What does it take to get a job in human resources? What are the HR job requirements?
Surprisingly, there are many paths to landing a career in HR. Unlike other professions where a college degree in the practice area is almost obligatory, HR job requirements vary widely the Society for Human Resource Management tells us.
“There’s not a clear path because HR’s so broad,” Catherine Preim, an HR manager, says in a SHRM article about landing an entry-level HR job.
Though HR job requirements depend greatly on how a company views the human resources function, the one nearly unanimous requirement is a college degree, but not necessarily in human resources. A degree in a related field such as business, industrial-occupational psychology or finance may open more doors, especially when accompanied by classes or a minor in HR.
What You Need to Land an HR Job
Besides a degree, HR job requirements typically include work experience. An internship or two is usually enough for an entry-level HR job. For higher-level positions, on-the-job experience as an HR generalist or assistant is required. The exception is for HR specialist roles as in compensation, benefits or talent acquisition. Even then, “a talent specialist with a generalist rotation is far more valuable,” says Marc Effron, founder and president of The Talent Strategy Group, an HR consultancy.
HR job requirements for managers and certainly for directors give the edge to those HR professionals with an advanced degree. There’s little evidence that a PhD is helpful. A master’s degree is. And it’s even more helpful in landing an HR leadership role if that master’s is in a business discipline.
“Increasingly the trait that determines who gets promoted is a demonstrated, intimate knowledge of the business,” write HR consultants Michelle Vitus and Patty Woolcock.
Notes HR consultant Sarah Daren, “You don’t need to know everything about running a business, but HR has its hand in every department in an organization. Having a working knowledge of how a business is run can really help you to be more effective in human resources.”
Top HR Job Requirements
The HR job requirements for a manager position will also want 3-5 years of HR experience. Indeed.com, the world’s largest recruitment marketplace, says some companies prefer a candidate with management experience. That could come from being a team lead or lower-level supervisor.
Among the other HR job requirements for managers, according to Indeed, are the ability to communicate and listen well, leadership and a strong grasp of basic employment law. An advanced degree is not always necessary for this first-level management position.
The next step is HR director. At a modest sized company, the HR director is the top people manager, usually reporting to a vice president, often in finance. For a director, as for an HR VP or a CHRO, an advanced degree is one of the key HR job requirements. Some smaller companies will promote an experienced and effective manager with only a four-year degree into the director role. But to move to a larger organization, an advanced degree should be considered a necessity.
For the top HR jobs, not only is broad and extensive experience in human resources necessary so is astute business acumen and the ability to think strategically about the role of talent to improve business outcomes.
“HR leaders coming up through the ranks these days are more commercially minded, not just tuned into talent management but business strategy as well,” says executive search leader Mark Oppenheimer.
Speaking with HRCI, the Human Resources Certification Institute, Denise Caleb, executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Talent Plus said, “It is critical that HR professionals advance their business acumen, as well as teach and demonstrate to the business how to best care for their employees, who will in turn better service their customers, clients and/or patients.”
Adds Effron, who places senior HR leaders, in today’s HR job requirements, “There’s strong demand for the type of strategic, influential, practical talent leader that creates a true difference in the business.”
Written by John Zappe
