What are human resources?
Human resources are the people who work for an organization. A career in human resources involves managing the people who work for an organization in a way that provides for the best possible performance.
What kinds of positions are available in the human resources industry?
Human resources careers range from generalist positions to deeply specialized positions. These can include positions in:
- Learning and training
- Planning
- Staffing and recruiting
- Job design
- Human performance management
- Work team design
- HR information management
- Compensation and benefits
- Employee relations
- Labour relations
- Workplace health and safety
- Employee engagement
- Employer branding
Typical job positions include:
- Benefits analyst
- Benefits coordinator
- Benefits manager
- Compensation analyst
- Compensation manager
- Computer-based training coordinator
- Human resources administrator
- Human resources advisor
- Human resources analyst
- Human resources assistant
- Human resources coordinator
- Human resources director
- Human resources manager
- Human resources specialist
- Labour policy analyst
- Labour relations manager
- Labour relations officer
- Labour relations specialist
- Payroll assistant
- Recruiting representative
- Trainer
- Training coordinator
- Training manager
- Vice-president, human resources
What skills do I need to begin a human resources career?
Most of the skills required for success in a human resources career are the same as those required in any industry. But, generally speaking, you may want to focus on the following qualities:
- Acting professionally and ethically
- Analyzing problems
- Communicating
- Critical Thinking
- Empathizing
- Explaining complex information
- Interpreting data
- Judging
- Managing
- Negotiating
- Organizing
- Presenting
- Problem Solving
- Respecting privacy
- Speaking
- Understanding human nature
- Using computers
- Writing
Related to Careers in human resources
- Training and preparation for human resources careers
- Preparing your resume for a human resource career
