Example Career: Human Resources Specialists

Career Description

Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. May perform other activities in multiple human resources areas.

What Job Titles Human Resources Specialists Might Have

• HR Coordinator (Human Resources Coordinator)
• HR Generalist (Human Resources Generalist)
• Human Resources Specialist (HR Specialist)
• Recruiter

What Human Resources Specialists Do

• Interpret and explain human resources policies, procedures, laws, standards, or regulations.
• Hire employees and process hiring-related paperwork.
• Maintain current knowledge of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action guidelines and laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Prepare or maintain employment records related to events, such as hiring, termination, leaves, transfers, or promotions, using human resources management system software.
• Address employee relations issues, such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other employee concerns.
• Review employment applications and job orders to match applicants with job requirements.
• Inform job applicants of details such as duties and responsibilities, compensation, benefits, schedules, working conditions, or promotion opportunities.
• Select qualified job applicants or refer them to managers, making hiring recommendations when appropriate.
• Schedule or conduct new employee orientations.
• Maintain and update human resources documents, such as organizational charts, employee handbooks or directories, or performance evaluation forms.
• Confer with management to develop or implement personnel policies or procedures.
• Contact job applicants to inform them of the status of their applications.
• Conduct exit interviews and ensure that necessary employment termination paperwork is completed.
• Interview job applicants to obtain information on work history, training, education, or job skills.
• Perform searches for qualified job candidates, using sources such as computer databases, networking, Internet recruiting resources, media advertisements, job fairs, recruiting firms, or employee referrals.
• Provide management with information or training related to interviewing, performance appraisals, counseling techniques, or documentation of performance issues.
• Analyze employment-related data and prepare required reports.
• Advise management on organizing, preparing, or implementing recruiting or retention programs.
• Develop or implement recruiting strategies to meet current or anticipated staffing needs.
• Administer employee benefit plans.
• Schedule or administer skill, intelligence, psychological, or drug tests for current or prospective employees.
• Conduct reference or background checks on job applicants.
• Review and evaluate applicant qualifications or eligibility for specified licensing, according to established guidelines and designated licensing codes.
• Evaluate recruitment or selection criteria to ensure conformance to professional, statistical, or testing standards, recommending revisions, as needed.
• Coordinate with outside staffing agencies to secure temporary employees, based on departmental needs.
• Evaluate selection or testing techniques by conducting research or follow-up activities and conferring with management or supervisory personnel.

What Human Resources Specialists Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

What Human Resources Specialists Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

What Human Resources Specialists Need to Learn

• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.