Career of a Human Resource Professional: Interview with Former General Manager - HR

Ruchika is an HR professional with twelve years experience across UAE and India. In her last role she was heading a subfunction within HR at VFS (largest visa application outsourcing company across the globe). She had multiple regions under her purview such as EMEA, Asia and Australia.

FULL NAME : RUCHIKA AIRON

LOCATION : DUBAI

PROFESSION : HUMAN RESOURCES (MANAGEMENT GRADUATE)

DESIGNATION : ​​ GENERAL MANAGER - HR (CURRENTLY ON A SABBATICAL)

ORGANISATION : VFS TasHeel ​​

EXPERIENCE : 12 YEARS

HAILS FROM : INDIA

Ruchika would be keen to mentor students. Look out for opportunities to interact with her on our blog.​

Questions & Answers

ACADEMICS AND SKILLS:

Q1. What did you have to study to get into this line of work? Were/are there other ways of qualifying for it? (Please specify if your educational qualifications were necessary to get into this line of work).

​Ans. I studied MBA in HR(specialisation) and Masters in Labour Laws, from India. These are post graduate courses and can be pursued after graduating in any discipline. The duration of the course is two years. Prior to this I got my Bachelors degree in History Honours also from India.

I could have got into this profession just by being a graduate in any field too. However, in my experience, it would have taken me much longer to reach where I did and my pay scale would have been lower. Also, I have a better understanding of the labour laws by virtue of my post graduate studies, which is very important for an HR professional.​

Q2. Academically, what subjects should a student be good at to be successful in this job(during school and higher education)?

Ans. My answer to this question is linked to the previous one. While HR is not a very technical role, sound knowledge of the subjects studied during MBA (especially labour laws), would help a great deal in improving performance at workplace as well as the pace of climbing the corporate ladder.

Having said that, during school a great command over language especially English (being accepted as the global language) would help a great deal. Communication skills, both written and verbal, are vital to this role. Also, being good at elementary mathematics (up to Grade 10) would certainly help especially in certain specialisations within HR such as Compensation and Benefits. Unless one is specifically looking to specialise in Compensation and Benefits, the subject of Mathematics is otherwise not vital to this role.

Q3. What skills should an individual try to develop to be good at this role and which could also possibly help them break the entry barriers for entrance exams/interviews etc.?

​Ans. Public Speaking, Precis Writing, Logical Reasoning, Social etiquette, Personal Grooming and Problem Solving. In terms of IT skills, being good at MS Excel could be of great help too.

Q4. Would you like to give any tips or reminders to students aspiring for such a profession (these could be related to deadlines for entrance exams or subjects essential to study to get into this field or red flags to be aware of before dreaming about a profession)?

​Ans. The entrance exams for MBA happen just after you complete your graduation (you could be awaiting your results for graduation while you appear for these tests). You will need to start filling applications for the entrance tests of various institutes in your final year of graduation. It would be helpful if you start doing your research in the second year of college itself. This research should be on the institutes/universities you would like to target for this course, the cut off for applications, cut off for making it through the test, fees for this course in various colleges etc. In the final year, you could (rather should), start taking coaching for the entrance exams for MBA (where they also help you with techniques for clearing interviews and group discussions)*. While some people do not go through any coaching for these entrance exams, in my opinion, studying for these tests and getting trained on clearing these rounds are itself vital aspects in shaping an individual's personality and are crucial to succeed in any chosen field for an individual. Hence taking coaching for MBA entrance is a good idea.

*To get through a college for a course in MBA, you will be required to clear the entrance test, group discussion and personal interview.​

ABOUT THE PROFESSION:

Q5. What are the day to day responsibilities of a professional in this field?

​Ans. It depends on which area of specialisation within HR do you get into. Broadly, below are the sub-specialisations within HR and broad day to day responsibilities for each :

1. Recruitment : Interacting with managers from other functions within a firm to understand vacancies, dealing with vendors, interviewing candidates, rolling out job offers, visiting campuses for hiring freshers, conducting interviews for internal job postings etc. open to hiring talent from within the organisation.

2. Core HR : Understanding existing policies of the organisation or designing new ones, implementing processes such as performance appraisals, hearing employee grievances, conducting employee opinion surveys, retention of talent, rewards and recognition, ensuring high employee morale, employe engagement activities, on boarding of employees etc.

3. Training: Conducting trainings, designing courses, dealing with vendors, training need analysis etc. Upskilling employees and helping them do their jobs better.

4. Compensation and Benefits: Designing salary structures, participating in compensation surveys, distributing budget among the departments post the appraisal cycle, designing incentive structures, understanding the economy and market to be able to peg the company as an employer of choice within available budget.

Q6. What does it really mean to be working in this role? (Do you have a good work-life balance? Do you travel a lot? Do you often have to meet a lot of new people?)

​Ans. Being an HR professional certainly empowers you with a lot to make a true difference in the lives of people you work with in the organisation. Hence it can be immensely satisfying to do that.

Depending on the time of the year, this role can be demanding. There are a lot of late nights when an organisation is expanding and hence in the need to hire urgently. Similarly there are a lot of late nights during appraisal time for HR Generalists and Comp & Ben specialists.

On the whole, it's not a profession where you will be overworked through out the year.

Again depending on the role and the area you are accountable for, your job may or may not involve a lot of travel.

Also, HR is a role where you will meet a lot of people, not just within the organisation but also outside (e.g. vendors, those appearing for interviews etc, campus placement coordinators etc.).​

Q7. What are the perks of being in this kind of a role?

​Ans. You are recognised through out the organisation being in a function like this. You are privy to a lot of confidential information which general employee population may not be aware of. You are in a unique position to strike a balance between the interests of the management and the employees and hence get due importance for the same.

PERSONAL CHOICES:

Q8. How did you choose this profession?

​Ans. It's a great choice for a generalist like me who wasn't particularly good in any one subject. I had good writing skills, logical reasoning abilities and always wanted to be in a position to be able to make a difference to the lives of others. Hence this seemed like a good fit.

Also, in a management career one doesn't need to decide too early in life to choose a specialisation. Hence. this worked for me on that front too.

Q9. What do you love about your job and what do you dislike?

​Ans. Love the fact that I can voice my opinion on a lot of fronts to improve the quality of life for my colleagues. Dislike the aspect that my department gets blamed for factors beyond it's control e.g. one can't dole out bonuses when the company's performance in that year has been dismal. I also dislike the fact that (except in a consulting set up) HR is not a revenue-generating function even though it can significantly impact the *bottom-line

*bottom line refers to a company's net earnings

Q10. Where did you start and where have you reached today?

​Ans. I started as a Management trainee (Consultant - Human Resource Delivery) and was last managing multiple regions across the globe as an HR Generalist.​

MYTH Vs REALITY

Q11. Is there any myth you’d like to break about your profession that over-glamourises or de-glamourises it?

Ans. HR may not be the first choice for a lot of people but it makes a great career for people like me who are generalists!

Did you find this article useful? Are there other aspects on a career in Human Resources or Management that you would like to know about? Do you have any specific questions for Ruchika? Please let us know by writing to us in the comments section at the end of the page.