Feeling Stuck in My HR Career: How Can I Grow and Avoid Becoming Stagnant?

Dear Seniors
I am a B.Com graduate and hold an MBA in HR. I started my career with Mafoi in ITes Volume Hiring for BPO clients; this was my first HR job. I worked for six months, and due to the nature of recruitment and the unprofessionalism shown by the candidates, I found this job thankless and grilling through no fault of mine. At a point when I just could not continue with the unprofessional attitudes of these candidates and having faced stress, brickbats, and embarrassments from clients' HRs for no-shows, offer declines, no-shows on the joining date, and absconding after joining the company by the candidates, I decided to resign without having another job in hand. I was receiving many offers but in the same line of business, which I didn't want. I was already working with one of the most reputed recruitment firms and was facing so many difficulties that were not in my control to resolve. There was no point in taking up similar job offers. I searched for jobs for 10 uncertain months, and finally, I got an offer from an audit firm in the Middle East. They offered me a generalist profile with the designation of HR Coordinator. Upon reading the job description, I liked the nature of the work and found it to be a very good learning experience to grow and excel in the HR industry.

It's been one year since I joined this firm, and over time, I have realized that this is a very disorganized setup, run under a single owner's directions. There are functional departments, including HR, a support department to facilitate HR functions. This firm can be considered a mid-sized audit firm with a staff strength of 200+ employees. There are HR policies and procedures in place, relevant forms, and electronic systems for HR functions. However, the majority of the time, none of them are followed as per the guidelines. Everyone in the company does not have the attitude nor the will to follow the process. When I joined this company with excitement and hope that I would be able to use my HR knowledge, which I have acquired in my studies, I faced reluctance from the staff and was not taken seriously for the tasks. There are rules, but some individuals who are in favored books or have authority find it against their ego to follow the line. The rules are for their own benefit, yet they don't follow them.

Recruitment
Any manager can hire anyone they want and just dump it on HR to finish the process of joining, even sometimes that is not followed properly.

Appraisal
In spite of having proper forms and policies in place, promotions and increments are as per the manager's wishes and favorites.

And many other bottlenecks in following the written-down rules. Major ones are:

Lack of communication is so great that my work is affected. I am asked to make reports without being informed. How can I present accurate reports? Also, when I am proactive and seek information to complete my tasks, I am confused about getting the right information. Sometimes I am unsure if I should take the initiative or not.

I am just working like a clerk following instructions and making reports. I am not involved in any meetings, decision-making, or discussions related to HR. Sometimes I get to know information from others in the company which is of an HR nature.

I am confused if working here is building up my HR skills or not. I am feeling left behind and lagging in acquiring skills and knowledge in the HR field for a promising career in HR. Currently, I am 27 years old, with only 1.5 years of experience in the HR field. I am afraid that if I don't add any skills or specialization to my profile, I will end up like a clerk and not be marketable in the job market.

Please advise me on any certification, course, or change I can bring to my life in order to grow and have a job that is challenging and rewarding. I would really appreciate the wisdom and advice shared by experts here.

Thanks & Best Wishes

Your experience reminded me of an assignment I had worked on. Here's my case facts:

My HR Implementation Journey

- I was hired by a company to design and implement HR. It seemed like a dream role when I started it.
- I did my research and established the systems with processes.
- Then I noticed a marked duality. Even though my implementation was a high-priority project for the organization, no one actually took it seriously.
- The organization had multi-location offices. Hence, people from different states worked there. There was a huge disparity; almost every office ran like an independent organization with a hairball structure and communicated primarily with the owner. This was shared with me, and I analyzed a lot of reasons contributing to it. The first was the use of regional languages. This added to the anti-feeling. Though I spent a lot of time understanding them, learning their languages, backgrounds, and interests, and created a lot of programs, yet nothing really worked.
- Worst of all, though my implementation was signed off, I had a feeling it was limited to the papers. It disheartened me a lot. So I tried reviewing why there was such resistance in the organization.
- Here came my 'Aha' moment. One of the biggest clients of the organization had asked for an HR implementation, as it was missing. This is how I was hired, and my assignment was signed off. The employees and the management did not see any merit in the HR system. This is why when I tried to understand them, they were not receptive towards me and barely gave an ear to every program that was run.
- This was a bad experience, especially after the kind of effort I put into the project. But then I decided to stand up for myself.
- I benchmarked my work to industry standards to ensure my learning was at par.
- I gave myself a deadline within the job to move out.
- During the phase in which I was counting my days at the organization, I gained a few of my best survival strategies.
- When I moved away, I was a lot smarter intellectually and professionally.

Hope this helps you to decide on your own path.

Regards,
Cite Contribution

Please do consider reading this thread posted earlier. I want you to receive the fruits of your effort in the office. I wouldn't want to see you moving away without benefiting and being enriched by learning from this experience.

Best Out of Your Worst Job

Regards

There's something that I have believed in - nothing happens without a reason. Maybe this situation is for YOU TO LEARN - the focus being on YOUR LEARNING - not for the company you work in. If they take your effort seriously, fine - they will gain from it. But if they don't, that's their problem. PLEASE DON'T ALLOW SUCH A SITUATION TO STOP YOUR LEARNING PROCESS. Whether we look at this practically, realistically, materialistically, or spiritually, YOU DECIDE YOUR LEARNING PROCESS & GROWTH - NOT THE EXTERNAL situation/world.

I am saying this from my personal experience - I have had quite a few of the situations you are going through right now - and in the initial phases, every time while going through those phases, I was often bewildered & confused. Expand your contacts & begin to compare your learning with the outside world's knowledge base.

Regards, TS

(Cite Contribution) & Tajsateesh, both are very right. How much we can grow and learn in an organization is in our hands. If they are not taking your efforts seriously, it's not your problem. Just keep on learning and growing as much as you can. When you feel that you can now move further in your career, just go ahead.

Keep in mind one thing - you are here to learn... that's it. One day, you will get your kind of job and be able to work independently, achieving your satisfaction.

Take care,

Regards,
Annu

It was a delight to read about your experience in the assignment you mentioned. I could relate to a lot of the issues you listed there. The HBR article link you provided was also refreshing. I'm trying to find humor in my work. Actually, it's a good idea. I do face humorous instances in my job, as this is a multicultural office with many nationalities working together.

Let me tell you what I really feel. My work here is not so stressful; it's all fine. I can handle the nature of the work; I have handled grueling and uncertain recruitment in the BPO sector in India. The recruitment here is better, and candidates are more experienced, qualified, and professional. Sometimes, the nature of my work involves so much MIS, documentation, and paperwork that I wonder if I'm doing HR tasks.

I aspire to be a trainer, but I don't get training opportunities in this company. Most of the training programs are very technical. Please advise me on how I can gain training experience. Can I pursue a course, certification, or program to enhance and develop my skills in the Human Resources field? I don't want to sit idle and wait until my skills and knowledge become obsolete and I feel redundant. How can I add real value to my work?

The country I'm working in is a closed and conservative country where HR is hardly developed or recognized. Here, the attitude of employers is to make employees work and pay salaries; not much thought or initiative is put into developing the workforce. Therefore, I hardly find any institutions offering a variety of HR certifications or courses other than basic HR subjects. Unlike India, which offers many types and natures of HR specializations.

I wanted to inquire, as an HR professional, can I pursue HR-related courses that can make me a strategic contributor to the company.

My Concerns and Queries:

1. How long should I continue working in one job to have a stable work experience profile on my CV?

2. Do certifications, courses, or programs add value to my credentials in the eyes of prospective employers?

3. If yes, which certifications, courses, or programs can I pursue to enhance my career?

Thank you once again for sharing your experience and the article. I greatly appreciate the advice and suggestions provided by experts, seniors, and readers on this forum.

Best Wishes,

Hussain

Glad to note that you are getting the point. Coming to elaborate on what I said earlier—maybe this situation is for YOU TO LEARN—and correlating with what you just posted, you mentioned: "so much of MIS, Documentation, paperwork." Don't you see the message?

Many HR persons usually neglect this aspect—MIS—of the HR function during the early phases of their career. Paperwork may be boring, etc., but without the paperwork (or in these days MIS), how would others within the organization & outside know what you are doing or what you are capable of doing? Someone who can handle the MIS well is usually capable of good presentation skills (which also can go into making a good resume when you search for a job again—but this isn't the main aspect of this skill).

Begin to study the existing MIS formats more seriously—the format, content, etc. And if you find anything you can improve upon (I am sure you can—since nothing is perfect however perfect it is—not my quote), discuss this with your boss. And since, based on what you mentioned, MIS seems to have a high place within the company procedural structure, your efforts will be appreciated—whether it's well-placed or misplaced shouldn't worry you. And don't hesitate to point out a better way—even if the original format/practice was formulated/designed by the CEO.

Once you begin to make your mark BY TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND, THEN YOU WILL SURELY BE HEARD FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY TELL THEM. Take my word for it—basic human psychology.

Regards,
TS

I agree with you that I am getting a lot of opportunities to enhance my skills in making reports, and with this, I am able to learn what is happening in the company. I am getting to learn a lot of HR aspects, but I am not heavily involved in conducting interviews, training and development, retention programs, compensation, and benefits. I have a lot of experience in report making. My fear is: are these experiences of making a lot of MIS reports relevant in the HR industry? If yes, I am relieved that I am working in the right direction.

I don’t have any chronic problems with my work here (God's Grace). However, management does not involve me in the decision-making process. I may be young according to their thinking to make decisions, but as I am directly interacting with candidates, hiring managers, and other staff of the company, I have suggestions that would benefit the management or at least give me a chance to explain them. I do my homework and present my suggestions backed with formats, numbers, and structures, yet there is no response, follow-up, criticism, or implementation of the same. If I inquire, I am told not to volunteer so much other than asked what to do. This way, I feel curbed and confined.

We have a lot of professionals working in our company, and the certifications they have are amazing. They are a truly talented bunch of individuals.

I am not trying to copy them, but I would also like to master my field. So, I want to know if there are any certifications, courses, or programs I can pursue that will enhance my knowledge and allow me to add more value to the company and the people around me.

Seniors and readers here are the best in business, so I feel I should seek some advice and then make a choice.

Thank you so much for all the inputs I have received. I really appreciate the advice coming from respected seniors and readers.

Regards,

Dear Seniors and Readers,

My Concerns and Queries

1. How long should I continue working in one job to have a stable work experience profile on my CV?

2. Do certifications, courses, or programs add value to my credentials in the eyes of prospective employers?

3. If yes, which certifications, courses, or programs can I pursue to enhance my career?

Thank you.

Regards

I'm quite motivated to learn from the current state of things. As the experience shared by (Cite Contribution) was discussed, I realized it's a part of work experience in life. I was thinking I was kind of stuck. However, my queries remain unsolved.  I need some direction in the HR field.

Regards.

Dear Hussain, I hope you are doing well. Here are my suggestions for your queries:

Duration of Stay in an Organization

To make a worthwhile stay in an organization, it is recommended to stay for a minimum of 2-4 years and a maximum of 8-11 years. The maximum duration generally has no limits, but certain sectors may experience slumps over time. Therefore, it is important to balance organic and inorganic growth.

Value of Certifications

The value of certification depends on the specific area in which you choose to work. Some countries may value certifications such as GPHR and ISTD, while others may not.

Working in India

If you are planning to work in India, it is advisable to gain experience in various HR areas, including recruitment, generalist HR, legal, and statutory compliance. Focus academically on your preferred area of expertise. Compensation and training & development are potential areas to explore, but your interests should guide your choices. Additionally, investing in HR budgeting and accounting is crucial as senior HR roles require experience in these areas.

Considering a Move into Technology

Considering a move into technology, SAP HR could be a good option given your existing experience.

Please share your favorite HR areas and let us know which areas of HR you enjoy handling escalations in.

In the meantime, as you have posted your queries here, consider starting a blog within this community to share your learnings. Reflecting on your experiences can help you gain insights that you may have overlooked. Engaging with others through your blog can enhance your knowledge and understanding. Respond to queries in your areas of interest to strengthen your knowledge base.

Best wishes!

Regards,
Hussain Zulfikar

Thanks so much for the response. Reading the responses, I'm getting closer to the answers I'm seeking. As per the feedback provided, I would like to acknowledge them as follows:

• Worthwhile stay in the company for 2–4 years: I'm fine with this tenure. I can spend this many years in the current profile as long as I'm getting new things to learn with passing months.

• Choice of Certification: It's still a difficult choice for me to make. This is the point I'm confused and lost about. I enjoy all aspects of HR functions such as Recruitment, Appraisal, Training and Development, Separations, Policies and Procedures, Job Analysis, etc. But I don't have exposure to Compensation and Benefits as these are very sensitive and confidential areas in the eyes of my management. However, I'm still at a crossroads to decide which area of specialization I shall choose to excel as an HR Professional. I don't wish to limit myself to a very specific function because I fear or have apprehension that HR is a support function of the company, more like a cost center rather than a Profit or Revenue center.

• My Favorite Areas in HR: Out of all the tangible functions listed in HR, I like Training and Development, Recruitment, and Job Analysis.

a) Training & Development: I have a brief and amateur experience in Training, 4 months in Travel & Hospitality. This was 3 years ago. Since then, I have never formally trained or given any presentation to an audience. Thus, I'm not confident of carrying out a training program professionally. Due to recessionary times, my financial need, and urgency to get a job, I picked anything which was close to HR and hoped I would get opportunities to train as I walk. However, I haven't got any opportunity in Training and Development. What kind of Certification can I pursue to positively kick start my abilities in Training and Development? I have inquired about ISTD. I'm fine with the syllabus of this Diploma. What I'm doubtful about is the Internship requirement. In my current state of work, I don't get or possibly have any training opportunity.

b) Recruitment: I enjoy recruitment at different levels. In my career path so far, I have mainly handled recruitment from entry-level positions to mid-management levels, mainly in the Finance and Accounts Industry. What kind of certifications can enhance efficiency in this function?

c) Job Analysis: I have worked on 2 assignments in which we conducted Job Analysis for client's companies in the Investment and Food & Beverage Industry. It is in these opportunities that I learned about the concept of Job Analysis. I don't have much knowledge on this topic, and I'm in a learning phase. So, this is one area where I would like to gain some insight. I would like to know various methods, techniques, and theories to accomplish job analysis. Are there any Certifications I can pursue that give me knowledge to carry out such assignments?

• Desire to Work in India: I have always wanted to work in India as I feel HR is developing at a very fast speed in India compared to Gulf markets. However, as I have got an opportunity to work in the Gulf at present, I'm exploring the HR function here. But I have a strong desire to get back to India and work in the HR field. I would be looking forward to any opportunity I get to return to Wonderful India! As you rightly mentioned, India has extensive Labor Law and Statutory requirements that run deep. Therefore, I keep learning aspects of Labor Law to keep myself informed and updated with knowledge in this field. India is a challenging market in terms of skills and expertise needed by an HR professional.

Citehr is one online community I'm thoroughly impressed with, and from the responses I have read to the problems and queries posted here, I can certainly say that India is a competitive market for HR Professionals seeking a career. And I would like to keep myself in pace with the development.

I heartily appreciate the response and advice I get in this forum.

Best Wishes,

Hussain

I must say, such conversations are truly a guiding path for newcomers in HR like me. Thanks.

Mr. Hussain, with my little experience, I would suggest that if you find some agencies or HR professional firms in Kuwait that offer training in the subjects you want to gain expertise in, you can be at par with other professionals. During interviews, you can demonstrate your command of the knowledge gained. I feel this will satisfy the interviewers.

I researched in Kuwait, but the difficulties I faced are:

- Lack of professional tutors, mentors, or faculty. It is difficult to comprehend their accent while they teach. Even if I overlook classes and rely on notes and books, I don't find it sufficient. The fees are expensive compared to the quality of teaching imparted.

Even to research further and find suitable HR training firms or agencies, I need to have a clear idea regarding which certification or course I should pursue.

I have come across a few HR Training Institutes that claim international affiliations and recognitions for the courses they offer.

Human Dimensions – Franchise of Thomas Consulting

Offers courses in Psychometric Testing for the recruitment process.

Several local training institutes mainly offer courses in Kuwait Labor laws and Gulf Human Resource Practices and procedures, which I have studied.

I researched a few topics on citehr.com and read posts on several topics. Some concepts attracted my attention, such as:

• Balance Score Card
• 360 Degree Appraisal
• Retention Management
• Job Analysis
• Compensation and Benefits
• Training and Development
• ISO Certifications related to HR

As I will be looking for institutes that can offer internationally recognized certifications or courses in such concepts, I'm concerned about the applicability of the knowledge gained as well as its recognition. Any certifications or courses to hold value abroad have to be attested and approved by the governments.

Thanks for your time.

Best Wishes,
Hussain