees are scattered across the country for on-site projects. We hash out a blueprint and request our vendor to get back to us with a quote.

1:00 PM: I’ve been running on fumes all day, time to grab some lunch with a coffee.

2:00 PM: Back at my desk – I already have 20 emails, and 7 missed calls. I take solace in the fact that I’m at least popular.

I prioritize the phone calls – one of them is a headhunter we frequently consult to fill high-level positions in the organization.

Right now we’re looking for a replacement for the VP I’d let go in the morning. She tells me she’s sent me a few resumes with her notes that I should start looking at.

3:30 PM: I go through the resumes, and finalize five of them for an in-person interview. I send them emails asking for their available slots, and try to squeeze all 5 of them in this week. We need one to start asap.



4:30 PM: I get off the phone from the placement cell of a very reputed college. We have a campus recruitment drive scheduled for next week, and I promise to email him the agenda and the final dates.

I also need to prepare the exact JD (Job Descriptions) for the roles we will be hiring. This is something I need to consult the CEO on.

7:00 PM: God knows where time ran away. Finalizing JD took us a while – we had to strategically assess our workforce, and identify gaps we need to hire for.

Formalizing them in a PDF and emailing to the Placement Cell Head now! I also have a few other emails from colleges that want us to recruit from them.

8:00 PM: I call it a day and start packing! God, what I won’t do for a Chicken Biryani after this!

Did you find my profession (HRM) interesting? Are you looking forward to pursuing a career in this field? We hope this article has added something valuable to your search. Have your say in the comment box below. Enjoy Reading!