Navigating the Shift from Admin to HR: What Basic Steps Should I Focus On?

I am working in a diplomatic mission as an Admin Assistant, and side by side, I am pursuing an MBA in HR. I initially thought that admin and HR work were quite similar, but I have come to realize there is a significant difference. I am not well-versed in HR tools, so I request all of you to guide me on what I should do and what basic steps an HR person should be aware of. I would be grateful if you could suggest something related to my query.

Thanks in advance for your kind cooperation.

With regards,
Sonam.

Well, you are right, Admin is not HR. But as you started with Admin, you can keep it and simultaneously, with your study, you can practice HR terms. It is very wide. First, you have to decide what profile you want to make in HR. It can be in Recruitment, Safety, Employee Relations, Compensation and Benefits, Compliance, or Training and Development. It is a request for you to please share your views on this. In which department are you interested? It'll be easy for everyone to guide you accordingly.

I like your interest. For females, the recruitment field is good, and you are also interested in compensation and benefits. If you want to work in C&B, your best shot is to change jobs within your own company. As an HR person, I can assure you that your current employer will be more open to taking a risk on you changing specialization than a new employer. After all, your current company knows you and appreciates your performance, dedication, and willingness to take on new challenges. Mention that C&B is an area where you are looking to grow internally, so they know to consider you for internal mobility if there is an opening.

You could, of course, look for a position in another company – but we all know that usually, when companies recruit external candidates, they like to choose someone who has already demonstrated that they can work in that precise area, so it may be a bit more difficult to start a new specialization this way.

I would like to start with compensation and benefits. Look, you are working in Admin. I don't know exactly the size of the company, etc., but to learn all these basics, you have to start from internal involvement. Volunteer to participate in projects related to Compensation & Benefits, starting with the basics: writing job descriptions, doing job evaluations, submitting data to compensation surveys. Your C&B department, if there is one, will surely be happy to see an HR generalist who is willing to get engaged in their projects.

Starting with the basics will give you the background needed to understand the building blocks of the Rewards function. It will also demonstrate that you have a true willingness to learn the job and that you are not interested only in learning the concepts and staying at a theoretical level of understanding.

Finally, the best point is that learning by doing is one of the best ways of getting credibility internally as you exhibit value-add, and externally as you can include this experience in your resume and will be believable during an interview.

I guess I wrote quite a bit. Basically, in short, you have to take initiative from your side and get involved in tasks related to C&B.

Qualities Needed to Succeed as a Recruiter

If you’re becoming a Recruiter, what qualities do you need to succeed? What's needed is a consistent work ethic (4–6 hours a day is great), the ability to follow a method, a professional demeanor, honesty, integrity, and enthusiasm. A recruiter should do a lot of listening to be effective versus a lot of talking. They’ll need to become an expert in asking questions as well. A Recruiter is a leader who comes across to others in the process as a partner.

Developing good listening skills can be learned and is one key ingredient to making more placements. If you’re an extrovert, even slightly, your ability to approach people and establish rapport will give you an edge over introverts. If you’re a talkative extrovert, your challenge will be to develop your listening skills.

There’s a myth that recruiters must be great salespeople. That’s not true. While solid sales skills can always enhance one's performance, it’s not essential to be a successful recruiter. Recruiting is about process, not personality, when done properly. What’s surprising is once you master the process, you’ll be credited with a ‘great’ personality! (What you’ll actually have, though, is the credibility that comes with being effective.)

I hope it'll be useful for you, and if you need to talk about it more, you can contact me on my email. It's mentioned below in my signature. Also, I would like to share some material on these topics with you.

Regards.

Thank you for your reply. As I mentioned earlier, I work in a diplomatic mission where the working profiles are quite different from those in an Indian company. In a typical organization, there are various departments such as HR, Finance, IT, etc., regardless of the organization's size. However, in my company, we do not have such departments, which means there is no possibility of an internal transfer from administration to any other department. When there is a job opening, we either engage a job consultant or advertise in newspapers. I hope this clarifies the unique structure of my workplace, leaving me feeling quite helpless.

I am fully aware that most organizations are unlikely to consider hiring a fresher in the Compensation and Benefits department. Therefore, before applying elsewhere, I am keen on acquiring a basic understanding of C&B. I am actively seeking companies that offer training in this area, particularly on weekends.

Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Sonam

Look, this experience will not work in HR. You can go for an HR coordinator role in the future and advance in that field. Alternatively, you can switch to a related field as an HR executive where you'll handle basic responsibilities and gain knowledge of fundamental terms quickly.

If the administrative role suits you and you see a promising future in it, then there is no need to switch to another field.