Human resources units are not only a vital operational component of an institution but also play a critical role. The HR team is privy to some of the most sensitive and confidential information within an institution. Anyone applying for entry level human resources jobs must understand that they will have to maintain a high level of integrity in order to protect the information that will be in their custody of that they come across in the course of their duties.
During the course of your duty as a HR professional you might come across the medical history of a certain member of staff or that of their family. The HR person also gets to see the compensation of virtually every person in the organization. Though everyone knows that salaries vary between positions and sometimes even among people in the same position, a leak of remuneration information can inevitably lead to staff discontent and lowered morale for persons who might considered themselves short changed.
Issuing notice of dismissal and retrenchment are also part and parcel of human resource positions even though entry level human resources jobs may not be actively involved in the firing of employees. Such responsibilities are tasked to HR staff that have a number of years of HR experience in order to be able to deal with the broad range of emotions that can result when such devastating news is broken. The best that persons in beginning level human resources jobs can do is to try and learn the techniques on how to break such news honestly but reassuringly. But just what does it take to get entry level human resources jobs?
The first thing is to position yourself education-wise by getting the credentials necessary for entry level human resources jobs. The ideal would be to go for and attain an undergraduate degree in human resources management. A number of universities do not have what you would consider a pure undergraduate degree in human resources but instead have it as a specialty within a broader degree program such as business management, administration or commerce. The human resource industry has a number of sub sectors and other types of degrees even though not in human resources would be acceptable when organizations are looking at the most suitable persons for HR positions.
For instance, the HR function for a large organisation may require that at least one person is tasked with doing in house staff counselling. In such cases, persons considered for such jobs would be at an advantage if they have a qualification in counselling or psychology. Most HR departments will have at least one person designated to handle compensation and benefits for staff. Such a person would need to have strong quantitative skills such as accounting and statistics in addition to having traditional HR skills due to the level of interaction with company staff that the job will require.
The next thing is to attend job fairs in your locale. These are good places to interact with persons in the industry that would otherwise be unreachable. Use such forums in two ways. First, try and gather as much information from industry insiders so as to understand what employers typically look for and what they do not like when it comes to hiring for entry level human resources jobs. The second reason is to pick key contacts. You can then later either email your resume or, if you have had a particularly successful ice breaker with them, call the person up for an informal lunch hour or evening meeting.
As a novice in the human resources job market, you might have to settle for an internship before you finally get into beginning level human resources jobs. But if you perform well, it will only be a matter of time before you can move into a more long term position.
