What you need to know about a career in Human Resources

Whether you want to get started or decide to change to a career in Human Resources, there are a few things you must always know and understand before taking this leap. Firstly, what exactly is the role of HR in a company?

HR has a profound impact on a company by shaping its culture and distinguishing it from competitors. The HR team (sometimes called the people team) works closely with a company’s leadership to attract, develop, manage, and retain top talent. In other words, being a human resources professional is not an administrative role, and its impact on an organization is major. If you believe an organization’s employees are the foundation of its success — and you want everything to do with how it finds those people and keeps them motivated — a career in Human Resources might be a great path for you.

Now ask yourself, are you a person fit for a role like that? Being an HR team member requires certain personality traits that you may have to consider:

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Trustworthy, respectful and tactful

Especially with HR positions, if you’re able to build trust and respect with everyone (leadership, management and employees), you’ll be viewed as a helpful partner and truly able to make a difference in the organization and lives of others.

Another important trait must definitely be your ability to understand and be perceptive of people’s feelings. Sometimes HR makes decisions that an employee won’t like — or leaders do and HR has to relay it back to employees. It takes sensitivity and diplomacy to convey business decisions that impact people personally.

Helpful & approachable

If you’re known as someone who’s easy to talk to, who listens without judging, who won’t go blabbing about what you heard, and who can help people figure out next steps, you’ve already got some of the most crucial characteristics of an HR professional.

Employees at all levels — from the interns all the way up to the CEO — should feel comfortable approaching and talking with you. They may even seek you out regularly for guidance and advice because you tend to see potential for navigating solutions rather than picking sides.

Understanding and empathetic

Folks who have a career in Human Resources are often intrigued by human and organizational psychology, sociology, and management principles. Compliance and policies aside, HR professionals must focus on the human aspect of HR, the part that requires them to read souls, balance a cast of personalities, speak different emotional and professional languages, and strategically place people where they can be the most effective.

Strategic and fair

HR is actually a highly strategic function. With an HR career, you’re constantly weighing competing interests and priorities, so you need to be able to think through the effects of a decision and come up with possible options. The best HR pros understand all the factors that go into making business decisions and can come up with plans that take into account all of these components — especially the people. They have the foresight to propose and put into place strategies and goals to ensure the business continues on a successful trajectory.

Strategic HR professionals are trusted advisers who can influence and drive change. You have to be able to communicate with confidence and adhere to confidentiality every day. Ensuring respect for the employee is at the heart of your work, and your effectiveness is built on trust and the relationships you’ve built. It’s your job to be obsessed with integrity and strive for fairness. HR has to handle difficult situations such as reports of discrimination, harassment, and disciplinary issues while remaining unbiased.

Now take a look back into your own life and see: Are you the person your friends come to when they need help navigating complicated interpersonal tangles? Are you the one who always manages to come up with an itinerary for a trip with family or friends that fits all the important stops and makes everyone happy? Were you in charge of coming up with a plan of action in student groups you were part of or at that nonprofit you volunteered at? Alongside all the traits mentioned above, if the answer is yes, a career in Human Resources is where your heart should be.

The JobHopin team