Should My Friend Switch from Core HR to a Recruiter Role? Seeking Your Advice!

One of my friends is working as an HR Executive with 2 years of experience, handling responsibilities such as PF, ESI, Payroll, Contract Labour, etc. Now, he has been offered a position as a Recruiter in a recruitment firm, and he is unsure whether to accept the offer or not. Your valuable thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

According to me, he should not accept this offer as it is quite a different profile from what he is doing now. It involves continuous telecalling and targets. He should either continue here or wait for a good opportunity in the HR profile.

Thanks

Different Skills in HR: Payroll vs. Hiring

They are two different skills: Payroll can lead to a career in compensation and benefits or industrial relations. Hiring is definitely an essential part of every HR manager's role, but whether this role adds value or not will be difficult to say.

Regards

The Scope of HR: Beyond Recruitment

HR is quite a vast field, including many areas like payroll and statutory compliance such as PF, ESI, and bonus. Recruitment is also a part of it, but if your friend is only focusing on recruitment, he is limiting his work profile, which won't help much in career growth. I don't think he should leave the current job.

Regards,

Career Path in HR Consultancy

Let's say this person starts working for a consultancy. With years of experience, he/she will rise to be a "vertical head." Salaries are high for really good vertical heads (greater than 2 crores per annum).

There could be a tangent in this career: after 2-3 years of hard work, a person with good networking and knowledge of a sector can find a job as a "hiring manager" in a corporate in the same sector. Salaries can range from as low as 35k to 2 lacs, depending on the candidate/company.

In the long run, qualifying for senior positions will be a herculean task. The person will have to study a lot and understand all aspects of HR, be it compensation and benefits, talent development, etc.

Since the person already has 2 years of experience handling payroll/labour, they should acquire in-depth knowledge of various labor laws and pick up a bigger establishment where the scope for learning is more. Salaries in Industrial Relations are good (ranging from 50k to 2 lacs per month for mid-management).

Certifications and Further Opportunities

Another route is acquiring certifications in Compensation and Benefits from Hay Group, CAMI, or another reputable vendor. At the bottom, we have payroll managers getting a salary of 6-12 lacs per annum. For a compensation and benefits manager, it's 12-13 lacs upwards.

I have a query similar to this one. Currently, I have been working for a manufacturing firm for one year. I have been responsible for tasks such as Attendance Monitoring, PF, ESIC, Recruitment, Maintaining Employee Personnel Records, Payroll, and Opening Salary Accounts for New Joiners. Now, what should I do if I come across a profile that involves Recruitment, Induction, Training and Development, and Performance Appraisal in a manufacturing firm? Should I consider it?

Please reply.

Regards,
Ronnie

There is no question of our suggestion in this. Everyone wants to pursue his or her career in a particular field. It depends on the individual. Someone may aspire to be engaged in the IR field, while another may like to be a trainer. Others may wish to become a Payroll processing in charge.

This needs to be decided by the individual, not you and I. Whatever interests them, whatever field they think they would be better suited for, they decide accordingly.

Regards,
Balaji

HR is a vast area. Whatever work you do adds to your knowledge and experience. A person aspiring for career growth has to acquire multifarious experience in the department to be able to oversee various functions when required. In the private sector, the concept of changing the profile of personnel in all areas except finance is gaining traction. I hold the view that you should consider making a change.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

I have a query similar to the above. I have 5 years and 6 months of experience in an HR generalist profile where I used to handle recruitment through consultant coordination. However, my core experience lies in the generalist profile only.

Now, I have received an opportunity from a recruitment firm. So, kindly advise, should I accept the offer?

Thank you.

First of all, thank you very much for contributing to my query. As you mentioned, we need to gain experience in all aspects of HR. I also share the same thought and am considering switching my job if selected. However, as I am not as experienced as you, I thought I should post this query here. I am eagerly awaiting Surya Sir's reply.

Thanks and Regards,
Ronnie Francis

Hi Ronnie,

From your answer, I understand your situation better. There is one good thing which I noticed in your answer: you had the patience to work hard and learn from elsewhere while being stuck in a non-conducive climate.

Next Steps in Career Decision-Making

The next step, while looking for another break, is to ask the interviewer what you will be learning in the next 1/2/3 years. Take notes and define every single skill in-depth and breadth. It's a perfectly valid question; you will get a realistic picture. Next, compare this with your current skill sets (both in depth and breadth) and decide. If you need help, feel free to take my help anytime.

Regards,
Ronnie