18
HR
West
®
Member Profile
What led you to Human Resources as a profession?
I graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Chemistry. I intended to go into the medical profession but when my mother
died, life took a twist and so did my career. The beauty of HR is that its career
professionals come from a broad area of disciplinary backgrounds. I was able to
take my talents, education and work experience and apply them to a career in HR.
Affiliations with organizations such as NCHRA and SHRM helped me to grow in
the HR profession through SPHR and then SPHR-CA certifications.
In your opinion, what is the future of HR?
Human Resource Professionals have clearly demonstrated the importance of
their role impacting the bottom line whether it be in areas such as increasing
efficiencies through training and recruitment, knowledge and skill retention
through competitive salaries and succession planning and innovation through
successful recruitment and staffing. We have established our role at the table
and the success of our future lies in our collective talent innovating HR practices
to further assist organizations with the challenges that they face in areas such
as rising health care costs, recruitment and retention and fostering a culture that
encourages dedication and commitment along with improved quality of service
to internal as well as external customers.
What would you recommend to someone
just starting out in HR?
For someone new to the HR profession, a mentor and guide are key. A mentor
can work to help identify areas of HR that may be of interest and to serve as a
resource throughout career growth. Other areas such as internships, taking HR
classes and certification courses are also great ways to learn while networking
at the same time. I met a lot of new people through the NCHRA certification
courses and also at the HR West
®
events.
What do you find is the greatest reward working in HR?
Being able to support the mission and values of BART along with the ability to
directly help people is the most rewarding part of working in HR for me. Whether
it be something simple as helping someone with interviewing skills, collaborating
with a manager to institute training classes or hearing the joy in a new employees
voice as I’m making a job offer. Each of these are rewards that I cherish and what
I enjoy about working in HR at BART.
What role has NCHRA played in your career?
NCHRA has played an integral role in the growth of my HR career. I started in
HR at an entry level and have worked my way up the career ladder with NCHRA
as a resource. I have taken all my certification classes through NCHRA and
attended HR West
®
conventions throughout the years. Recently NCHRA has
given me the opportunity to teach NCHRA certification courses which has been
a truly valuable experience. As a busy mom, I looked forward to the continuing
education sessions, online newsletters and magazines as tools to keep me up
to date on the latest in HR.
HR
BIOGRAPHY
PREM K. BAJAJ, SPHR-CA
PRINCIPAL PERSONNEL ANALYST, BART
MEMBER SINCE 2006
Prem Bajaj is currently a Principal Personnel Analyst at the SF Bay Area
Rapid Transit District (BART), in Oakland California. Before this she
worked with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in their
Human Resources Department. Prem has been a member of NCHRA
since 2006 and has taught the PHR/SPHR Certification Courses. She
has her B.S. Biochemistry, and M.A. Public Administration.
