Prakhar Chaturvedi resides in Bhopal and pursued his engineering degree in electronics from Indore and did M.B.A. in HR from SCMHRD, Symbiosis International University, Pune. After which, he got placed in Reliance Industries and has been working with Reliance as a Senior HR Manager.
What is your day to day responsibilities?
Currently, I am an HR Business partner. My day-to-day work involves managing all employees, we have about 600-700 employees. I ensure a smooth onboarding process and track the performance of employees and matters related to employees. Ensuring human resource policy throughout the organization fits the needs, goals and aims of the organization. HR business partners are tasked with streamlining HR functions, reporting metrics, enhancing workforce retention and compliance regulations.
We help senior leaders envision, develop and execute HR strategies that support their growth, performance and future objectives. We have a clear understanding of the way current and future challenges would affect the people of the organization.
What was the selection procedure? How did you get this job?
There was a competition-based scheme launched by Reliance Industries named “The Ultimate Pitch” in which I participated with a team and our team won. 2nd place was given to IIM Ahmedabad and 3rd place was to NMIMS. Since we won we got the opportunity of a direct interview with HR leaders of Reliance including the vice-president. After which, I was selected for the Reliance Emerging Leaders Program where I joined as a management trainee, had multiple stints and finally we get a specific HR role.
Our interview consisted of two rounds. The first round was conducted by the HR team and the second by the leaders (Vice President). They gave emphasis to the HR internship experience that I had during my MBA as well as technical questions related to human resources. The questions included key learnings that I gained from my internship, how I added value to the internship and questions about my strengths and weaknesses.
What were some of the challenges that you faced? How did you overcome them?
Since there is a huge competition for placement in top companies, I got placed at a later stage during my internship during my first year of MBA. In the second year, we got the opportunity to take part in the TUP competition which is very challenging as it takes place across all top business schools. However, I worked on my weaknesses, put in my best efforts, improved my presentation skills and then I was able to crack the competition as well as the interview.
What are some of the essential skills needed for your job?
We need to have good networking connections and good communication skills to understand and empathize with the employees. Once we are able to communicate with employees efficiently, we would be able to understand the challenges that they are facing and provide solutions for the same. We also need to have good presentation skills and articulation. Analytical aptitude should be strong to understand different types of data and the dashboard. Agility is another key skill required to excel in this profession.
Do you think students should take up internships? Why?
Students should definitely take up internships. They should grab the opportunity to work in any organization, gain exposure and develop the necessary skills. The experience that we build over the years helps us in getting a better job profile. The various projects that I had worked on during my internship have helped me gain the necessary experience for this job. I had a project related to employee engagement which was a great learning curve for me. It also contributes to personality enhancement and problem-solving skills.
What advice would you give freshers who want to take up internships?
If they are sure about the field they want to get into, they should do internships in that domain and gain expertise in that particular role. This would help in getting a broader understanding at an early stage and being sure about their likes and dislikes. Every internship opportunity counts and contributes towards the growth of that individual as well as various skills. Taking up practical projects is really important to understand how to solve the problem and develop solutions for the same, being able to understand and analyze what is required and what would contribute towards the growth of the company is also essential.