The skills you will use depend entirely upon the position for which you are applying. Basic computer skills, teamwork, and effective communication with clients and personnel are all important when considering a career in human resources. Entry level positions are often the first filled when college graduates start looking for jobs. Some employers expect the successful candidate to have completed college having majored in human resources, administration for human resources, or a labor and industrial relations major.
Human resources are important to every company. Normally, it is the hiring department and takes care of any problems employees may encounter. Whether they are located in another city or within the same building of the hiring company, they are responsible for the employees. They make sure all paperwork is taken care of, that hiring status and wages are entered into the proper databases, and ensure that tax information is sent to the proper place.
The computer skills you have learned over the course of your education will serve you well when you are hired for a human resources job. This is the primary way that any company keeps all of their pertinent information for their employees. Even your information has to be updated by someone.
The human resources employee is responsible for a wide variety of tasks. One of these would be taking care of background checks when taking a position with an HR (Human Resources) department within most companies. These checks are becoming more common due to the hiring positions that are opening, as well as the need to check people out before they can represent a business. Since many positions require handling money, the employer wants to know the person they have hired is trustworthy.
The skills you will need as a human resources employee will be a balance of administrative skills and personnel skills. Some of your duties may include interviewing job applicants. Afterward, you will be asked to make a recommendation to the department head for the position applied. You must learn to be a good judge of character. Filling vacancies is one of the top priorities to companies so that productivity will not suffer.
What Positions are Available in Human Relations Careers?
When you decide to work in the human resources jobs field, know that there are several levels of employment. The basic positions are listed here with the salaries you might expect, keeping in mind that this may change due to supply and demand.
1) Human Resources Assistant I - Depending upon the company, the requirements for this position may require an associate’s degree or comparable training as well as up to two years of work experience. The duties of the assistant are most likely going to include finding new employees, employment, taking care of personnel records, doing job evaluations, benefits, and training. The salary is over $26,000 per year.
2) Training Specialist I - This employee will handle training for different programs, including new employees. They will familiarize themselves with the company’s procedures and expectations. The salary is over $37,000 per year.
3) Human Resources Generalist I - The requirements of this position includes collecting data pertaining to all the different requirements of the HR department. They will be responsible for making their recommendations to their superiors. Sending information regarding benefits or policies is another part of this job. They will report all their information to a manager. Pay rate is over $37,000 per year.
4) Labor Relations Specialist - The duties of this position will include being in on any labor contract talks. The laws dealing with local as well as state and federal must be a familiar subject. They may give their opinions on any changes they feel should be made to existing policies to make sure the company is in compliance with new or existing regulations. The salary for this position is over $44,000 per year.
5) Human Resources Manager - The manager has a wide array of duties. They must create detailed plans of the company’s programs for the employees, their reimbursements, company benefits, training of new employees, programs ensuring the health and safety of employees, and making sure all positions are staffed. They do this with the help of other employees they manage. The human resources jobs they are responsible for include almost everything except executive level positions. Their salary is usually the above $63,000 range, but could be more depending upon experience.
Conclusion
According to several sources there is no where to go but up for human resources careers. The competition is going to get fierce as more graduates hit the job market looking for the positions that can give them the career for which they trained. Whether you are looking for human resources jobs that are entry level or the management jobs that pay well, one thing you already know is they are hiring and will continue to hire human resources professionals over the next several years.
