Can engineers choose HR career as their profession? 

The HR department is the most important wing of an organization. It is the first section that interacts with interviewees, employees, ex-employees, management, and investors. 

Engineers possess a unique blend of business sense, analytical skills, and even people management abilities. An engineer knows the technological requirements thoroughly in a technical organization. However, they do not have a complete understanding of the HR requirements.

So, knowing HR functions is an added advantage for engineers because it allows them to handle all management functions efficiently. 

In this blog, I will tell you the advantages an engineer has to pursue a career in HR. I will also tell you what extra you need to do to grow in the HR field, switching from machines to humans!

What are the advantages of an Engineer in the HR profession?

Every profession has its own set of required skills. However, a candidate can utilize their already acquired skills from one profession even while switching careers. 

Here are some of the advantages that I feel engineers may have to ace as HR professionals:

Technical understanding

HR management also involves a technical understanding of employment legislation and the techniques and methods for designing roles, structuring organizations, constructing systems, and developing processes.

Engineers with a strong foundation in logic and observation may readily absorb all of these concepts. Therefore, they can easily understand the company and job requirements. 

Time-saving

Promising hands-on technologies

System Configuration

Engineers can easily do the system configuration or ID setup without much help from the administrator. Moreover, they can resolve any system or application-related query quickly and easily.

Apart from studies, what extra can help Engineers to grow their career in HR?

Is just knowledge enough for starting your career in HR? How can an engineer go that extra mile to ace in the new career path?

Here are some skills and qualities that can help engineers to grow their career journey in HR:

Having good communication skills and intellect is a must for a career in HR management. An HR practitioner must be able to express their opinions, share their points of view, and comprehend the perspectives of their employees, both in writing and orally.

If they have been active in any co-curricular activities, that also helps you go that extra mile as an HR. Co-curricular activities help you gain creative thinking skills, strengthen your social and organizational skills, and foster your interests and talents. 

Event and conference preparation is critical for the company's legal protection and the hiring and management of employees. Therefore, having experience in event handling as Head Coordinator is a plus for all candidates.

Most knowledgeable certification and courses will help you upgrade your skills and build a basic understanding of the HR profile. This allows the candidates to understand HR responsibilities from all angles. 

People will continue to make mistakes. There will be several folks that have the same issue. HR is not for you if you aren't patient.

You'll also need patience when listening to individuals to figure out the real problem and then try to assist them in solving it. So, being part of groups that involve mindfulness and meditation would definitely be a bonus. 

If the candidate was a part of any sport/game, that would help them do teamwork and keep the team motivated towards work.

Moreover, HR professionals play an essential role in their team's success by maintaining a productive and positive work environment, nurturing the organization's values and culture, hiring talent, making transfer recommendations to achieve underlying goals and meet the needs of the organization.

What can engineers do if they want to grow their career in HR?

Switching a career is not easy. While switching to the role of HR, many things may be new to you. Here are a few things you can do to start and grow as HR:

1.  
2. Internships: They can do an internship of 3 or 6 months in HR to understand HR requirements from all angles. This will also act as an experience for further growth in their career. 
3.  
4. Certifications: They can do certifications like CPLP (Certified Professional in Learning and Performance), PHR (Professional Human Resource), etc. 
5.  
6. LinkedIn connections: They have to work on their LinkedIn connections and can build their network. Also, they have to post at least 3-4 posts a week from the beginning to establish rapport. 
7.  
8. Join an HR Group: There are a lot of HR Groups on LinkedIn to be updated about the market trends. This will also help them in identifying their strengths and weaknesses so as to improve on themselves. 
9.  
10. Connection with Universities: Make connections with the top universities and colleges Training and Placement cells for hiring good and strong freshers. This will help you to gain wider opportunities, understand more about the hiring processes, etc.

In a Nutshell

Engineers who have the personal dispositions to be people-oriented, talent-respecting human beings with change management skills will do a fantastic job as HR. If they've undergone HR training, they'll be able to do an even more incredible job. 

They must spend a long time learning the body of knowledge in HR and connecting their work to more significant views of HR philosophy, vision, and values if they do not receive the proper education. HR education provides several beneficial insights as well as the ability to combine multiple systems and treat people with respect.

So keep a watch out for engineers with great people skills or HR types with a knack for people; you might just find your future HR.

                                                                                                                     Editor: Amrutha A Varma