Hi,
A very relevant question from a budding HR Professional. My points in the order of their perceived importance are as below:
1. A flair for People: It is said that the outcome becomes irrelevant to a large extent if the intentions are noble. Internal customer advocacy is something which differentiates a good HR Professional from the average ones. Whichever organization one is working with,the role of HR always remains that of a caretaker and the custodian of the 'soul of the organization'.Most of the organizations are striving to become'employer of choice'.This means that there is a strong need of people who can take care of people. If your really want a clear USP for yourself in this profession,you will strive to get the acceptance of your internal customers before anything else.
2. Conceptual Knowledge: You need to have an indepth conceptual knowledge.This gives you a lot of credibility in front of your internal and external customers. Its sad to notice that most of the people on the delivery side have come to perceive HR as a non-technical 'thin-air' profession. It's up to us to change that image and come across as experts in our domain at all platforms.
3. Result - orientation: By virtue of being a 'support' function,business always has dependencies on HR. The demonstration of result-orientation whenever it is called for,helps strengthen our image in from of the stakeholders.
4. Communication: Last but not the least,having a strong communication capability is an absolute must for any HR Professional. This iss required not for excelling but for survival.
Attached is a document with the required Competencies for HR.Hope this is of some help.
Warm Regards,
Ambarish