He graduated from Academy of Economic Studies and he is specialized in human resources with a master’s degree in Small and Medium Business Management. Since 2019, Mihai Damian is part of the BIA HR team, his role being to implement and carry out the payroll process for customers. He always surprises us with the ideas for optimizing the activity, specific to generation Z, which he represents, but also through his spirit of collegiality.
He started his career in human resources, being open to knowing more work environments and more specializations, so as to define what he likes. He now works with senior colleagues and he has the ability to adapt easily because he has a healthy life philosophy that guides him. Find out from Mihai how he chose his current job, as well as what are the biggest satisfactions in his activity in the BIA HR team.
What motivated you to choose a career in human resources?
I can’t say that I had a good reason to choose the field of human resources, but rather it was a circumstance of events and decisions that I had to make when I enrolled in college.
After high school, I was a little confused because I didn’t know exactly which faculty to choose. Among the options I had at that time was a specialization of human resources within the ASE. Although I knew about this specialization before I finished high school, I don’t think I gave it that much importance right from the start. However, when it came time to choose the faculty, I came back to the idea and I was lucky to have people around me working in HR, so I had the opportunity to speak with them and understand how this field works. I understand that it is a vast field, involving many activities, and I strongly believe that it is a field of the future because although technology is advancing, I still believe that people will be for a long time, the most important resources in a company.
Tell us more details about your career. What were those experiences that trained you for your current job?
My professional career started with an internship through the faculty in a human resources company. Although I was only a professional and I consider that I have accumulated enough information that is useful to me today in my activity, I had started to believe that I may not be made for this field. But I had that impression because I only knew what it means to recruit staff. That’s why, after finishing my studies, I started applying for jobs, but not all of them were related to the field of human resources, until I found the announcement posted by the BIA HR team. It was an announcement for a junior position on the payroll and personnel management department, so an important part of the human resources field that I didn’t know at all. Then I thought it was time to explore HR from this perspective as well and see if I would be more attracted by payroll activities, which is what happened.
What was the best moment so far in your activity at BIA HR? But the most difficult?
The most beautiful and perhaps equally difficult time was when, just a few months after I was hired, I was informed that I would be responsible for my first client. That’s when I realized that this team trusts me and that I will have to do everything I can to live up to their expectations. That’s why I say that it was difficult, because being at the beginning of the road, I didn’t want to make mistakes and of course, all I want is to perform my tasks properly. However, everything went very well, my colleagues always supported me and everything went according to plan, I succeed in managing the payroll process, from one end to the other, and overcome my biggest worries.
What challenges do you face now in your activity and how do you deal with them?
There is a lot of change in this area in terms of legislation, but also in terms of the cases and situations that arise among our customers. In the pandemic period, I worked more from home, and for me, it was a challenge in terms of debating these changes and the cases. I think that when you are face to face with colleagues it is much easier to communicate and find a solution to the problems. However, over time I have adapted and constantly tried to find solutions so that communication is at least at the same level as it was before the pandemic.
What are those skills that help you in your job?
I think an important skill in payroll and personnel management is attention to detail. It is important when preparing various documents or performing the salary calculation, to be careful about what data you use and how you use them because any mistake can have repercussions sooner or later. At the same time, I think it is important to have an analytical ability so that you can know what to look for and especially where to look when you need information.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to work as a Human Resources Analyst? What steps should he follow?
A first tip would be to attend as many internships as possible – an opportunity to get in touch with at least the main areas of human resources. It’s also important to talk to the specialists from the respective companies because that’s the only way you can really understand what this field means. I don’t think you can work in HR if you don’t really like what you do, so it’s important to understand the work processes from the beginning.
What should customers know if they want to work with you ?
My clients should know that when they send me a request, I try to resolve it as quickly as possible so that both my and my business can run as efficiently as possible.
What are your expectations in 2022 in relation to your current and potential customers? What would you like to see changed in 2022?
I don’t know if anything, in particular, should be changed because since we’ve been collaborating, we’ve adapted our styles and work processes to each other, so now our business is going on naturally and, I say, effectively.
Do you have favorite mottos or certain books that have opened up new career prospects for you?
My favorite motto that guides me for many years sounds like this: “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” (Henry Ford). I believe that mistakes can be useful and without them, we would not be able to evolve.
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