How To Obtain a Job in Human Resources

Human resources (HR) may seem like an easy job and easy field to enter but that is not true. Passion, grit, and a commitment to impartiality are key to surviving and making a difference for both the employer and employee. Want to join the field? Forget what you heard and be ready to learn. 

By Ciarra Maraj 

Ever wondered what working in human resources (HR) is like? A lot goes into maintaining an HR role, so LinkedIn News caught up with two professionals: Arnicia V. Arrington and Shanai Major to tell it all. Arrington is a former chief people officer, and Major is a recruiter with experience as an HR generalist. 

Human resources is a complex field with many different parts. A person can specialize in one component or be an HR generalist.

“HR is performance management,” Arrington said. “HR is in employee relations, compensation, payroll benefits, strategy, implementing systems implementing processes and procedures.” 

What You Should Know About Working In Human Resources 

One of the misconceptions about working in HR is it is easy. Having people skills is the bare minimum.

“People think, ‘Oh just go to school, get the degree or study this, study that and then you can get into the field, and do the work in 1, 2, 3, you'll be fine,’” Major said. “It's not that easy. You have to have a strong backbone. You have to be empathetic.

“You have to not just hear what people are saying, but truly listen and figure out solutions.”

Human resources has a negative connotation because people believe they will be unsupported. In exploitative and toxic companies that may be true, however, good HR work includes an acceptable balance between employee needs and company interests. 

“Your job is to make sure that you are looking out for the best interest of both parties,” Major said. “And sometimes it's not what the business wants, and sometimes it's not what the employees want.”

“Excuse my expression, but I'm not your typical HR kiss ass person,” Arrington said. “I fight for the employees, knowing that I work for an organization too. So I think you have that fine line.”

Another misconception is that human resources is there to, at most, hire and fire, Arrington said. 

“That's BS,” Arrington said. 

Human resources is there to listen and guide people through their careers. 

“I felt like people needed someone to come to; to tell them how to navigate their career,” Arrington said. “That was the reason why I went into HR.” 

Connecting with people and building relationships and trust makes the job worth it. 

“My favorite part is being able to connect with individuals,” Major said. “So being able to understand their stories and advocate for them with that story…relate to them and really bring all of that to the hiring manager to help informed decision-making is really rewarding.”

“People would come in and sit on my couch for hours and tell me their deepest, darkest secrets,” Arrington said. “And I never would share it with anyone else.” 

Hard decisions come with working in human resources. Both experts agreed that firing people is the most challenging part of the work. 

“Sometimes you are not able to keep those positions,” Arrington said. “And so having to do layoffs for people that you really enjoy working with and those colleagues became your friends...

“I think that's probably the toughest part of the job.”

Breaking Into the Human Resources Field

Human resources is not a last resort or to be done halfway. Lazy recruiters risk hiring the wrong people, which can cost the business later, and clarifies the value of a skilled HR department.

A good attitude is imperative, but so is remaining impartial, Arrington said.

“You have to be able to navigate the executives, from the professionals to the managers to the coordinators and so on,” Arrington said. “You have to treat everyone the same and a lot of people don't know how to do that. They think the executives, you need to respect them more than you respect your average employee.

“And that’s not true. So I don't think HR is the role for everybody.”

Building relationships is part of the job, but not the only requirement: Specialists should be aware of the constant policy and law changes. Problem-solving and conceptualizing are also required.

“If you are capable of providing solutions if you're capable of breaking down complex information,” Major said, “if you're capable of research, if you're capable of sharing important insights to prevent lawsuits to help your staff, then this is why you should get into the field.”

Every field has entry-level roles that may not be everyone’s desire but are necessary to learn. Positions to look for in human resources include recruiting, a generalist’s assistant, coordinator and more. Synonyms for HR are people experience, people operations, and other titles with “people” in them. Knowing all the title variations of a field helps the job search. 

Take any role within human resources to start. Maybe it is not your preferred area, but the experience can help you arrive there later.

“I hate to say that you have to start from the bottom because I don't think you do,” Arrington said. “But you have to start in a place where you are able to get the understanding of all of HR.”

Transferable skills are important because if a person is new to the field, work from previous jobs may apply. 

“I would say you just have to kinda see where you already have some experience,” Arrington said. “Because you don't have to have done HR before to get into HR, but you just have to see what your experience is to be able to come over and navigate it.”

The tedious duties of HR are inescapable. However, the less glamorous work made the field what it is, Major said. 

“You may have to do a lot of heavy lifting with paperwork and those aren't always the best things, but that's kind of how HR became what it is now,” Major said. “It was the administrative piece that was so important, that needed to get done and then it branched to other pieces. 

“So you might have to, you know, take some administrative roles first to really get that experience. And then eventually if you're interested in all areas, then you can become a generalist and dibble and dabble in a little piece of everything.” 

Take the jobs that will lead to the desired area and find a mentor. Do the research and stay motivated to land there. 

“I would say pursue it, like just do it,” Arrington said. “Don't really think about it. And I think that's what most people do: they think about it and they talk themselves out of it. Talk to someone who already has pursued HR or that's currently in HR.” 

“I would encourage people to connect with people that are in those seats,” Major said. “Ask for a coffee chat on LinkedIn and then figure out what they've done throughout their career to get to where they are now. If where they are now is your end goal, use that to your advantage. Ask them questions on that.”

Maximize all available resources and consider obtaining certifications. 

“The society of human resource management (SHRM) has been very helpful,” Major said. “So I would encourage people to definitely try to get a membership and read as much as you can learn as much as you can.” 

Human resources is fun, Major said. 

“Something that I enjoy and I love doing is working on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” Major said. “It's amazing. I think again, hearing people's stories, being able to advocate for underrepresented talent and making sure people feel included once they are in those seats at the company is key. 

“Like that is just an amazing thing that someone can do. And it's so rewarding and it energizes me and it makes me want to continue the work.”

Take advantage of all there is to offer in human resources. 

“I use HR to open doors for other things for me and that has put me in a place where I'm able to network and connect with so many other people,” Arrington said. 

Human resources require passion, diligence, and desire to help make lives better. A candidate who knows what they want to learn and take from the field will be most satisfied.

Top Takeaways 

Obtaining A Job In Human Resources 

• Human resources is not as easy as it looks 
• They do more than just hire and fire people
• Passionate people who want to help are in HR 
• Find a mentor and ask questions
• Take that basic role to break into the field