1.

0Research:
1.1Interview:
I have met Ms Safe Abdulla, whom is the Human Resources Manager in the Arab Banking Corporation in
Bahrain. She kindly agreed to meet me on Wednesday 11th of November at exactly 7:00PM in Starbucks
coffee, Sanad branch. Questions were asked to increase understanding of the nature of the HR manager
position. Through the answers Ms. Safe gave, it was clear that the position grants an opportunity to
meet and interact with different kinds of personalities through interviewing and working with
employees and managers which she enjoys. Moreover, projects such as improving the quality of service
for employees, helping with employees and managers complaints and recruitment projects are all tasks
she finds pleasure in and considers as a great way of helping others. Nevertheless, employees
attendance mentoring is something Ms Safa stated as the thing she does not fancy about her job due to
the fact that it is stressful. Due to the fact that the job of a HR manager is intensively social and
considering the nature of the job, Ms Safa considers the most important competencies for someone
filling this position are communication skills, patience, mediation skills, having strong ethics, being
discrete and problem solving. Ms Safa is responsible for hiring staff, arranging for interviews, seeking
approval for new hires, maintaining employees personal files, maintaining appraisal and attendance
systems, acting as liaison between employees and corporate leadership, evaluating training needs,
preparing reports for the Key Risk Indicators and assisting with HR related issues in Bahrain, Algeria and
Tunisia. Furthermore Ms Safa described a normal day in her position as a mixture of everything,
responding to emails, meetings, writing reports and looking into staff and managers requests.
Moreover, Ms Safa was asked regarding the environment she works in and she stated that it is nice with
some challenges. Ms Safa was then asked to describe some of the most challenging situation she has
faced and she cited that introducing change is very difficult considering the set up rules and procedures
and the image most organizations have of the HR as a department that is not qualified enough to
introduce change to help businesses move forward.
When Ms Safa was asked about her degree and experiences she said that she holds a bachelor degree in
French (Minor in business) and holds a certificate from SHL Talent Measurement as Specialized in HR.
Added to that, she has approximately 8 years of experience in HR in the banking sector.
Ms Safa also shed light on the career development and training opportunities she acquire owning to the
fact that she works for a large corporate. Ms Safa next step is to continue working on getting the
Professional in Human Resources certificate from the Society for Human Resources Management and
apply for the vacancy that is available for internal employees for the position of Human Resources
Director. Also, next week Ms Safa will be starting an Information Technology Infrastructure library v3
course, which is sponsored by ABC bank. According to Ms Safa, the position she is filling is really exciting
for a lot of people, consequently most of those who were filling the position before she did have only
left for jobs offering higher positions. Ms Safa was kind enough to share with me her formula for success
which is being patient, organized, having a pleasant personality and most importantly having good social
skills Appendix1.

1.2Independent Research:
Research was conducted using the internet on the most current competencies and requirement for a HR
manager. The findings of the research were that the key traits for a HR manager are organization skills,
such as time management, self management and having an organized approach to everything.
Additionally, multitasking is essential considering the day-to-day tasks for the HR manager (Bruce, 2013).
Besides, being capable to negotiate in order to reach to a settlement between opposing opinions is a
must for a HR manager. In addition to that, being tech-savvy is something beneficial for any HR manager
as it allows increasing communication efficiency and aligning technology with business objectives
(Webster, 2012). According to the survey of Global HR Challenges: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 48%
of most companies participating in that survey have rated changing management as the most
challenging thing that HR managers face (Alliance, 2014). Therefore, it is fare to say that being initiative
to introduce change is a trait that makes a positive change in HR managers career.

2.0Analysis:
The information found through the research and the information provided by Ms Safa regarding the
competencies required for a HR manager is clearly similar. According to the research, it is a key trait for
HR managers is multitasking and being organized. When looking into the way Ms Safa described a
normal day in her position and the variety of tasks she is responsible for it is only fare to say that Ms
Safa is capable of managing her time, prioritizing and doing a lot at ones which lines up with the findings
of the research. More to that, Ms Safa stated that it is one of her responsibilities to act as a link between
employees and manager and that aligns with the finding of the research which indicates being a good
negotiator is essential. Furthermore, the research points out to the importance of knowing about
technology and being up to date with it for HR managers, Ms Safa has recently signed up for an ITIL v3
course which indicates that she is trying to keep up with technology and benefit from it and that is
identical to the research findings. Ms Safa has explained how she have tried to introduce change and
that shows how much she took initiative and her willingness to make a change which has been looked
into through the research as an essential trait. Considering all the traits Ms Safa has and those identified
in the research it is clear that the research findings are similar to those from the interview conducted.

3.0Conclusion:
When considering my academic qualifications as a Management student and the experiences I have
gained from working on realistic case scenarios in university, I am not yet ready for this job but I am on
the right path towards getting it. I believe this job suits my personality and it is something I would enjoy
doing. The Career Voyage tests I have done as a part of this course suggested that my personality and
traits allows me to perform better when that position I am working in includes helping others in any way
and that is actually also why I believe this job suits me. However, in order for me to fill the position it is
important to fill the gap between what I have to offer now and what is required from a person filling this

job and that can be done through courses and experience. First, finding an entry level job in HR is a
must such as HR assistance, as it does not require specific degrees or experience. Secondly after
graduation it is important to start enrolling in HR related courses from institutes like Chartered Institute
of Personnel and Development (CIPD), SHL Talent Measurement or HR Certification Institute (HRCI),
these certificates will help me get middle level jobs like HR administrator. Finally with longer experience
and courses I can start filling high level jobs such as HR manager Appendix2. It is also important for me
to work in a known corporate such as ABC and not settle in small or medium enterprises in order to
have long term and successful career plan. From the fact that Ms Safa stated about past employees only
leaving their position in ABC for better job offers providing better titles, proves that the corporate she is
working in can itself back up ones CV and be considered as a valid experience in opening the door for
further career steps.

Bibliography
Alliance, U. (2014). human resource management challenges. Retrieved from villanova university:
http://www.villanovau.com/resources/hr/human-resource-management-challenges/#.VFswzmGIrIU
Bruce, S. (2013). 9 essential skills of human resources management. Retrieved from HR daily advisor:
http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2013/09/16/9-essential-skills-of-human-resources-management-howmany-do-you-have/
Webster, S. (2012). the 6 competencies to inspire hr professionals 2012. Retrieved from HR magazine:
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hr/features/1020649/exclusive-the-competencies-inspire-hrprofessionals-2012

Appendix
Appendix 1:

Appendix 2: