Human Resources Officer Jobs

Human resources officer job trends

What entry qualifications and training do you need for this job?

School, college and training

You may be expected to have five GCSEs grades 9-4/A*-C or their equivalent, with passing grades in maths, English and science.

Qualifications in relevant topics like human resources management, business, administration and finance are available as HND/HNCs, foundations degrees, degrees and postgraduate qualifications.

You can also get a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).

Apprenticeships

You can get into this job through completing a human resources apprenticeship. This gives you the opportunity to earn a salary working in human resources (HR) while getting structured learning that leads to an industry-recognised qualification, such as a Level 3 diploma in human resource practice.

You may typically be required to have passing maths and English GCSEs or the equivalent in grades 9-4/A*-C to apply.

In some cases you may be expect to have three A-levels or the equivalent to apply.

Career progression and further qualifications

You could become a student member or full member of the CIPD to show your professional status – this will help you continue your professional development.

You could move into senior management through promotion. With enough experience you could set up your own HR consultancy offering recruitment services or policy planning advice.

What experience do you need for human resources jobs?

Work experience

It can help your application if you have previously done work experience or volunteering in an office-based environment. If you have experience of leading a team or using diplomacy and tact in a work environment, this could be very useful
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Any work experience where you have shown your communication and listening skills – whether it’s a summer job in a call centre or volunteering with vulnerable people – could help your CV stand out.

Office admin work experience where you have carried out activities like answering phone queries, managing the office diary to keep track of meetings and events, and processing expenses like petty cash, could be very useful too.

Examples of relevant work experience include:

• Work shadowing (even if it’s just for a day)
• Work placements in a company
• Work placements on a degree course

What skills do you need for human resources jobs?

Useful skills to highlight to your employer when applying for jobs like this one include:

• Great communication skills – you may hear sensitive information like employee earning levels and who is getting hired or fired, so you need a lot of diplomacy and tact in this job. You will also spend a lot of your time talking to people in all positions in the company.
• Great negotiation skills – you may be involved in situations regarding dissatisfied employees or staff seeking a pay rise, so you need to provide support in achieving a good balance for business needs and employee needs.
• Teamworking skills skills – your job will see you communicating with everyone from the CEO to young people doing work experience for the first time, so you need to work well in a team.
• Working knowledge of employment law and company policy – this knowledge is built up with time and training on the job.
• Good self-management skills – you need to be able to plan your days in advance and make good use of your working hours.

Vocational qualifications and work experience will help you build these skills over time.

What does a human resources officer do?

Human resources (HR) is divided into different areas. In a small business, you might do a little bit of everything. In a large national company you may find yourself working in a particular area.

HR areas of focus include:

• Recruitment (hiring the right people, which can involve creating job descriptions and putting up adverts)
• Training and development (supporting the development of employees, which can involve sourcing relevant training courses)
• Employee welfare (morale and mental health support, which can involve providing social/sports activities for staff as well as counselling activities)
• Salary reviews (making sure that salaries match current legal requirements and industry standards)
• Employment law (making sure working conditions are in line with legal requirements, which can mean checking everything from equal opportunities and maternity/paternity rights to redundancies).

Example job responsibilities:

• Writing up documentation like employee handbooks, or employment contracts
• Helping to recruit new people, e.g. putting out adverts with job descriptions and booking job interviews
• Keeping employee records
• Keeping up with the latest HR trends and developing HR office policy and procedures
• Arranging employee services which could range from counselling to team-building activity days
• Advising on matters like employment law and pay negotiations
• Helping people to get training and benefits.

Your first steps into human resources officer jobs

Human resources officer jobs are advertised under different job titles. When you’re looking on job boards, look for the following types of job:

• Human resources apprentice
• HR team member apprentice
• Apprentice human resource administrator
• Admin HR apprentice
• HR officer
• Human resources officer
• HR assistant
• HR administrator

Useful organisations and links for business and administrative careers

• Find an Apprenticeship
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
• Council for Administration (CfA)
• National Graduate Development Programme