HR Specialist Career

hr-specialist-500As a human resources specialist, your responsibilities will encompass hiring, training, and disciplining workers. You will also be responsible for mediating disputes within the company.

HR specialist tasks are varied.

On any given day, you may need counseling skills to help solve problems, familiarity with the law to make sure that your workplace is complying with all employment codes, or simply the ability to smile and talk with workers about what is expected in your workplace.

Human Resource Specialist Career Snapshot

HR specialists typically work in office environments, but office atmospheres are numerous and varied. In most cases, they work typical Monday-Friday 9-5 schedules.

Further details on a career as a human resource specialist are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):

$58,350

is the average pay for human resources specialists per year.

5%

increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.

482,000

jobs available in 2014 according to BLS.gov data.

HR Specialist Education

A typical HR specialist will have a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources; most Human Resources degree programs include internships, which are helpful in obtaining later positions. Earning an MBA will broaden your career prospects and increase your earning potential. You can also choose to earn a non-degree Certification in Human Resources, which will allow you to take on some HR jobs.

HR Specialist Salaries

The median salary for a human resources specialist was $58,350 in May 2015 according to the BLS.gov. The top 10% of earners made $99,920, while the bottom 10% made $34,120. Pursuing further education in business will increase your earning prospects.

HR Specialist Job Duties

HR specialist are usually intimately involved with hiring, managing, disciplining, and even firing employees. While there is a decent amount of paperwork involved in the HR profession, you might also find yourself giving job interviews, going to job recruitment fairs, negotiating with employees over salary packages, and creating new policies to help the workplace function more smoothly. Responsibilities will vary significantly based on the size of the company you’re working for; HR specialists at smaller or family owned companies often have a great deal of contact with employees, while workers at larger companies may find that they are focused more on developing and enforcing company policies.

HR Specialist Job Outlook

The human resource specialist field is expected to grow about 5% through 2024. This is in line with average job growth in the United States.

HR Specialist Skills & Abilities

HR Specialist Skill Set:Required Abilities:Tools Used by HR Specialists:Typical Work Activities:
• Active listening
• Speaking
• Reading comprehension
• Critical thinking
• Writing
• Oral comprehension
• Oral expression
• Written comprehension
• Deductive reasoning
• Speech recognition
• Inkjet printers
• Notebook computers
• Photocopiers
• Human resources software
• Video conferencing cameras
• Communicating with others
• Getting information
• Working with computers
• Staffing organizational units

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