HR specialists handle employee recruitment, training, compensation, and conflict resolution to support company growth. They require strong communication, decision-making, and ethical skills to manage employee relations and ensure workplace efficiency.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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Human resources specialists are in charge of hiring people, training and growth, rewards, pay and benefits, and getting along with employees. Every day, they also have to do other HR jobs, but their main focus is on their area of expertise.
It’s typically an entry-level job that you’ll find in big companies and consulting businesses. Companies that hire HR specialists usually have more than one, and each one specializes in a different area.
Generally, a human resources specialist’s job is to work for the long-term growth of the company. For instance, by making sure they hire and keep the best people. This could also mean working with hiring managers to come up with criteria for applicants, managing the onboarding process, helping to solve labor problems, and creating materials for training.
Depending on what they do, HR specialists need different sets of skills. Because of these specialties, daily tasks may also be different. In their HR job, they need to show the following general skills, though:
Some of the most common HR duties and roles you might find in a job description for an HR expert are:
Recruitment and hiring managers use recruitment specialists to help them do things like posting job openings and making job offers.
Training and development experts plan and carry out programs that help employees learn and grow. Some tasks could be:
HR specialists figure out and write down what this job’s duties and needs are. Some tasks could be:
Employee relations experts help workers and bosses talk to each other. Some tasks could be:
Benefits and compensation experts are in charge of workers’ pay and benefits. Some tasks could be:
The following are some responsibilities:
If someone wants to work in human resources, they can get a bachelor’s degree in HR or a related area like business administration or psychology, and then go on to get an MBA. It’s important to note, though, that some companies care more about the knowledge and skills of the person applying.
So, when you’re thinking about what skills you need to become a human resources specialist, you should also think about how you can get experience and keep learning new things, including:
According to ZipRecruiter, the average pay for a human resources specialist in the US is $51,949 per year. The monthly cost would be about $4,329.
The yearly pay ranges from $21,000 to $87,000.
Also, the average salary changes depending on where you live.
For example, Glassdoor says that human resources specialists in New York make $69,620 a year, while those in Chicago make $61,181. According to Payscale, the average yearly salary for an HR specialist in Chicago is $57,071, while the average yearly salary for an HR specialist in New York is $64,890.
Are you ready to become an HR specialist? To become one, do these things:
If you have the chance, get a Bachelor’s degree and take certificate classes to learn the skills you need to be an HR specialist. According to job ads from some companies, HR certifications are already a requirement for some positions. HR professionals with varying amounts of experience can get a variety of certifications from groups like SHRM and AIHR.
Individuals who possess extra certificates may also experience a pay raise or faster job advancement opportunities. Human resources certifications can help you get a raise up to 16% faster and earn an average of 29.5% more.
Try to get an internship or learn on the job. As a volunteer, talk to people in HR at your college or at companies in your area. By doing an internship, you can learn how to be an HR worker from the ground up. The skills and information you learn through experience will help you build a job in human resources.
You can search for internships on Indeed, Glassdoor, and other job boards, as well as on sites that are just for internships, like Internships.com. Look for internships on the websites of businesses you’re interested in. There are HR interns at big companies like Merck and UPS every year.
Make a useful group of friends. If you have a strong network, it might help you get your next job, learn new skills, or connect you with good companies and qualified applicants.
Joining HR groups on social media is another way to grow your business network. To keep building your HR network, you might want to join professional groups and go to the events they host for networking.
When you sign up for one of AIHR’s courses, you can join a group of HR professionals who share your interests. You should also check out the following communities:
In order to keep up with how companies and job markets change, HR professionals will need to learn new skills. This is where the T-shaped HR worker comes in very handy.
People who work in T-shaped HR departments go beyond their normal HR jobs to work strategically with internal partners while still doing their main jobs. The skills of a T-shaped HR worker are:
Once you have the prerequisites and have worked on your skills, you should get ready for your interviews by practicing interview questions. Learn about the company and the things it sells before you apply. Remember to be sure of yourself and ready for the questions so you can answer them correctly and improve your chances of getting hired.
Here are some interview questions to think about:
HR professionals are very important for starting and growing businesses. Helping to build a strong business culture and fighting for workers’ rights at work can be rewarding as part of this job. Thinking about becoming an HR specialist? You might want to learn new skills and get more work experience to get ready for the job.
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