Help.......

Madhuu,
Different HR people have different perceptions on what they want to look into a candidate /prospective employee. For some its strong conceptual knowledge, for some its confidence level etc.

But as a standard “to start with” I guess almost all HR people would like the fresher
a) To be sound in the theoretical concepts (that’s the bare minimum expected out of the person that whatever he/she has studied should be on his/her tips ,if not all then at least most of it. )
The only thing what a fresher has in offering is KNOWLEDGE what he has occupied in these 2 years & if one is not able to showcase it then it’s a waste.
I remember asking a fresher during the interview if he can just tell me overall how many subjects he studied during his MBA in 2 years & I will put him to next round & he wasn’t able to answer.

b) If one has acquired knowledge about the latest happenings in HR or Contemporary issues & trends in HR nothing better than that & it surely impresses the Interviewer but one should try to present this knowledge during the interview process while answering the regular questions of the interviewer by trying to present this knowledge through examples etc Or try to link this knowledge somehow while answering those questions.
According to me it won’t be really very impressive if without even asking you start telling the Interviewer the whole information about “Phantom Stock Option”.

c) Third thing will be articulation. No matter how knowledgeable you are OR how much you know if you are not able to articulate that knowledge well enough in front of a interviewer with full confidence (mind it not OVER CONFIDENCE) then it won’t really give you the edge what you are trying to gain.
Not only during the interview process but even when you are in HR job you have to be articulative enough in your work so that people get the right message from you & at the same time has to be very careful with what you say or what you write because HR is one job which creates a balancing act between management & employees & is a crucial one also, so one wrong thing said or sent in written & it immediately creates a problem for the HR person.

As far as doing some additional courses at fresher level are concerned surely one can go ahead & can do some courses & MAY BE they will gain some mileage out of it but according to me these additional courses actually generates value when one has acquired some working experience then courses like Certification in Psychometric Test OR Some Certificate Course in Training in Development OR something in OD etc will be adding weightage to the person’s profile.

Last part of your question I wasn’t able to understand so if you can explain that again I will try to answer that also.

[Dear Friend

I like to add you into my contacts pls provide your mobile number

thanx a ton prashant sir for these information. in the last part of my previous question i wanted to know that if renowned companies that have best practices in HR and other fields hire a fresher for the HR post. since most of the "good" companies requires at least 2-5 yrs of exp(which i don't have!). again proffessors at college emphasizes that the first job should be at a "good" company as that will provide broad exposure. so i'm in fix basically as to what i should do.

Maduu,

Definitely some very good companies do go to Campuses to hire freshers (choice of campuses can be their own decision) but yes they do hire freshers.

Although if you understand that HR is one filed where huge departments are not needed unlike sales/marketing etc. so the numbers always remain few in the HR deptt. & that's why you don’t have companies in bulk visiting campuses to hire HR freshers.

There are certain exceptions to this fact also where some companies do have good number of people in HR specializing in different fields like someone in Comp& Ben, other in recruitment, one in Performance Management, someone in HR operations, someone in Training & Development but these kind of companies are not too many in number in India. Maximum people are found in Recruitment Team.

Don't have the misconception that "Good Companies" hire only people with 2-3 years experience. Although it is a personal choice of the GOOD COMPANIES to go to well known campuses like XLRI,TISS,SIBM,SCMHRD,MHROD when it comes to fresher level hiring but not necessarily it can be the case all the time. They can visit any campus where they think that they can get quality candidates.

But In a time like today it will be difficult for me to comment that whether this time around how many good companies or Companies will really be going to campuses to hire freshers.

Why your professor says that your first job should be in a good company is because in big or good companies HR processes are very well defined, well implemented, & well run so the fresh person gets ample of opportunity to learn new things & actually gets a very fair understanding why something has been done & how it has been done.
Secondly when someone spends a decent amount of time working in HR in a big brand name than it becomes easier for him /her to cash it in future either in terms of Role OR in terms of Money OR both when he plans to make a switch to another company.

Also would like to share with you that it is not necessary that only Good Companies or Big Companies only provide Good HR Exposure. Lot many times some small companies also gives a fantastic HR exposure.

thanx once again prashant sir for clearing my doubts. basically i'm doing my MBA (HR) from not so "branded" institutes that u have mentioned. that's why i'm a bit apprehensive abt my situation since i am dependent on my institute in this case (also i'm trying on my own). but i know that i'm a fast learner and have the appetite to learn and grow. hopefully that should help me in the long run! i would really like to add u in my contacts list if that's ok with u! and can i get back to u if there r queries regarding this proffession in future. it'll be a real help then.

thanx n regards,
madhulika

Surely you can get back to me if you have clarifications to look for, although like many others I am also in the process of learning more & more :-) & yes you can add me up

Hello Prashant

My name is Daman. I am employed in my capacity as Head of L&D and also involved in OD - working for a bank in the UAE. I am looking out for some cost-effective psychometric tests for new joiners -mainly for assessing personality and knowledge. ANything in mind?? Seek your assistance on links. Online would do as well. You could respond back to me on as I am new to this site and unfamiliar on how to cruise through it. Thanks and regards..Daman (Ms.)

Ms. Daman,
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely used psychometric test across the globe for assessing personality. Although there are others also like 16PF, Thomas PPA etc. but still MBTI is considered to be the mostly used psychometric test & it is considered to be a notch above the rest.( based on the public opinion reason being it can be used in most of the situations )

We were in the process of buying a psychometric test product & that’s where I did some findings on Thomas PPA & 16 PF, their certifications & the cost of the product but that is for "INDIA".

I have no clue on the cost /certifications of these products in UAE. One vendor from which I was talking to about 16PF has offices in US & other parts but not in UAE.

Similarly for Thomas PPA product, Thomas international has got office in Kuwait in Middle East.
So probably you have to find companies on your own who are offering these products in UAE.

To help you with MBTI there is a company in UAE called [B]"Innovative Human Resource Solution” {www.ihsdubai.com} who I read last is authorized to sell & administer MBTI & other major products in UAE region. You can contact them for more information.
Also I got to know that University of Wollongong regularly conducts MBTI workshops. So you can also touch base with them.

Thanks Prashant. Appreciate your assistance. Am aware of the MBTI and Thomas PPA - but at this point of recession - the bank is unwilling to spend too much. Hence a challenge for me to look up something inexpensive and cost-effective. I've looked at 16PF as well and Enneagram Personality tests as well. Well beyond budget is what the big guys claim! Looking for something that probably I could get trained in and then do it on-line.Anyway - I will contact these guys at Wollongong. I know IHS guys as well. Infact have dealt with them recently on some training programs.

Have been reading on the HR scene in India. It's the same everywhere. I can well understand the anxiety levels of students....Thanks Prashant. We shall be in touch..

I agree to the point that Companies right now are not too keen to spend money on things on which they don't see immediate returns or if they know that this could "wait" & thats one reason why we also put the idea of buying a psychometric test product on hold for a while.

I have a suggestion to make which is no different from what you have thought of.
If you can get certified on Psychometric Test & its evaluation than probably you can develop your own test. You being from the bank while knowing its internal structure can very well define what kind of employees (or personalities) are needed in the bank at different levels & different departments.

Just come across this :

UOWD - News & Events -

See if this can be of any help.Have the name/emai id of the contact person for the MBTI Coursein the end.

-Prashant