Detailed Career Research Report: Exploring Trends in the HR Profession

This career research report provides an in-depth analysis of the Human Resources (HR) profession, focusing on current trends impacting the field, the essential knowledge, skills, and experience required for success, and a personal evaluation of the profession's suitability. The report utilizes both secondary research, including books, journals, and articles, and primary research through interviews with HR professionals. Key trends identified include globalization, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning, an increasing emphasis on mental health, and the promotion of diversity within organizations. Essential skills highlighted are communication, proactivity, managing priorities, coaching, and administrative abilities, alongside conceptual and technical knowledge. The report concludes with an evaluation of the author's interest and suitability for a career in HR, citing a strong belief in possessing the necessary skills and a passion for managing people and fostering positive work environments. This document is ideal for students seeking solved assignments and past papers, available on Desklib.

Career Research
Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION.................................................................................................3
General trends which impact on HR profession (Secondary research).......................................3
General trends which impact on HR profession (Primary research)...........................................5
The knowledge, skills and experience required..........................................................................5
EVALUATION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW..........................................................................................................8
APPENDIX 2: JOB ADVERTISEMENT.......................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
In the current research report I am covering information about the profession of HR. HR
is the profession which holds great importance in an organisation because they focus on
identifying and recruiting candidates so that objectives of the company could be achieved. I am
quite interested in the profession of HR because I believe that it is the duty of managing people
in a company (Yerby, 2019). I believe that I am good in managing people because I can
communicate effectively and resolve issues of the people in a systematic manner. I urge to build
a career in the HR profession as an HR associate after completing my graduation. This is the
report which includes the trends that are making profession of HR superior than any other
business opportunities. This also includes the skills, knowledge and experience required by a
recent graduate who desires to build a career in HR area. I have collected information through
primary and secondary sources so that in-depth idea could be carried out. For the collection of
secondary information, I have used sources such as books, journals, articles, newspapers etc. On
the other hand, for the accumulation of primary data I have conducted interview from the people
who are directly related to the HR area. Therefore, present research report is quite useful for the
recent graduates as they can consider HR profession for their career development.
ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION
General trends which impact on HR profession (Secondary research)
There are certain trends in every type of profession because it makes them superior.
Company and employees follow trends of the profession so that they can improve their brand
image and involve talented candidates in the organisation. Some of the significant latest trends
within the HR profession are given below:
Globalisation: One of the important trends in the HR profession is globalisation. HR
assistant and executives greatly affected by this trend because they need to acquire candidates
from the international market so that business could also be expanded in different market
(Karoliny and Sipos, 2019). It has also allowed HR executive to include people from different
countries so that diversity level of the company could be improved.
The trend of globalisation has also impacted skills and knowledge expected from the
recent graduates. Companies recruit candidates who have great information about the policies,

culture and language of multiple countries so that they can also contribute in managing
operations with international employees as well as clients.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning: The other greatest trend within the
profession of HR is advance technology. Technologies have positively impacted the operations
of the HR as their work gets completed in a convenient and timely manner. HR profession
includes artificial intelligence such as candidates tracking software so that they can manage and
control the recruitment of applicants and manage existing workflow (Mayo, 2020). AI methods
are very useful for the HR profession as it helps in eliminating any kind of bias from the
recruitment and selection procedure. It also involves chatbots and machine learning for
systematic access of the important information.
The trend of AI also impacts the recent graduates who desire to build a career as HR
executive or manager because companies need employees who have great knowledge about the
advance technologies. Companies need people who can cooperate with the installed advance
technologies so that operations and activities could be done in a smooth manner. The main
reason behind this is that it helps in gaining competitive edge in the market.
Importance to mental health: Another important trend in the profession of HR is giving
significance to mental health. HR is the profession that is majorly focused towards the
management and welfare of the employees. HR professionals now focus on maintaining work-
life balance of the employees by providing them with flexible working hours etc. In simpler
words, HR professionals motivate, encourage and engage employees so that their mental health
issues could be eliminated such as anxiety, depression and stress (Gunesh and Maheshwari,
2018). This also includes offering healthy lunches, counselling sessions, festive celebrations, site
fitness classes etc.
The trend of giving importance to mental health also impacts recent graduates because
companies recruitment those graduates who can form and implement strategies through which
mental health of people could be given importance. They need graduates who can work to create
positive working environment.
Promoting diversity: The other trend in the HR profession is promoting diversity.
Diversity is the trend that holds great importance because HR executives are including people
from every background and continuously working to create cooperation among the existing

workforce (Fareed and et. al., 2020). This also assists in creating positive brand image in the
market that the organisation respect every culture, gender, race etc.
This is the trend which impact recent graduates who want to make career in HR
profession because companies need people who can plant a seed of affiliation and diversity. In
simpler they need people through which existing employees can feel confident and express their
ideas and thoughts with great confidence.
General trends which impact on HR profession (Primary research)
For the collection of raw information about the trends in HR profession, interview is
conducted. Through interview information is collected from HR managers and they have
provided valuable information. From this primary research, it is carried out that artificial
intelligence and giving priority to mental health are the main trends within the profession of
human resource (Snoek, Dengerink and de Wit, 2019). It is being determined that artificial
intelligence is quite necessary because it provides particular software through which work of HR
become easier and convenient. With the assistance of artificial intelligence, HR simply selects
and on-boards employees in the organisation. On the other hand, the other trend which is giving
priority to mental health is quite important because it shows that an organisation has positive
environment and employees are satisfied with the work they are provided with. Therefore, it is
quite necessary for an organisation to consider and follow latest trends because it is directly
linked to maintain great brand reputation in the market.
The knowledge, skills and experience required
Skills, knowledge and experience are quite important because it helps in performing the
job roles and responsibilities in a systematic way. Some of the significant skills and knowledge
needed for the profession of HR are:
Key skills:
Communication skill: Communication is quite necessary for performing the job role of
HR executive because it is the main link between employees and the business (Bayer and Lyons,
2020). HR executives communicate and convey necessary information with stakeholders so that
right decision could be taken at right time.
Proactivity skill: The other significant skill is proactivity skill in the profession of HR
executive. HR professionals should have the ability to spot potential issues at early stages and
prevent them from any escalation.

Managing priorities skill: Another important skill is managing priority in the profession
of HR. An HR executive should have the ability to manage conflicting ideas across stakeholder
groups so that potential project pitfalls could be avoided (Griggs and Allen, 2018).
Coaching skill: It is the skill which holds significance within the profession of HR. It
includes making group and one-on-one sessions for conveying information and train people
(Pandey, 2019). They should have knowledge so that they can also give trainings to employees
in a systematic way.
Administrative skill: The other important skill is administrative skill which must be in
HR executive (Ford and et. al., 2021). It involves areas like managing leaves, absenteeism and
payroll of employees.
Key knowledge:
Conceptual skill: This is the skill which is needed by an HR executive because it
includes theories and models (Khan, 2019). Models and theories are quite important so that they
can apply in their day to day operations and activities.
Technical skill: The other important skill is technical skill (Keler and Martynova, 2020).
An HR executive should have technical which includes great knowledge of latest software,
hardware, systems etc.
EVALUATION
From the above assembled information it is evaluated that job role of HR has my great
interest because I believe that I have all the skills and knowledge that are needed to perform the
responsibilities of an HR executive. This is the profession which I will consider in respect of any
other profession because it includes the management of people working in the organisation. The
job role of HR executive is emerging and future proofed because an organisation always requires
employees and they are recruited by the HR professional of the company. I also think that I have
great knowledge of understanding the behaviour of people and identifying their needs so that
these needs could be fulfilled and maximum results could be taken out from them. Therefore, I
will make great career in the HR profession and experience great success.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bayer, J.E. and Lyons, B.D., 2020. Reexamining the demand for HR certification in the United
States. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 28(1), pp.85-97.
Fareed and et. al., 2020. What makes HR professionals effective? Qualitative evidence from
Telecom sector of a developing country. Revista Argentina de Clínica
Psicológica, 29(5), p.200.
Ford and et. al., 2021. ‘You just had to get on with it’: Exploring the persistence of gender
inequality through women’s career histories. Work, Employment and Society, 35(1),
pp.78-96.
Griggs, V. and Allen, J., 2018. The Value of an HR Professional Group for Organizational
Learning. International Journal of HRD Policy, Practice and Research, 3(1), pp.43-57.
Gunesh, P. and Maheshwari, V., 2018. Role of organizational career websites for employer
brand development. International journal of organizational analysis.
Karoliny, Z. and Sipos, N., 2019. Explanations of the feminization effects in HR profession and
beyond. In Eurasian Business Perspectives (pp. 159-173). Springer, Cham.
Keler, V. and Martynova, O., 2020. Programs of career guidance work at the Krasnoyarsk state
agrarian university. In European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences
EpSBS (pp. 717-725).
Khan, R.U., 2019. Relationship of HR practices and career path: A perspective of accounting
studies. Journal of Business Review, 7(1), pp.46-56.
Mayo, A., 2020. HR at the top table. Strategic HR Review.
Pandey, S., 2019. HR and Ethics. A relationship that is work in progress.
Snoek, M., Dengerink, J. and de Wit, B., 2019. Reframing the teacher profession as a dynamic
multifaceted profession: A wider perspective on teacher quality and teacher competence
frameworks. European Journal of Education, 54(3), pp.413-425.
Yerby, E.L.A.I.N.E., 2019. Exploring the career management experiences of female middle
managers in the HR profession through a feminist poststructuralist and intersectional
lens (Doctoral dissertation, University of East London).

APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW
Company Primark, United Kingdom
Job title Human resource manager
How did you contact
them?
Through e-mail
Questions asked &
summary of their answers
As per your perspective, what is the main trend within the
profession of HR?
The respondent has answered that artificial intelligence and
importance to mental health are the greatest priorities in HR
profession. Artificial intelligence makes the work easier and
importance to mental health creates job satisfaction among
employees.

APPENDIX 2: JOB ADVERTISEMENT