Insights on Salary Negotiation and Fresher Employment in HR and IR Fields

Greetings seniors,

This time, I am searching for a job at the entry level in the HR field. I have also attended 7 to 8 interviews, but I was rejected at the last stage during salary negotiation. They said, "We can hire you, but 10,000 is too much for a fresher!"

I want to know some appropriate answers for questions asked by recruiters:
1. "How much salary are you expecting?"
2. "We cannot offer this much to a fresher! Would you be willing to work without remuneration for three months, and then we'll assess your performance before providing a salary?"
3. "We will have a training period for three months, so we cannot offer you this amount."

I was only expecting a starting salary of 10k to 15k for the beginning of my career. Is my expectation wrong? I have an MBA in HR & IR, and for someone starting in HR, is this amount too high?

Is it necessary for a fresher to start with recruitment? Can't I begin my career in the IR field? Why am I not eligible for it? They all said I need at least 5 years of experience in the IR field.

Thank you.

Bro, I am on the same boat, so I might be of some help to you.

Like what you were saying, in Kolkata, also, 10-12k is the maximum salary a fresher can get off-campus in HR. I got my final result in July, and after that, I was trying in all manufacturing plants. After a month and a half, I got an opening in a plant with a CTC of 19,375 per month. But most of my friends are getting 10-11k because that's the real wage for a fresher. So don't be demoralized. Once you enter a company, keep searching. If you get a job with 15k in hand, then just shift. But try to add something to your CV every day.

Now, what you can do is check the current scenario of freshers in HR from an Indian perspective on Paycheck, i.e., on Naukri.com. You will find that 85% are below 180,000 CTC, which means most students are getting below 15k as freshers. So cheer up, it's the same for all of us.

Thank you for your response, Soumik Mukherjee.

Can you please provide me with the procedure to follow within the company to achieve better results? Additionally, could someone kindly answer my question?

I would like to know some appropriate responses to common recruiter inquiries:

1. How much salary are you expecting?
2. We are unable to offer such a high amount to a fresher. Would you be willing to work without remuneration for the first three months, after which your salary would be based on performance?
3. We will enroll you in a three-month training period; hence, we cannot offer you the amount mentioned.

Thank you for your assistance.

Enroll in Naukri, Monster, just the highlighter service, and nothing else. Both will cost 1200 for a 3-month service; it's good.

Look for a few regional consultants in your area. In fact, most of the plants are visited by these consultant VPs or MDs. They take on the outsourcing responsibility from the factory manager through the lowest possible quote process. As a result, many job openings in the plant are not known to people like us. Those who are enrolled with them get lucky. For example, Genius, Matrinet, Nicco Ventures, etc.

Regarding the question: Me too of your level of intellect, my answers would also be amateur like yours. It's better we wait for some seniors to answer. What I can do is attach a few HR contacts (nearly 1000 contacts) that I gathered from CTHR only. Send all of them your CVs. Resend once every day; let them get irritated, and they will respond.

Soumik Mukherjee,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's a great help. How much time did you spend to create this list? It's such a great collection. One more thing, I want to go into the manufacturing industry. If you have any information, please email me. It will be a great help. Again, thanks for your collection! I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Seniors, please answer!

Hello,

If you are looking for an entry-level job in HR, it could mean that either you are an absolute fresher to the world of work or you are a fresher only in the HR field! The answer could simplify a response.

It is right for an employer to ask for your expectations, and strategically it is wrong for a fresher to name an amount. The answer could be that one would be willing to accept the going rate for a fresher in the region/industry/company, and unless it is too low, one would be happy to be selected. The reason for taking such a stand is that a fresher has no track record of "achievements" that may justify an "expectation" for a particular range.

There is no question of working for free. The employer is only testing your level of desperation for employment. Even if your response is affirmative, the employer, in all probability, may not make an offer, as a decent employer would expect anyone to work for free.

Accepting an offer for training can be considered only after one knows the details like the stipend, duration, what comes after training, the existence of a regular in-house training program, etc. I feel that freshers should not dismiss an opportunity out of hand, as such training could at least expose you to the reality and the world of work.

Try to avoid starting as a "Recruiter."

A job in manufacturing is recommended. It gives you exposure to all aspects of the function and offers good opportunities for self-development. But that also depends on the kind of people you get to work with, and that is NOT in your hands.

Your expectation is not wrong or unreasonable. Your strategy is! For a career in IR, the manufacturing industry is the best and perhaps the only domain! One always has to start at the bottom of the ladder. No one starts at the top, except even in ownership-controlled management. Unless one acquires the necessary skills of the function, they cannot professionally grow. One always has to learn, achieve, add value, and only then grow, and that is true for every function.

I trust now you have all the answers you were looking for!

Regards,

Samvedan

August 21, 2012

Dear Pawan,

The scenario has changed nowadays as companies are only hiring skilled employees. Hiring unskilled employees and then providing training not only enhances the cost of the company but also may not be the most efficient approach. It would be better to start in HR with recruitment and then, after gaining some experience and acquiring more skills, you can switch to the IR department. Don't waste time on IR; every year, we have more young students with fresh ideas entering the workforce.

You can directly join the IR department without relevant experience if you belong to a top B-school like the IIMs.

All the very best.

Aarin Ratnesh Sorathiya Sr. HR Executive Aspee Group Mumbai (You can add me on LinkedIn for better career prospects)

Dear Pavan,

I think that as a fresher, you should not have expectations; your first expectation should be learning. There is no employer who will not give you anything; he is just checking you. As far as recruitment is concerned, this will be the first step of learning for you. I have faced the same problem, but after gaining experience, I am getting good results. So, don't worry. For more information, you can contact me...

Hi Pawan,

I can see that your original message was posted in August 2012, which is almost 1 1/2 years back. Can we have the updates now? We know the struggle you went through; the obvious question that comes to mind is, what happened next? One would certainly like to know where you stand now, the actions you took, where you landed, etc.

P.S. I have also gone through the exact same grind, so I can empathize fully.

Dear Mr. JOTHIKARTHIKEYAN,

Can you provide me with the list of companies in the Bangalore region along with HR contact names, phone numbers, emails, etc.? I am searching for a job.

Regards,
Nagendra Acharya
nagendraachar46@gmail.com