How Can I Turn My Diverse Background into a Strength During HR Interviews?

Dear Seniors, I am a student pursuing my MBA in Human Resources and currently in my second year. I have successfully completed my Engineering in IT and work with a firm as a Marketing Executive. My final year placements are about to start. The problem that I am facing is shifting areas while answering the questions during interviews. The interviewer asks me why there is no planning and aim in my career. Please help me to know how I can turn this weak point into a positive point during interviews.

I will give some simple tips to overcome such circumstances.

1. Tell them your career started when you got selected with their firm, and then your planning also grew.
2. Look into the eyes of the interviewer; it shows your confidence.
3. Read the newspaper daily for updates. It improves your skills and language.
4. Go through the company profile before the interview.
5. Look at others and build confidence in yourself because when you're nervous or afraid, you may forget everything you have to say.
6. It's better to go through typical interview questions.

I hope these corrections help you convey your message more effectively. Let me know if you need further assistance.

You are an engineer in I.T. You worked as a Marketing Executive. Now you are pursuing an MBA in HR. Very contrasting. Naturally, any selector is immediately drawn to these contrasting choices. But, you need not panic. Your choices may be contrasting but not contradicting. It is not necessary that only matching colors show a dress sense, but an outfit of contrasting colors makes it more attractive and striking to make one stand out. Similarly, an academic background in engineering and management with a sprinkling of marketing experience can, in fact, provide you an edge over others if you cleverly mix all three spicy ingredients to brew a heady curry to be offered on a platter to the interview panel. You only can cook the heady mix. We are only the helpers in the kitchen.

Questions to Consider

You need to ask yourself a few questions like:

1. Why did you not want to pursue a career in I.T. software? Is it that you do not like sedentary jobs?

2. Why did you choose marketing, which may involve fieldwork? Is it that you love outdoor jobs and mixing with people?

3. If so, why have you chosen HR instead of an MBA in marketing? Is it because of peer pressure, or is it because you are socially sensitive so that you love working on human development issues?

Thereafter, think about how to establish a connecting link between all three areas. Suppose the company that is hiring you is incidentally an IT company, you can say that your knowledge in IT engineering will help you in selecting the right candidate that can fit into a specific job profile. Similarly, your marketing experience will enable you to look for what kind of skills are required of a candidate for a sales job. Further, your knowledge in IT engineering and marketing will help you in identifying training needs and designing training programs, etc. You need to think about such connections.

There will be some reason behind all these choices you made. You need to honestly explore the answers. It will give you the clue as to how to positively present these contrasting career choices because your reply shall be positive at the same time reflect honesty. If you spin some stories, the panel can see through it. No panel likes window dressing. They like an honest candidate who has potential. So do not get unusually worried.

So what you need to focus on is on your potential by displaying sound knowledge in the areas you have studied.

Preparation Tips

1. Therefore, be prepared to answer some questions on the subject relating to IT, software technology, and the latest developments.

2. What was your role as a marketing executive? What product have you marketed, what problems have you encountered, and how have you solved them, and who is your marketing guru and why you liked him, etc.

3. Prepare questions on I.T related HR problems like working hours, women employees, and what acts are applicable to the software industry or are there any exemptions for it?

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law advisor
Mumbai
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Sai Kumar has shared plenty of good thoughts on your issue. Engineering is not an issue; a sizeable percentage of engineers are employed as sales, HR, or admin staff. If we look at the trends in education, many engineering graduates move on to pursue an MBA. If you are working in marketing and enjoy the job, why leave it?

The Question of Career Choice

The question arises: why didn't you choose an entry-level job in HR? Entry-level positions in recruitment agencies, payroll, support staff, or admin roles are not difficult to come by.