When people think of HR they often picture the sad and unlikable character but it isn’t exactly like that. 🙂 For anyone studying HRM, there are many interesting areas to choose from when it comes to careers. The jobs below are the best jobs in human resources because of job satisfaction, career potential, variety, freedom, monetary compensation and more.
Human Resources Manager
The great thing is “Personal satisfaction”
HR managers coordinate and plan HR activities, then manage them once executed. This may involve guiding employees through the hiring process, benefits programs, training, labor disputes, and other administrative needs. HR managers have a direct influence and positive impact on the people in a company and this leads to great social benefit, human connection and the satisfaction of having a real impact on your fellow human beings.
HR Consultant
The great thing is “Make a lot of money, when and where you want it”
These days, companies are growing increasingly complicated, and same HR departments. Enter the human resources consultant, an offshoot of the management consultant who charges companies a high hourly rate to impart much-needed services. HR consultants may specialize in a variety of fields, including benefits, employee incentives and rewards programs, company culture after mergers and acquisitions, employee motivation, retirement plans, recruiting and even the outsourcing of any of the many functions of an HR department. This high-level individual assesses a company’s current situation and offers and helps deploy systemic recommendations that will get the company to its desired goal. The HR consultant, is the HR path where freedom meets money.
HR Executive: Chief HR Officer or VP of Human Resources
The absolute great thing is “Money”
If you want to make enough money, a vacation home and perhaps a boat then human resources executive track is the best job for you. The Chief HR Officer and, one tier below that, the Vice President of Human Resources each on average make more than $200,000 per year. These executive positions require an individual to plan an HR strategy for the company, including policies, systems and goals. Every aspect of a human resources department, beginning with recruiting and moving through contract signings, training and development, benefits, and more run through CHRO or VP HR. With 10-20 years’ worth of experience and a proven track record of human resources success, the HR executive can have a satisfying and, above all, well-paying career.
Non-profit Human Resources Expert
The great thing is “Helping people while helping the world”
A non-profit human resources expert has many of the same tasks as an expert working in a for-profit role. The operative difference is working for an organization that exists to make a positive impact on the world around it, whether through health, education, the arts, preserving cultures or any of the many things that non-profits do. A non-profit HR professional truly has the opportunity to impact people directly and, more indirectly, make a strong contribution to the betterment of the world at large.
International Human Resources Professional
The great thing is “Travel and experience a great variety of people and cultures”
An international HR professional may involve recruiting candidates into global positions, training and development standards across an international organization, implementing benefits plans as national laws allow, labor relations, employee programs and many more. This involves a great variety of cultures, languages and locations thrown into the mix. International HR is an ideal field for people who love to travel, speak multiple languages and are adept at engaging successfully with a wide variety of different people who adhere to different customs.
Training & Development Manager
Why this is a great career path: “If you love teaching, this is a the corporate path for you”
Training and development managers help employees improve their skill sets and careers. They do this by training employees in specially-held classes, workshops, conferences and other kinds of gatherings. T&D or L&D managers are also sometimes in charge of designing the most effective coursework for employees, given the content that their employer wants to emphasize, while keeping training sessions entertaining and informative. If you like standing up in front of people and helping them learn and improve their lives, this career path is a very fulfilling one.
Employee Education Consultant
What’s great here “Fun of teaching with the freedom of consulting”
In a CNNMoney survey, 60 percent of education and training consultants said their job was low-stress. Such consultants do similar tasks as T&D managers—that is, they hold workshops, classes and conferences aimed at increasing employees’ skill sets and knowledge—but without the full-time commitment. Companies hire them on a contract or retainer basis to help improve their employees’ skills. In addition, training and education consultants can set their own hours and choose their clients. Such freedom makes this job a fantastic choice for anyone who loves to teach/train and wants independence in their position.
HR Entrepreneur
Great thing is “Be your own boss”
Headhunting firm, employee placement company, HR consulting firm, or a professional employer organization (PEO), which takes on the role of an outsourced HR department for a company, launching a successful HR company can be a golden ticket in terms of career choices. HR professionals with an entrepreneurial bent can set up such a firm, find a stable of clients and, with hard work and tenacity, build their firm into a successful organization. If you like HR and are excellent with people, and have a killer work ethic and high risk tolerance, the entrepreneurial human resources path stands as a potentially lucrative. With more and more companies choosing to outsource their HR functions, this path remains a promising one for years to come.
Executive Recruiter
So what’s great here “Make lots of money while improving peoples’ careers”
If you’re good with people and building relationships, a position as an executive recruiter could be one of the most lucrative ways to make friends. Executive recruiters are tasked with finding and filling job openings for senior executives, the so-called C-level executives including CEOs, as well as people in vice president positions. Executive recruiters generally get paid on retainers or paid in full after they have filled a position, and because companies are so interested in finding good senior talent, these fees can be quite high. Because this field is so lucrative, it’s very competitive, so having a so-called Type A personality also helps.
Human Resources IT Specialist
Great thing is “The advancing role of technology in HR, makes much sought-after, highly paid”
The ever-expanding world of HR is adding new niche positions, and HR information technology (IT) specialist is one of them. Anyone with a bent for software or hardware and an interest in human resources can combine their skills to become an HR IT specialist, and enjoy the career rewards that come with it, including being sought after and more often than not paid well. HR IT experts could be software developers, systems administrators, IT architects, or have another level of technical expertise that can be applied to a company’s human resources systems, which may include calendars, databases, payroll systems and the like.
Employment of human resources managers is projected to grow 9% from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. What is your next move?
