Transitioning from Recruitment to HR Generalist: How Do I Explain My Career Path in Interviews?

Hi all,

I have a very important question to ask all of you. I'm a staffing consultant and want to shift my domain from recruitment to HR generalist. In interviews, I have often faced a problem when the interviewer asks why I'm working in recruitment instead of a generalist's profile despite having an MBA. I am quite perplexed about how to answer this question. I would be highly obliged if you all could help me out!

Thanks,
Amrita :)

Hi Amrita,

I think it's not necessary to perform a "Generalist" role after doing an MBA. HR is a wide field, and "recruitment" is a part of it. It's a matter of choice to either go in for a generalist role or some specific role. Probably, you could say that at that particular point in time, you got an opportunity in recruitment and you took it up. But now, you would like to widen your horizons, hence this change.

Does it make sense?

Rgds,
Tania

Hi,

The question is natural. So should the answer be!

In the majority of cases, immediately upon completing a professional qualification, the most predominant need of a candidate is to be employed. Even if it is not the ideal employment one would have liked, it at least acquaints the candidate with the "world of work" and introduces him/her to some aspects of the profession that he/she is being trained for.

The ideal job will come along as one enriches their own professional profile and proves competent enough for better and higher jobs. The concept of an ideal job/employment is quite vague really. The ideal tag can and should be given only afterwards, and one need not aim to join an ideal job to start with.

I suggest your approach to such a question, as you referred to in your post, should be honest and straightforward! You could reply in all modesty somewhat as under:

"Well, to launch myself into a career, I needed to enter the world of work ahead of an ideal job/good pay, etc. Employment was a greater need than an ideal job, so I took up the first decent offer that offered me learning opportunities and professionalism albeit on a limited spectrum of the function. I am aware that I have to build myself up professionally over time before I could even think of higher jobs/responsibilities, etc. Now that I find myself ready to enter the next phase of learning and contributing, I am willing to venture into new employment and seek wider horizons in my chosen profession - HR."

This is NOT a script. Kindly use it only as a guide and make your own answers as that is most important!

Cheers!

Regards,

Samvedan

February 1, 2007

Thanks for the replies! I have gained a better insight into how to tackle such questions. I hope to have further discussions ahead. Have a nice day! :) Thanks once again.

Dear Member,

The present question is: Why have you opted for staffing (recruitment) instead of pursuing a generalist role after completing your MBA?

The distinction lies in the fact that an HR Generalist encompasses a wide range of HR functions, with recruitment being just one aspect of it. However, due to the increasing job prospects and the growing importance of recruitment, the industry is currently emphasizing roles as recruiters as a separate segment.

Since you aim to enhance your proficiency, strengthen your skills, and delve into this dominant domain, you have chosen to pursue a career in recruitment.

I hope this answer is logical and meets your requirements.

Regards,
Yandamuri

Hi all,

Can you tell me the basic job profile of an HR generalist? I am also an MBA in HR and working as a staffing consultant, but I want to change my domain.

Hi,

The attachment to this post has two profiles. One is for a purely HR generalist function, and the other is for an administrative function. You may want to look at both since in many organizations, these two roles are combined for an HR generalist, depending on the size of the organization, the complexity of the function, and, of course, the management policy.

I trust that these profiles will provide adequate insights.

Regards,
Samvedan
February 3, 2007