How can I get a job after an MBA/MSc in HR from an university in Europe?
What I plan to do is an International masters in industrial management (IMIM) for a global exposure in the industries across the globe and a global networking following it up with an MBA/MSc in HR either from India or Europe.
Now since I am already 2.5 years experienced in IT sector and plan to pursue industrial management masters next year. so at 3+ years experience I am going for an LWP(Leave without Pay) and completing my masters. I would come back and join the same company but I will have to leave the job(because LWP is max for 2 years) and pursue an MBA/MSc in HR in Europe as I have heard that with 4+ years odd experience it is nearly impossible to get into 2 year full time MBA in India.
Note: I would love to do the MBA in HR in India only provided a full time(2-yr) degree is possible with 4+yrs experience, not looking for the EMBA as it is not much valued in the Indian industry yet, except from a few ivy-league ones.
My first question is that is this a sound plan of doing 2 masters and secondly what are the job prospects after completion of the MBA in HR from a triple accredited university or atleast AMBA&EQUIS accredited university in Europe and what is the procedure to get the job in India after that?(we have to drop CVs at different companies...etc..what is the detailed procedure/outline of the procedure?)
Please suggest if there is a better plan and I want to do the industrial management degree because it gives a tremendous amount of global exposure and scope of field work while working on a master thesis at the end of it. I want to work in Industrial Relations as an HR/corporate HR/HR Generalist. So how can I have both the degrees and not end up jobless? Please advise if there is any better combination of another degree along with a one year MBA/MSc in HR. Please suggest if you feel that instead of IMIM some other degree would be best suited for my profile along with masters in HR.

[Edited by suvoram on Aug 06, 2015]

I saw an article from Forbes that said that master's degree in human resources were one of "10 worst master's degrees for getting a job."

In any case, you're not going to find many MBA programs that have Human Resources specializations. This is just not a common career path for post-MBA.

If you're serious about human resources management, I would look instead at a masters in management program in human resources from a great business school. Manchester Business School or ESCP Europe for instance.

Otherwise, do you really need to specialize? Maybe look at general MSc programs that are ranked. If you're looking only at mainland Europe, look into HEC Paris, ESSEC, WHU, ESADE. Ask the reps from these programs if it's feasible to get a job in HR after graduation. My sense is that most positions in the field do not require ultra-specialized training.

Thanks maury,

As far as I have known, getting a job in Europe for an Indian is bit on the tougher side without being B2/C1 level atleast on German/Spanish/Italian depends on the market you choose. I will have to start learning one of these depending on the colleges I target based upon suggestions.
So in case I have to come back to India,and join the same sector(IT) but with a different role,that is HR (corporate HR), I would need a dedicated degree in HR, be it MBA or Masters in HRM. But, to keep all the other avenues of worldwide management positions open, I would like to add another 1 year degree course along with this 1 yr HRM degree as I have 2 years LWP from my company and would like to gain maximum knowledge out of these 2 years.
Please if you could suggest on that.
Along with a masters in HRM what degree would give me a very good scope outside HRM circle with great job prospects both in Europe and India too.
I have chalked out a few options,if required, please feel free to suggest anything apart from the options too---
(not in order of preference, randomly listed)

Full time MBA (1 yr)
International masters in management
Masters in IT management
Masters in General management
Masters in Industrial management
Masters in International business
Masters in project management
Masters in business consulting
Masters in management consulting
Masters in strategy, organisation and leadership

Regards,
Suvoram.

[Edited by suvoram on Aug 06, 2015]

Suvoram,

I am not an expert, but in my opinion you are trying to kill too many birds with one stone.
Firstly, as you already are aware, In Europe as an Indian you'll face two challenges - Language and Work Permit - on top of that you want to work in HR after that. Now, that's an added challenge, not only you need to be fluent like local - you also need to understand that culture, labor laws, negotiation practices etc. of the land.

After xx years of your education, be it in MBA / MSc or anything else, Why would a company bet their money on hiring you over an equally qualified EU candidate?

Secondly, How would knowing the working of HR practices in European country help you if you are to return to India? One scenario comes into my mind where you can visibly add value. Find a company that is working on both countries - your target European country and India.

For Indians in a foreign country, I think HR career path is most difficult to follow, followed by Marketing - due to cultural (including lingual) differences.

You need to figure out, what is it that you want from your education?
- Change in Geography?
- Better Career trajectory i.e. VP in next 10~15 years?
- Better paycheck?
- Better all-round education to propel in your current role?

Try to identify risk factors
- For example in any English speaking country/company - you have mitigated the risk of language barrier.

"to keep all the other avenues of worldwide management positions open" this is a highly unlikely scenario - Maybe a Harvard MBA can do that trick for you.

Hope it helps,
Ayon

Thanks a lot Ayon for your insight on this,

As far I have researched so far and as your suggestion goes too, I see no point in doing an HR from a non-English speaking country, and as far as labour laws are concerned, i will have to learn the Indian labour laws separately to be in the game, which I will surely do. So I believe I would target predominantly English-speaking Ireland, UK and Netherlands for that reason.
Change in geography looks a bit improbable here keeping the practical factors in mind and as I do not want to settle down in Europe for a longer time also, so in that case i would not mind settling for a job in India.
Now, frankly what I want is, to climb up the corporate ladder quickly to middle management positions and consequently earn a fatter paycheck.
Now I want my role to be an HR consultant/HR generalist but to grow up the ladder as an HR also, a very sound knowledge of the business functioning is necessary and so i would like to use my 2nd year of leave without pay with another degree to gain some more business knowledge to leverage the post-MBA career.
Now the second degree would not only add some more vital business knowhow, but also it can be an alternate career route in the worst case scenario.
For example, I have heard that HR world discussing the HR work to be more data driven nowadays and so a knowledge of Business analytics can stand you in good stead.It can also open up independent career options as as a business analyst too.
So that is what I want to ask.
Which degree would have some threads attached to HR as well can provide an independent career path, if need be.
I have the following options in mind: (add some if needed)
Masters in General management
Management consulting
Business analytics
Full time MBA
which would buttress my HR degree to some extent as well as can prove to be an alternate career route.
Working in Europe is not the topmost priority, quality of the programme is...i just want the learning to be comprehensive and I am on a budget too.
So please advise me on the same.

Regards,
Suvoram.

[Edited by suvoram on Aug 06, 2015]

Suvoram,

I can only speak for US Full time MBA since that the program I went through. Unlike India where functional areas (Specializations) are segregated even before the MBA program starts on the basis of CAT/XAT marks, In US the MBA is by and large a Generalist degree.

That means that regardless of your school selection, you'll have a common curriculum where you will learn Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Organizational Behavior, Information Technology etc. In your second year of MBA, you can mix and match electives available at that particular MBA program.

Business Analytics / Management consulting is little overused these days. Its nothing more than few electives - Strategy, Advanced Organizational Behavior, Leadership Development, Change Management, Advanced IT, Advanced Statistics - so on and so forth.

I think a 2 year full time MBA program in US will give you a good educational experience and time to tailor your studies as per your desired career outcome. To climb higher, and get fatter paychecks Indian MBA from MDI, XLRI, SPJain, IIMs and the likes would be more effective.

Assuming that you don't want to go that way. Checkout of few of the following program websites in addition to top 20 or so MBA program

1) Case Western Reserve University
2) Brigham Young University
3) Ohio State University
4) Purdue University

If you can use your MBA to learn more about Change Management, get few certifications like Green Belt Lean Six Sigma etc. You might well look into Human Resource Consulting, Organizational Change, Performance Improvement, M&A roles.

Use LinkedIn /and top 20-30 MBA program's career websites to identify people who have taken that route before, connect with them to know their story. Their opinions might be more useful.

Hope it helps,
Ayon De

Thanks a Ton Ayon,

It was a very comprehensive answer.
I will keep all the points you mentioned in mind.

Regards,
Suvoram Bhattacharya.