Feeling Left Behind in HR? Seeking Advice on Skills and Courses to Catch Up

Dear Seniors,

This is regarding my career in HR that I have resumed after a break. I hold an MBA in HRM degree and have worked in India and Bahrain for a total of 6.5 years. I returned to India in June 2016 for medical treatment and had my baby in January 2018. I resumed work in April 2019 in Ahmedabad in an IT company as an HR and Admin Manager.

As I see my ex-colleagues and classmates prosper in their respective HR careers today, I feel a tinge of disappointment as I compare my experience to theirs. I also feel that I am not abreast of the current HR trends. I request the seniors of CiteHR to guide me on how I can add to my skills, what HR certificate courses I can pursue, and which institutes offering online courses are recognized in India.

Your guidance and advice will be much appreciated as I am totally clueless.

Thanking you in advance.

Dear Smita,

Factors for Career Prosperity

A person prospers in one's career provided:

a) He/she has good qualifications.

b) He/she completes his/her MBA from a reputed institute.

c) Immediately after an MBA, he/she gets a chance to work under a good boss.

d) He/she gets a chance to implement what he/she learned during the MBA course.

In your case, out of the four criteria that I have given above, which are applicable to you that you know best. Moreover, your grievance has resulted because of the comparison with your college mates. But then uneven career growth is common everywhere. Even IITians do not grow uniformly. Against this backdrop, what needs to be remembered is the measurement against the entire career span which lasts till mid-fifties. Therefore, don't get disappointed because your chickens are still hatching whereas others have started counting them too!

Career Break and Its Impact

One of the reasons why you have been lagging behind could be because of your career break due to medical reasons. But then nothing can be done about it as such. That was your fate!

Further Education and Implementation

You may do a course in HR, but then these extra courses are useful provided you get a chance to implement the learning. Therefore, have a look at the company where you have got a chance to work. Do they give autonomy to implement the new HR practices? Secondly, the average MBA course is more than sufficient to implement HR practices.

Recommended Reading

To plan a career, I recommend you read a famous book titled "Catalyst" by Chandramouli Venkatesan. Make a decision on doing any course or otherwise after reading this book. The price of the book has come down, and it costs just Rs 131 on Amazon. You may click here to go to that webpage.

All the best!

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

Hi Smita, please check the site of [CEC Home](http://14.139.13.95/CEC/index.php/home) to search for related courses. These are mostly free of charge, but if you require a certificate, then some nominal fees are involved. These are 3 to 4 credit courses, which are equivalent to one semester of study. The content involves video lectures, assignments and quizzes, an online discussion forum, case analysis, and more.

We are in the process of launching two courses: "HRM for non-HR Managers" and "Human Resource Development: Systems and Strategies," which will be listed soon on the page linked above.

Best wishes,
Team HRM for non-HR Managers

Hi Smita,

Greetings to the day!!

As per your education and experience, I would like to suggest you consider taking the SPHR and SPHRi courses, which will boost your knowledge and enhance your work profile. You can find more information about these courses on the following website: https://www.hrci.org/our-programs/ou...ications/SPHRi

All the best for your future endeavors.

Regards,

Himanshu Bharthiya
Senior Executive - HR
TalentPro India Pvt. Ltd.
(HCCBPL) Ahmedabad, Gujarat.