MBA HR: Career Scope and Job Prospects

HR is a demanding profession.The need of HR professionals in every field is increasing. In this profession, an individual can avail a number of jobs with higher salary packages.

By Manohar Lal

Human Resource Management career requires an individual to have the ability to understand human relations. They need to mold style of operation as per staff needs, understand the different roles and provide strategic planning through people development. To achieve all these the HR professional, requires leadership, negotiation and excellent communication skills. The HR professional also requires ability to take hard call, to create a win–win situations for the organisation and staff.

MBA HR

The Human Resource Management specialisation in MBA allows the students to develop the general management skills, and the learning and understanding about human resource practices. The curriculum covers Human Resource management various courses, and the cultural, social and economic factors that influence employee’s relation.

Figure 1

HR is a demanding profession. The HR department is the most important part of any organisation (Figure 1). The need of HR professionals in every field is increasing. In this profession, an individual can avail a number of jobs with higher salary packages.

HR Opportunities

There are various job opportunities in the field of human resource management. All organisations need to hire HR professionals to handle the HR activities. MBA HR specialisation graduates can work in the industries, corporate, colleges & schools and MNCs (Figure 2). There is a sufficient number of jobs in HR in India, and opportunities to work in abroad.

Figure 2: Opportunity for HR Graduates

HR Roles

Human Resource Management is a process of recruiting, training, orienting, compliance and appraising employees of an organization. HR manager deals with the organisational structure, morals, motivations and overall employee engagement. The HR manager is responsible for conducting interviews, selecting candidates, helping managers to train them, scheduling meetings, preparing salaries, incentives and manages employee welfare and industrial disputes. Individual’s good at interacting with others, a career in MBA in HR can be very fruitful for them.

There are various job opportunities in the field of human resource management. All industries need to hire HR professionals to settle and handle activities regarding the hiring of employee, their benefits, compensation, salary settlement, training & development and maintaining work performance of the employee and ensure that all activities are being done as per company policies.

Career in HR

A graduate can start their career as HR Generalist and HR Specialist (Figure 3). HR generalist are less focused and handle number of areas and tasks simultaneously. They may be expected to recruit new employees, assist in matching employees to existing jobs, coordinate retraining efforts or manage employee benefit programs. Others may negotiate with labour unions or manage payroll and compensation. Creating and enforcing a company’s employee relations policies is also often a part of the human resources generalist job description. HR specialists focus their efforts in a single area, such as recruiting or training, etc. 

Figure 3: HR Career pathways

HR Generalist and HR Specialist career pathways in various organisation i.e. Manufacturing sector, BPO/IT Sector, Banking, Hospital, Education etc. are as follows:

1. HR career in Manufacturing Sector, BPO/IT, Corporate sectors, Service sector

From small companies to large domestic/multinational corporations, all hire HR professionals. The HR professional can be found in the consumer products, restaurant, retail, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, publishing industries etc. Large companies often have multiple human resource managers (Figure 4). Some may work in the corporate offices of these large companies, while others work in different business unit level, so they can better tailor their hiring efforts to local markets

Figure 4: Career pathways for HR graduates in Manufacturing Sector, BPO/IT, Corporate sectors

2.HR career in Education sector

Human Resource graduates also works for Universities, College, Technical institution as well as schools, boards and in elementary, middle and high schools. In Universities and colleges, the HR professionals hire and maintain employment records for department deans, professors, part-time instructors, administrative & clerical workers, and maintenance employees (Figure 5). In elementary, middle and high schools, they may help principals interview and hire the most qualified teachers, secretaries, and school counselors.

Figure 5: Career Pathways for HR graduate in Educations Sector

3.HR career in Banking sector

Financial Service sector is one of the largest job providers in India, specifically Banking Sector. The role of HR professional in banking sector is quite different from other corporate (Figure 6). Banking jobs being apparently lucrative for many, attract many candidates against advertised vacancies. A bank in a normal course invests time and money to hire and train the appropriate work force for its own operations.

Figure 6: Career pathways for HR graduate in Banking Sector

It's not just industry knowledge or professional qualifications that will help individual’s career to develop. Skills and attributes are equally important. Interpersonal and organizational skills with a bit of diplomacy and persuasions are vital ingredients for a successful career in HR.

About the Author:

Manohar Lal is Assistant Professor – Finance at ITM Vocational University, Vadodara.

Also read: