84.8% STARTED IN A
NON-HR ROLE
MORE THAN 50% ENTERED THE
HR PROFESSION BY CHANCE
10% ENTERED HR BECAUSE IT IS A
WELL-RESPECTED PROFESSION
3.9%
CHOSE HR
BECAUSE IT
PAYS WELL
ALMOST
25% SAW
HR AS A
NATURAL
PROGRESSION
LESS THAN
10% CHOSE HR
FOR CAREER
ADVANCEMENT
NEARLY 33% SAID
THEY CHOSE
HR TO WORK
WITH PEOPLE
25% CALLED HR
“AN ATTRAC-TIVE
CAREER
PROPOSITION”
LOVEgraphic/Shutterstock
news
more prepared, give you a boost in confidence and help calm
your nerves.”
MANY HR PROFESSIONALS ENTER THE FIELD BY
CHANCE
In a new study of the HR profession, XpertHR found that most HR
professionals (84.8 per cent) did not begin their careers as HR profes-sionals.
And more than half of the respondents felt that their reasons
for entering the profession were heavily influenced by chance and ex-ternal
forces rather than an active desire to work in HR.
The survey also found that only one in 10 were attracted to HR
because it was a well-respected profession, with fewer still seeing
it as offering good opportunities for career advancement. Only 3.9
per cent came into HR because it pays well.
Nearly one in three said they had chosen HR because they want-ed
to work with people. One in four said it had been an attractive
career proposition, and nearly as many saw it as a natural pro-gression
from their previous role. A substantial number took up a
career in HR after having been mentored by an HR professional.
“Although many entered the profession by chance, the majori-ty
of HR professionals surveyed are happy with the career choice
they made, believe that HR is valued by senior managers in their
organization and have encouraging advice for anyone seeking to
enter the profession today,” said Peggy Carter-Ward, head of con-tent
at XpertHR.
CAREER EDGE INTERN WINS BIG CONTRACT,
EARNS FULL-TIME JOB
Ronald Jacinto, an electrical designer at Toronto’s Spectra
Engineering, found a surefire way to impress the boss: land tele-coms
giant Rogers as the company’s biggest client.
The former intern won the business – and a full-time job – on
the strength of his highly detailed technical drawings for a new
Rogers pilot project involving modular telecoms facilities being in-troduced
in North America this year.
“Ronald was instrumental in helping us achieve Rogers’ goals
to push out the design as quickly as possible and with the larg-est
amount of detail,” said Joseph Elowe, an electrical engineer and
Spectra principal. “His previous technical experience in design of
electrical systems was paramount in securing additional work
with Rogers to the point where Rogers is now our largest client.”
That previous experience included several years as a deputy
electrical manager with Obayashi Corp. in Dubai, UAE, leading a
team in the design and coordination work during the construction
of the Dubai Metro Project, a 75-km driverless LRT network with
10 underground and 35 overground stations.
However, when he arrived in Canada, he had a hard time
landing a job in his field. He took advantage of a Career Edge
Organization (CEO) internship program aimed at internationally
educated professionals and found himself at Spectra Engineering
– an electrical and mechanical engineering firm serving the build-ing
and engineering services sectors.
“After the internship, it was a no-brainer to hire Ronald
full-time to continue doing this great work,” said Elowe. “Hiring
a Career Edge intern was a great way to such tremendous talent.
We continue our partnership with them to obtain additional tal-ent
in the future and we appreciate CEO’s help in assisting IEPs
to join the workplace.”
The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA)
also partners with CEO to find and place human resources in-terns
in host companies. As Spectra Engineering illustrates,
hiring an intern is a great way to source and test out new tal-ent
for your organization. For more information, please visit
www.careeredge.ca HRPA.ca/findyouredge. ■
14 ❚ SEPTEMBER 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
