What Can You Do with a Human Resources Degree?

What Jobs Can You Get with a Human Resources  Degree?

What makes a business successful? A good product or service, strategic planning, and some strong marketing are all components. But above all, a business succeeds because of the people behind it. As a Human Resources professional, you would help your organization build a strong team of able, dedicated and driven employees all focused on the success of your company. But if you think there’s only a single role in HR, think again.

Human Resources Generalist

The generalist does a bit of it all. You would help recruit employees and train them on company policies and procedures. You might also process payroll, administer benefits, and answer employee questions. You’d also assist with employee relations and help the HR manager resolve any complaints or disputes. And you’d be part of the team that ensures your company follows federal, state, and local regulations that pertain to HR.

Recruitment Specialist

As a Recruitment or Talent Acquisition specialist, you would be the one on the search for the perfect job candidates. Not only would you look for people; you’d also help write job descriptions and post available positions to job boards. You’d attend job fairs and college career fairs to find candidates that would be a good fit for your company. You’d screen candidates, conduct interviews, and move applications along to the rest of the team. Once the team agrees to hire, you’re still involved in negotiations about terms and salaries. You’d even help with the onboarding process, making sure you make your new hire feel like one of the team from the start.

Compensation and Benefits Specialist

To find those perfect-fit employees, you need to offer fair compensation and benefits. That’s where you’d come in if you went down this path. You’d match position against salary and benefits and make sure that employees get what they deserve—and understand it all. You’d help HR classify new positions according to the company pay structure, and you’d also assist with reassessments of the benefits package. When employees have questions about their pay or benefits, you would be the one with the answers.

Training and Development Specialist

If you like to teach others, you might be interested in a career in training and resources development. In this role, you’ll work with the HR team to develop training programs for the employees in your company. You might cover general topics about diversity, workplace behavior, or communication protocols. Or you might be the one to teach staff how to use specific technology, such as performance review and time off request software. If you work in a really big, publicly-traded company, you may be the one to explain the rules about what employees can and cannot divulge to others about what happens in the company.

How to Start Your Human Resources Career

As you learn the components to HR, you may discover that you want to be the one to manage it all. As an HR Manager or Director, you’d be tasked with supervising a department that handles all human resources for a company. But before you start your HR career, you’ll need to earn your degree. When you look for a degree program, find a school that is academically aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management. That means the curriculum will incorporates the SHRM Body of Competence and Knowledge, which will help you prepare for the SHRM Certified Professional Exam. When you pass the exam, you’ll earn the SHRM-CP credential, which certifies that you can perform the basic functions of an HR position, implement strategies and policies, and serve as a point of contact for employees with HR-related questions. It’s an important and respected credential in the field.