Want to brush-up your skills in Human Resources? Read On

This week we have been speaking about the Human Resources profession, trends, skills needed, which you can read here and here. Today we will be talking about how one must go about brushing up one’s skills in HR. And if you are already there, and want to start exploring what your second career holds for you, wait no further, and start applying today.
 
Ways to brush-up skills in Human Resources
 
Become Active on LinkedIn: While understanding how to use social media as a whole is a desirable skill-set for an HR professional, especially for a recruiter, LinkedIn is where you really get the goods. LinkedIn being a professional platform, will not only show you how new-age hiring is happening but since it takes itself seriously as a hiring and matching platform, it will send reports and statistics your way that will enhance your knowledge on how the industry is recruiting differently today.
 
Follow experts on Social Media: The HR community is a very close-knit community with the influencers all within tweeting distance of each other. Search for reports like ‘Top 100 online influencers in HR’ that are curated by industry bodies, and follow those people on LinkedIn (there it comes again!) and Twitter, and you will know what the latest industry wisdom is. HR influencers are not only influencers on social media, but real-life influencers who are vocal online, and if you follow the right handles, you will be privy to their thinking on the space, and also several curated chats that they participate in which you can also start following and contributing to.
 
Read everything related to your subject: No other field is undergoing as much of a change as Human Resources is today, from technology of systems to ‘Uberization’ of talent. Make sure you follow industry news vehicles such as PeopleMatters and set alerts to access a bunch of other publications that carry articles on these subjects routinely, to understand what is changing and how it will impact you and your industry.
 
Network: All of the above steps will give you a sense of what is changing in your field, but sometimes social media and cutting-edge publications by design inflate the degree of the change. It is very necessary to meet practitioners - your peers, bosses, industry professionals through informal gatherings and industry-wide events as often as you can to know what’s really happening, and also, to refresh your connects.
 
Digitally Equip and Familiarise Yourself: Whether it is on something as basic as Social media, or understanding what software and technologies HR Tech startups are working on nowadays, updating yourself in the Digital sphere is very important. Also remember that one of the best chances of returning to work could be at a start-up and if you want to maximise the potential to get hired there, try and understand what new HR products, apps and services are in the market today. Your hunger and dedication will appeal to every company, and your knowledge will give you an edge.
 
Consider doing specialised courses: If you are clear about your strengths and the opportunities that are opening up around, make use of the number of learning platforms today that offer courses for specialisation - online and offline. For Human Resources, check out the courses offered by Aon Hewitt among others, and some of these are very well respected in the industry.
 
Take the plunge: Grab every opportunity that comes your way, that helps you build your resume, even if it seems suboptimal to begin with, as these are the stepping stones to a successful second career.
 
And never give up on your key strength, be it organisation skills, empathy, conflict management, communication skills, data understanding. HR today encompasses all these and more, and make sure you play to your strengths and let your interviewers know about these strengths through anecdotes etc. And having said all this, know that skilling is a continuous process and will be always ON. In the mean-time, get hands-on experience by applying for jobs. They could be part-time jobs to begin with, to get you into the groove and back into the game.
 
Here we are and now you know which are the ways in which HR Professionals can brush up their skills. We hope you found it useful, and that it propelled you to take your first step towards returning to work.
 
************
 
We at FlexiBees have placed such talented career returners like you in Human Resources jobs across industries and sectors. Go to https://jobseeker.flexibees.com/ and register with us, so we can reach out to you when we get any requirements that match your skills.