Getting Back Into The Industry- Advise

Iam an HR professional with 5 years of work experience. 3 years back I got married, quit job and came to US. I had been doing some volunteering work in International OD consulting and then took a break again after my baby. Iam planning to come back to India next year and I wanted to know some advise on how do I build a strong resume? If I do an HR certification while Iam in US, will that help? Also, will companies really consider the volunteering experience ?

Dear Shardha Gautam,
You have three questions
No.1 How can you build strong resume
Ans. It is not too difficult. Hire a resume writer or use online resume builder. You can get help from the link below
Your Career Lion: 3 Marvellous Resume Building Methods
No.2 Will HR certification from US will help you?
Ans. Of course your HR certification will add extra point in your resume. It will be considered and will serve you extra benefits.
No. 3 Will your volunteering experience be considered?
Ans. Yeah your volunteering experience will be considered and it will tell hiring managers that how much potential you have
PIECE OF ADVICE: All you need to properly and efficiently present your HR certification, volunteer work and reasons of your employment gap.

Thanks for the reply. Since I was not on the rolls while volunteering and do not have any salary slips or experience letter for my volunteering work, will that be an impediment ?

you might not get volunteering certificates,since not many US organization would issue one.
Alternatively what you can do is to request for reference from your fellow volunteers
or employees of the organization you volunteered at.
That way you can satisfy any reference check requirement for volunteering work.

Dear Shardha,
What do you mean by counting volunteering experience? If by counting, you meant that it will be counted as JOB EXPERIENCE then definitely it is not the case but your volunteering experience will definitely give insight of your strength and commitment to your potential employer.
Regards,

Dear Shradha,

Others have given you some sound advice. Hence, let me ask a couple of questions before I make any comment.

How long did you work as a volunteer for the organization and how much break have you taken for the birth of the baby? What did that work involve? Can you relate that work to HR activities?

Please see my comments at https://www.citehr.com/472763-why-hr...anies-pg3.html as to how even a Washroom/toilet cleaner can reflect on the importance of his/her work for the success of the organization. In the same way, you should be able to reflect on your past experiences and any courses that you do and clearly state how those can add value for an organization if they employ you.

One note of caution about using professional organizations to prepare your CV. Sometimes organizations may ask you to write a piece about yourself, and why you should be considered for the job, when you go for an interview. In such a case, discrepancies between your language and that used in the CV will be apparent. As an academic, I have used such a method to identify works that have been plagiarized.

Thanks for the reply Simhan. It has been around an year I have taken a break from the volunteering work that I did earlier. I worked as a volunteer for non profit organizations that involved organizational development (OD) consulting for NGOs. This was a team of 7-8 people providing OD solutions to the clients. This was completely based on the projects that came along, so I was involved on projects that lasted for 3-4 months.
SInce I still have time before I relocate to India, I thought of doing an HR certification here. Iam already an MBA in Human Resources, The reason Iam considering this certification is to get back in touch with the subjects. DO you think Iam on the right track. Need some guidance as this would involve investing time and money.
Thanks, Shradha

Dear Shradha,
Thank you for the prompt response. Any knowledge gained will not go waste. I am based in the UK and am a retired academic. I do not know the job situation in India. As far as the coat versus benefit is involved, you have to decide.
Sorry for not being of much help.

To be very frank, I don’t think, all the three parameters stated by you, i.e. (1) strong resume, (2) US certification in HR, and (3) Volunteering work, will have great weightage in grabing the HR job, selection of which will be on talent/intellectual levels.

The abovestated three points make excellent addition to your personality, which ofcourse anybody will appreciate largely, when you appear before an interviewing officer.

I do not know much about ‘HR course in US’, but knowledge related issues, in India, like, labour laws, factory act, shops & establishment act, PF / ESIC matters, and many such subjects, which HR is suppose to be well aware, I think are totally different than US studies.

I hope, since you have still time to come back to India, you may start preparing yourself, looking at the Indian rules, regulations and various aspects, so that when you get an opportunity to work as HR, you will be very comfortable and successful.

Comments by Mr Simhan, Super Moderator, are very much valid and carries good meanings. My personal thanks to him.