You want to work in HR, but do you know why?

When I posted a new position this week called "Human Resources Administrative Assistant" I received an enormous amount of resumes applying to that single job. Why do so many people want to work in Human Resources? A large amount of recent grads that I know say that's what they want and they are pretty stubborn about it. They are holding out all summer and/or all year until they find that glorified "HR" position. I have the pleasure of working at a recruiting firm and seeing what employers offer to pay for a variety of positions. It's not like HR pays more than any other entry-level position, so why is it so popular? 
Maybe the better question is what do they actually do? Or even better: What do fresh grads think they do? I’d like to make this a learning experience so that when you say you only want to work in HR, you know exactly what that means. These are objectives and responsibilities for an HR position we are currently hiring for.

 

Primary Objectives:

• Safety of the workforce.
• Development of a superior workforce.
• Development of the Human Resources department.
• Development of an employee-oriented company culture that emphasizes quality, continuous improvement, and high performance.
• Personal ongoing development.

Requirements for Human Resources Assistant

• Excellent computer skills, including Word and Excel in a Microsoft Windows environment.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• General knowledge of various employment laws and practices.
• Experience in administration of benefits and other HR programs.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Skills in database management and record keeping.
• Able to exhibit a high level of confidentiality.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Must be able to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner.
• Must be able to gather and analyze information skillfully.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate and schedule team events, travel, appointments, meetings, conference calls, video conferences and training sessions.
• Coordinate meeting set-up, including ordering food/beverages, making copies, preparing agendas and other materials as requested.
• Assist Generalists with staffing initiatives.
• Process and track background checks.
• Maintain HR out-of-office calendar and meeting room schedules.
• Receive, code and forward HR department invoices with requests for payment to Accounting.
• Complete, file, and track various surveys, and corporate compliance reports.
• Respond to employment verification requests in a timely manner.
• Reconcile business credit card accounts for department and complete and process expense reports as requested.
• Maintain independent contractor files and tracking log.
• Assist HRIS Representative with employee change requests, filing and auditing.
• Assist Benefits team with projects and scheduling.
• Coordinate couriers and FedEx shipments. Receive and organize mail from all other offices and outside sources for the team.
• Organize files, filing systems, and file storage.
• Assist with special projects (e.g. market pricing, staffing initiatives, budget, etc.).
• Assist Group Coordinator and Group Leaders with coordination and administration of semi-annual performance review process
• Answer a variety of questions from employees and Office Managers regarding policies, benefits, and less complex HR issues.
• Identify process improvements for systems and procedures.

 

I actually learned a lot from doing a little research on the HR field! This is a great example of why colleges should require internships in order to graduate. You can do all the studying and testing and at the end of 4 years still be clueless to what your desired profession actually does in day-to-day work. When you begin your search for a specific type of job be ready to explain why you want it and why you'd be good at it. Try to keep your expectations realistic, do your research and remember every profession has its starting point!