A career pathway for those who enjoy working face-to-face with people and helping to develop a better work environment within large organisations.
What HR Professionals Do
Human Resources professionals typically work in business settings, and, like the name suggests, are responsible for managing all things ‘human’ within an organisation.
Human Resource (HR) professionals are typically responsible for recruiting, screening, interviewing and placing workers.
They also handle employee relations, payroll, benefits, and training. These tasks include documenting grievances, terminations, absences, performance reports, as well as compensation and benefits information.
HR can be pursued via Business or Psychology pathways
Relevant Jobs
There are over 100 different specific roles and job titles an HR professional can pursue. Here are a few examples of the variety of roles in Human Resources.
An Executive Recruiter is specifically responsible for finding and recruiting senior-level executives within a company. They might work to find people for positions such as directors, senior-managers, or members of the C-suite in a company (e.g. CEO, CFO, etc.)
To become an Executive Recruiter, you will typically need years of experience in recruitment, a huge network of coworkers and acquaintances, and strong people skills.
Global HR Specialists are concerned with managing international HR roles, working to interview and recruit overseas employees in a multinational organisation.
Global specialists typically have strong bi-lingual or multi-lingual skills, coupled with experience in recruitment and international relations.
An HR consultant is concerned with advising companies on a range of issues involving its workforce, such as complying with laws, grievance mediation, reorganisation of company structure, among many other roles.
HR consultants are typically brought on by companies to help create and develop a human resources model specific to the culture and workforce of the organisation.
eLearning Analysts in a Human Resources team are concerned with analysing and developing online learning platforms for employees to gain new skills and develop their expertise and experience.
HR Managers are concerned with planing, directing and coordinating the administrative functions and the people of an organisation. In a large organisation, they are responsible for a team of HR professionals in a specific field such as recruitment or workplace performance. In smaller organisations, they may be required to lead the team in all areas of human resources.
HR Managers typically require a bachelor degree in a field such as business or psychology. Some organisations may require a master’s degree specialising in human resources or business administration (e.g. an MBA).
Furthermore, to become an HR manager you typically need around five years of experience as an HR consultant or assistant.
Senior benefits managers work in the human resources sector of an organisation, and are concerned with employee compensation and benefits such as salaries, health-care benefits, superannuation, vacation days, and so on. They may also coordinate and recommend benefits and compensation programs for employees to upper management for consideration.