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Helping you find a career in the hr industry

HR stands for Human Resources. HR professionals look after the employees of an organisation. Their duties include:

Finding and hiring new candidates
Developing training and professional development plans for staff
Investigating employment issues in the workplace.

HR requires a delicate touch. You'll need to be compassionate and have the ability to cope with difficult situations, for example, make redundancies. You'll have to keep the commercial goals of the business in mind and balance these against employee needs.

HR can be rewarding, as you'll get to solve employee problems and create a calmer, happier workplace.

HR incorporates many roles, including:

Recruitment
Learning and development
Workplace health and safety (WHS)

You'll be the human face of the company for your employees, so a level of kindness and professionalism is needed.

HR sets the standard for employee behaviour, so the HR department should act as a role model for the rest of the company.

N Written by Navdeep

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FAQs

FAQs

Which skills will I need to work in HR?

Skills in communication and team building are essential. You'll need to have the ability to listen to others before effectively resolving issues. Creative problem solving is also essential..

It helps to be highly organised. As you move up through the industry, you'll be given more responsibility, so you'll be able to develop these skills further as you work.

Your personality is key. You need to be friendly, patient and approachable.

How can I get HR internships, work experience or placements?

Any work experience in a similar kind of business to the company you're applying to will go a long way. Demonstrate the kinds of skills you've picked up there and how they can be applied to a role in HR.

You may need a degree, and graduate programs can give you some work experience that will help you get your foot in the door of the industry.

Further training will often be required, in areas like health and safety or harassment guidelines. These change often, so you'll need to stay up to date on the latest developments.

You can take professional qualifications. They are run by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Often, companies will support you in taking these courses.

Many larger businesses offer a range of HR related work placement schemes aimed at students. These can be in the form of:

A year-long, paid placement during your degree (a ‘sandwich year' or industrial placement)
Summer internships (usually 2-3 months)
Work shadowing (2-3 weeks)

Most placements. internships and work experience programmes will be advertised on employers' websites, so identify a range of businesses which interest you and look for opportunities on their websites. Alternatively, contact them to ask if they have any available opportunities.