Human Resources Specialist Career Information

Learn how to start a human resources specialist career.

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What Do You Do in a Human Resources Specialist Career?

A human resources specialist in training and development leads a new employee orientation

A human resources specialist is responsible for a specific type of human resources work in an organization.

HR specialists are far more common in large companies than in small ones, and also frequently work in HR consulting firms, such as Mercer, Buck, and Aon.

A human resources specialist's work depends upon the specialty, though there is often some amount of overlap.

Human resources managers also frequently transfer between specialist and generalists roles depending on their interests, exposure and place of work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists five human resources specialties:

• Employment and recruiting–Work with hiring manager to develop ideal candidate criteria, collaborate with private headhunters and peruse job boards to find employees, attract qualified employees and match them to jobs, coordinate relocation.
• Labor and employee relations–Serve as liaisons between employees and management, negotiate with unions over contracts and grievances, resolve disputes, direct employee health and safety programs.
• Training and Development–Organize and conduct new employee orientation, provide ongoing education for staff, determine what training is necessary, design materials and workshops for presentations.
• Job Analysis–Identify and document job duties and requirements and their relative importance, use data to develop training materials and methods, determine compensation, develop job titles and descriptions and application materials.
• Benefits and Compensation–Prepare benefits and salary packages, ensure benefits fit the needs of employees, design performance reviews, establish bonus and stock options plans, develop pay structure, serve as liaisons between company, employees, and insurance carriers.

A bachelor's degree in human resources includes courses that will prepare you for a general career in human resources, but as the demand for HR resources specialists has grown, many universities have begun to offer more focused programs of study. Subsequently, higher level HR specialist positions now generally require post-graduate education within the specialty. To begin working towards a human resources specialist career, find a human resources bachelor's, master's or MBA degree.

Human Resources Specialist Career Path

* Salary depends strongly on the type of organization as well as the HR specialty. The highest paying HR specialty, according to Payscale.com, is training and development, and the lowest paying is employment and recruiting.

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Walden University

Walden University has unique and flexible online delivery models, world-class faculty and customizable programs which are all geared to help adult learners achieve their career goals.

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University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix makes quality higher education highly accessible for working students through convenient campus locations and flexible online classes. Get a real-world education with real value.

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City University of Seattle

A respected member of the Washington state educational community since 1973, CityU is one of the largest private, not-for-profit institutions of higher learning in the Northwest with more than 45,000 graduates and 11,000 students worldwide.