Necessary Qualities in HR Profession Essay

Abstract

Good personality traits are very important for anyone to succeed in any carrier in the modern world. These traits include aspects such as proper behavior, proper decorum and mannerism, honesty, hard work, good attitude, proper professional approach and punctuality among others. These among others, are the things which employers look for in an individual before considering him or her for a job. This paper therefore seeks to cover issues related to these aspects, but focuses on the human resource profession. Basically, it seeks to establish the proper character traits of an HR professional together with selection methods for successful identification of success traits for an HR director. It also gives a description of the legal considerations when it comes to questioning HR job applicants.

Introduction

Human resources basically refer to individuals who constitute an organization’s workforce. This factor of production is very critical because it actually provides labor, which facilitates production of the final goods (Catwright, 2005). To work in any profession, one should not only have the expertise in the profession, but also traits such as good personality, proper behavior, proper decorum and mannerism, have the right attitude, proper professional approach and a kind of thinking that enables the prospective candidate to work efficiently. Failure, irrespective of the individual’s knowledge, academic qualification and background, makes one to never mature in any given profession (Catwright, 2005). This paper therefore covers the character traits of an HR professional together with selection methods for successful identification of success traits for an HR director. It also describes the legal considerations when it comes to questioning job applicants, and lists questions that candidates seeking an HR position would be asked.

Necessary qualities in HR Profession

1. Clarity of thoughts – In most of the situations and circumstances, we come across a situation where an immediate yes or no is required. There is no room for double thought or confusion.
2. Efficiency in time management – Time frames will be expected to be set and the expectations met.
3. Knowledge about the landscaping industry and some understanding of the Consolidated Landscaping, Inc. (CLI or “the company”) will also be valuable.
4. Vision and goal for the department– This is what the candidate wants to do for the organization as the HR director (Sims, 2007).

Questions for the candidate regarding this could be:

• What would you do for the organization as the HR director?
• Are you capable of taking Consolidated Landscaping, Inc. (CLI or “the company”) to be among the best?

5. Self discipline – This quality is more applicable among professionals in HR.
6. Trust – It would be disastrous if the HR professional keeps sharing personal information with everyone in the team. It’s critical for professionals in HR to win employee trust in their business organizations. If the professionals in HR achieve this objective, then they are able to relate very well with the employees, and this actually makes their work easier because of the cooperation they get from their staff. This is the reason why many organizations in the modern business world or arena are constantly training their HR staff to perfect their operations because this increases productivity (Kumar, 2010).

Legal related important considerations

Employment laws

Two very critical employment related laws or regulations are:

• The 1964 Civil Rights Law which strictly prohibits any form of alienation based on origin, religion, sex, color and race.
• The Disabilities Act which basically precludes business separation based on disabilities.

Anybody included in any meeting procedure must abstain from asking uncalled for pre-employment inquiries. Meeting inquiries are acknowledged as reasonable when they are made on the basis of an individual’s ability to carry out the stipulated task in the job (Storey, 2007).

Structured Interview

Follow up information (FUI)

1. Tell me about yourself?
2. What do you know about Consolidated Landscaping, Inc?
3. What is your intention of wanting to work with this company?
4. What can you do for the company that someone else can’t?
5. Why should we hire you?
6. What are your expectations?
7. What is your HR definition?
8. After what time period should we expect your significant contribution?
9. For how long will you be working with us?
10. What is your management style?
11. Are you a capable manager? Do you have examples? Do you think you have what we want?
12. When recruiting new people, what are your expectations?
13. Have you ever had to sack employees? The reasons were? How did you handle it?
14. What do you think is the most difficult thing when it comes to this job?
15. What important trends do you see in the landscaping industry?
16. Why do you want to change job?
17. How is the new job search experience?
18. What did you like in the job you are leaving?
19. How is your boss?
20. What is your expected pay or salary?

Illegal Questions

These are some of the questions that one should avoid asking during an interview.

Age: Birth date? How old are you?

Family: Particular inquiries which respect the companion or their monetary status, kin or kids.

Body structure: Any address that is not indispensably dependent upon the true necessities for the occupation.

Marital status: single? Married? Widowed? Divorced?

Pregnancy: inquiries or questions directly related to pregnancy.

Race or sex: Any question with such an inclination.

Religion: Any question with a religious inclination.

References

Catwright, S. (2005). Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.

Kumar, R. (2010). Human Resource Management: Strategic Analysis Text and Cases. London: I.K. International Pvt Ltd.

Sims, R.R. (2007). Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities (PB). Charlotte: IAP.

Storey, J. (2007). Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. London: Cengage Learning EMEA.