Step1: Perform an employability trajectory analysis
Determine where/what you want your career to be 5 years from now.
In five years, I hope to have my Masters of Science in Human Resources degree and work in the Human Resources field. There are several areas I can choose from with in the Human Resources field such as; compensation, employee benefits, policy, staffing and recruiting, labor relations, etc. In my current position as a FMLA Coordinator (Family Medical Leave Act), it is tied into employee benefits because I manage employees’ leave of absences due to FMLA or short-term disability purposes. I enjoy working in the benefits department, but I am more intrigued with the recruitment and staffing side of Human Resources. I hope five years from now and with the help of my graduate degree, I am employed as a recruiter or working in the recruitment/staffing field.
I currently work for MetLife in the disability department. I truly enjoy working for MetLife because they have great benefits and it is a profitable and stable company. Five years from now, I hope to stay employed at MetLife and hold a recruiter job title.
Determine the key skills that will be required for this position?
To be employed in Human Resources, majority of times to even be considered a qualified candidate, you must posses an undergraduate and/or a graduate degree. Once I complete my graduate degree, I will meet the education qualification. I am aware that just because I posses a graduate degree, does not necessarily mean I can automatically get a position as a recruiter. I may have to climb up “the ladder.” The first bar on the ladder is commonly a HR Administrator role. As a HR Administrator, I will gain an insight of the functions of Human Resources and a better understanding of the role Human Resources plays in the organization overall. From here my career will logically progress into a HR Assistant position where my responsibilities will increase and I will have duties in the recruitment and staffing procedures. By climbing up the Human Resources ladder, I will allow myself to develop more knowledge and skills that can increase my chance in advancing into a recruiter position. Also, by obtaining experience as a HR Administrator and a HR Assistant, I will increase my experience on various other HR functions, which may capture my interest in a different role other than recruiting such as payroll or a HR Manager.
Some of the key skills that will be required for a recruiter position is having good communication skills such as active listening and speaking, reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, coordination, judgment and decision making, social perceptiveness, active learning and monitoring (Source: O*NET www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1071.00).
Step 2: Determine areas for development and maintenance
According to the 360 Feedback report, the two areas that I want to improve on to help me as a recruiter would be my communication skills and my leadership and coaching skills. More specifically for my communication skills, I want to work on being able to speak clearly and with confidence in front of groups and for my leadership and coaching skills, I want to work on my decision-making skills and leading by example.
As a recruiter, majority of my daily work activities involves communicating to others whether it will be with candidates, supervisors, peers and subordinates. While I believe my written communication skills and my telephone communication skills are proficient, I feel that I need to work greatly on my face-to-face communication skills. In the past when I had to address certain topics to large groups, whether it was at school or at work, I found myself to get exceedingly tense and doubt my confidence. I tend to look down when I speak and my voice becomes to tremble. I have learned that I need to prepare and formulate answers before I speak. If I have enough
