So you decided to pursue an HR career path and are curious about what your career may look like in a few years?
Or, maybe, you're still deciding if an HR career path is the right track for you.
Either way, we've got you covered! In this article, we'll be sharing:
- HR Careers To Pursue
- The HR Career Path: Roles, Skills, & Progression
- HR Salaries (Entry-Level, Mid-Level, & Senior Level)
- Level-Up Your Game: How To Step Into A New HR Role
HR Careers To Pursue
There are several different career opportunities you can explore in the human resources field. Different organizations might require expertise in specific HR areas.
For example:
- An HR role at a tech startup might focus heavily on talent acquisition, employee engagement, and culture building to attract and retain top talent.
- An HR role at a large corporation could emphasize compensation and benefits, labor relations, and compliance to manage the workforce effectively and ensure legal compliance.
- An HR role at a non-profit organization could offer opportunities in volunteer management, training programs, and community outreach to support mission-driven goals.
Not all companies will demand every specialty, but every specialty has a place within many different organizations!
So, if you're thinking about which HR career you should pursue, it might be a good idea to first consider what kind of organization you would like to work for.
Maybe you'd like to work for a fast-paced startup.
Maybe you're aiming for a well-established corporate environment.
Or, maybe, you'd like to contribute to a non-profit.
You will find different HR opportunities with different scopes and setups. Having clarity about where you'd like to be within a certain time frame is key to deciding which path is right for you.
Most skills you need for an HR career are transferable across different roles, industries, and companies. The purpose of the exercise is so you can look at the opportunities on your horizon and decide where you'd like to be in the short term and eventually down the road!
💡 Pro Tip:
If you're struggling to find out where you'd like to be, check out the article “What Should I Do With My Life? A Step-By-Step Guide” and read it from top to bottom. If “HR” still feels like the right path, head back here and continue reading!
Once you've set your mind on your career path, it's time to understand what roles might be a good fit for you.
The HR Career Path: Roles, Skills, & Progression
We've detailed the most common HR roles for each level and their job descriptions, ensuring each role clearly progresses into the next. Take a look below!
Entry-Level HR Roles
Most people begin their HR careers in generalist or specialist roles, such as:
HR Assistant
This role offers broad exposure to different HR activities and doesn't usually require extensive experience.
📝 HR Assistant Job Description: Responsible for supporting HR operations, handling employee records, assisting with recruitment processes, and providing administrative support to HR managers.
✅ Skills Required: Proficiency in HRIS systems, basic knowledge of labor laws, and strong organizational skills are key skills companies look for in HR Assistants.
⬆️ Possible progression: HR Assistants can progress into an HR generalist role.
Recruiting Coordinator
This role requires a good understanding of the recruitment process and candidate management.
📝 Recruiting Coordinator Job Description: Responsible for scheduling interviews, communicating with candidates, and supporting recruiters in talent acquisition efforts.
✅ Requirements: Proficiency in applicant tracking systems, excellent communication skills, and strong coordination abilities are the most required skills for this role.
⬆️ Possible progression: Recruiting Coordinators can progress into a Recruiter role.
Benefits Coordinator
This role generally requires knowledge of employee benefits programs and the ability to manage benefits-related tasks effectively.
📝 Benefits Coordinator Job Description: Responsible for administering employee benefits, answering benefits inquiries, and assisting with the design and implementation of benefits programs.
✅ Requirements: Knowledge of benefits administration, strong communication skills, and attention to detail are the most required skills for this role.
⬆️ Possible progression: Benefits Coordinators can progress into a Benefits Manager role.
Mid-Level HR Roles
As you gain experience, mid-level roles often involve more responsibility and the opportunity to lead projects or teams. Some common mid-level HR roles include:
HR Generalist
At this level, professionals manage a wide range of HR functions, having progressed from roles like HR Assistant.
📝 HR Generalist Job Description: Responsible for managing recruitment processes, employee relations, compliance with HR policies, and implementing HR strategies that support organizational goals.
✅ Skills Required: Comprehensive understanding of HR practices, excellent interpersonal skills, and experience with HR software.
⬆️ Possible progression: HR Generalists can advance to roles like HR Manager.
Recruiter
This role focuses on attracting and hiring top talent, often progressing from positions such as Recruiting Coordinator.
📝 Recruiter Job Description: Responsible for managing the recruitment process, from sourcing candidates to conducting interviews and negotiating offers.
✅ Skills Required: Strong communication skills, ability to assess candidates effectively, and proficiency in recruitment software.
⬆️ Possible progression: Recruiters can move into positions such as Talent Acquisition Manager.
Benefits Manager
This role, progressing from Benefits Coordinator, involves strategic management of employee benefits.
📝 Benefits Manager Job Description: Responsible for overseeing the administration of employee benefits, ensuring compliance with legal standards, and managing benefits staff.
✅ Skills Required: In-depth knowledge of benefits programs, strategic planning, and leadership skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Benefits Managers can advance to senior HR roles focusing on strategic management of human resources.
Senior-Level HR Roles
Senior-level roles involve greater strategic oversight and leadership, often requiring professionals to guide larger teams and make high-level decisions.
HR Manager
HR Managers oversee HR functions across the organization and ensure that HR strategies align with business objectives, having progressed from roles like HR Generalist.
📝 HR Manager Job Description: Responsible for leading the HR team, developing HR policies, managing employee relations issues, and ensuring compliance with labor laws.
✅ Skills Required: Leadership, knowledge of employment law, strategic planning, and strong interpersonal skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: HR Managers can move up to roles such as HR Director.
Talent Acquisition Manager
This role requires expertise in recruitment and leads talent acquisition strategies, progressing from Recruiter roles.
📝 Talent Acquisition Manager Job Description: Responsible for developing and implementing recruitment strategies, managing the recruitment team, and ensuring a smooth hiring process.
✅ Skills Required: Advanced recruitment skills, strategic thinking, leadership, and strong communication skills.
⬆️ Possible progression: Talent Acquisition Managers can advance to roles like Head of Talent Acquisition.
HR Salaries (Entry-Level, Mid-Level, & Senior Level)
Now that we’ve covered the most common HR career paths, you might be asking yourself what the pay range is for each role.
To answer this question, let’s head over to one of our favorite tools for salary research: Glassdoor.
Glassdoor is one of the world’s top job and recruiting websites, where users can anonymously provide information about their companies – including their current salary. Glassdoor provides an average salary range for various roles based on the information sent by its users.
HR Roles:
- HR Assistant (Entry-Level): $39K – $57K / year base pay
- HR Generalist (Mid-Level): $61K – $97K / year base pay
- HR Manager (Senior-Level): $62K – $109K / year base pay
Benefit Roles:
- Benefits Coordinator (Entry-Level): $49K – $69K / year base pay
- Benefits Manager (Mid-Level): $78K – $133K / year base pay
Recruitment Roles:
- Recruiting Coordinator (Entry-Level): $47K – $64K / year base pay
- Recruiter (Mid-Level): $49K – $88K / year base pay
- Talent Acquisition Manager (Senior-Level): $94K – $146K / year base pay
Level-Up Your Game: How To Step Into A New HR Role
Whether you're looking for an entry-level job in human resources or aiming to advance in your HR career, it's important to know that you don't necessarily need a graduate degree or specialization to move up the HR career ladder. Your unique experience and skills can go a long way, as long as you learn how to sell them!
Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you land your next HR role.
1. Run A Resume Scan To Find Out Skill Gaps In Your Target Role
Wondering if you are the right fit for that target role you've been eyeing?
We've got you covered.
Here's a simple, step-by-step guide to find out if you have the skills to land a job in HR:
- Copy the job description of the HR role that sparked your interest
- Head over to ResyMatch.io (or use our shortcut below)
- Grab a copy of your most updated resume
- Upload your resume on the left side
- Paste the job description on the right side
- Hit “Start Resume Scan”
Boom! ResyMatch will compare and score your resume against the job's description and identify missing skill gaps, such as:
ResyMatch will also make sure your resume is ATS compatible (ATS is a software that recruiters often use to track candidates through the hiring process). And of course, ResyMatch will provide suggestions and outline best practices you can use to edit and improve your resume!
Use our shortcut below to get started:
Scanning...
2. Update Your Resume With Compelling Resume Bullets
After you've compared your resume against your target job description, you will likely find yourself in one of two scenarios:
1. You have some missing skills that you'll need to master before taking on a new role — if that's the case, you can take action and start building those skills through online courses and a portfolio strategy.
OR…
2. You have already mastered most of the skills — if that's the case, all you need to do is update your resume with compelling resume bullets, leveraging the keywords found in your resume and job description scan.
To get started, you'll want your resume bullets to have just the right amount of hard and soft skills, action words, measurable results, and common words.
This means a compelling resume bullet for someone applying for an HR role might look something like this:
Enhanced employee engagement by 30% through innovative team-building activities, leading to a 20% decrease in annual turnover.
This bullet focuses on hard and soft skills specific to HR, while also showcasing measurable results!
To help you write the perfect resume bullet, we've created ResyBullet.io, a free resume bullet analyzer that helps you write your resume in a way that grabs attention and illustrates value. Simply copy and paste your resume bullet below to begin your analysis:
ResyBullet will analyze and score your resume bullet and give you actionable insights for improvement.
Here's how our resume bullet scored on ResyBullet:
If you're a visual learner, check out our video that walks you through the step-by-step of writing a crazy-effective resume bullet:
3. Build A Visually Appealing, ATS-Friendly Resume
Now that you've updated the content on your resume, it's time to transfer it over to an awesome layout that's also ATS-friendly.
We recommend using a resume template so you can save the time you'd normally spend designing your resume and instead allocate it to your job search.
You can use ResyBuild.io, a free AI resume builder, to easily build and customize your resume in no time. Just pick one of the templates below and get started:
Free Job-Winning Resume Templates, Build Yours In No Time.
Choose a resume template below to get started:
Choose from 8 proven templates and easily create, edit, and customize your resume. ResyBuild's AI assistant also helps you craft personalized, job-winning bullets in a single click. Simply add your experience, hit “Optimize,” and watch the magic happen.
4. Don't Apply Online — Do This Instead
The most common next step in the process is to start applying for HR roles.
While applying online can absolutely be the next step in your job search, the truth is, it will only get you so far. In fact, only 2% of resumes submitted for the average open role end up reaching the interview stage.
Sure, optimizing your resume will boost your chances of being a part of that 2%.
But some estimates, like this one from the Wall Street Journal, show that 80% of hires come from referrals.
This means your best shot at landing the role you've been eying is through networking.
And no, we're not talking about attending conferences, events, and meetups. We're talking about a fresh approach that really builds relationships and gets your resume at the top of the resume pile at companies like Microsoft, Google, Uber, and more.
You can read all about it in our flagship guide for effective job searching:
Read More: How To Get A Job Anywhere Without Applying Online
Final Notes
Whether you're just starting out or looking to advance in your HR career, getting clarity on the possibilities ahead of you can help you navigate your career with more ease.
Just don't forget: your career path isn't set in stone. Jobs and career goals will often evolve with life transitions. Always remember that your career should adapt to fit your life and not the other way around.
