Human Resources Manager Job Description – Salary, Education and Career Guide for Becoming a Human Resources Manager

Job Description – What is a Human Resources Manager

Human resources managers are responsible for supporting and assisting company personnel. They are often responsible for recommending new employees and enforcing company policy. Human resource managers have diverse job responsibilities including:
  • benefits
  • compensation
  • compliance with laws and regulations regarding employees and the workplace
  • exit interviews
  • hiring
  • position assignment
  • resource allocation
  • safety and health issues
  • training.
 
Human resource managers are responsible for many projects and must be good at multi-tasking. Excellent interpersonal skills are also necessary for this job, since human resources managers interact with many different types of people. They must make matches between more senior and junior personnel, so understanding personalities is important. Much of their time is spent on the phone speaking with service-related organizations, including insurance and health care providers.
 
Larger companies may have several human resource managers that are each specialized in a certain field. Compensation analysts are concerned with salaries. Hiring specialists are experts in reviewing resumes and interviewing.
 
Being a manager of human resources can be a stressful and underappreciated position. Since they are in charge of enforcing rules and regulations, there may be times when they feel disliked or feared. Additional challenging tasks that human resource managers must handle include:
  • firing individuals
  • refereeing disputes
  • reprimanding employees.
 

Salary Guide

Salaries of human resource managers vary. An entry-level human resources manager makes an average of $43,000. The average salary for someone working one to four years is about $46,000. The average salary for people working five to nine years is $56,000. The average salary for those who have worked 10 to 19 years is $63,000.

Education and Training

Education requirements to obtain a position in human resources vary. Most companies require an undergraduate degree. Certain courses are recommended, such as:
  • accounting
  • behavioral sciences
  • business and labor law
  • English
  • economics
  • general business
  • statistics.
 
Earning a master’s degree is often beneficial if you wish to advance in the field. If you are not able to go back to school full-time for an advanced degree, try taking night courses and check to see if your employer will reimburse the costs. Coursework in the following areas may be helpful to individuals in the human resources field:
  • business administration
  • human resource management
  • industrial relations
  • organizational behavior
  • organizational development.
 
When a person gets hired as a human resources manager, the company they start working for usually has its own training to prepare them for the position. Managers usually have to practice interviewing several types of individuals to ensure their capability of relating to diverse populations.

Prior Work Experience

Any type of management experience, no matter how small, is helpful. Public speaking experience is also useful, since group presentations may be required. Interpersonal skills are a must. Strong writing skills are also an important asset for a human resources manager.

Career Advancement

Those who leave the human resource manager position often move on to other fields including:
  • budgeting
  • career counseling
  • guidance counseling
  • industrial psychology
  • inventory control
  • labor relations
  • quality control management.
 

Related Associations and Groups

Human resource affiliations include:
  • Australian Human Resources Institute
  • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
  • International Personnel Management Association of Canada
  • International Public Management Association for HR
  • Society for Human Resource Management.
 
Share |