How to Become a Human Resources Manager

If you love working directly with people and negotiating difficult situations, you may be interested in a career as a human resources manager. Human resources managers need to deal with all aspects of employee management, from hiring to firing.

What Is a Human Resources Manager?

A human resources manager is responsible for the majority of the employee interaction throughout the company. This often includes employee evaluations, hiring and firing. While certain department heads may be responsible for the final decisions regarding issues of staffing, the human resources manager will usually be the one to first interview candidates and create job postings and fill the departments.

How to Become a Human Resources Manager

Human resources managers usually have a Bachelor’s Degree or a Master’s Degree.

Human resources managers are usually very personable individuals who are talented at reading people. They need to be able to determine the core values of the company and the job position and identify whether or not a certain individual will be capable of meeting those needs. Individuals need to be asked the correct questions regarding their prior employment and any potential issues they could possibly have in the future with the company. Human resources managers are also responsible for tracking employee benefits and identifying any major competitive aspects of the company.

What Does a Human Resources Manager Do?

A human resources manager is talented in dealing with individuals. Throughout their day they may manage job postings and discuss issues with employees. They may need to deal with employee scheduling such as vacation time and helping with retirement accounts and health benefits. Overall, the human resources manager deals with everything that is necessary to keep the employees satisfied and productive.

$99,180
Bachelor's Degree
1 to 5 years
None
71,800
13%
9,300
Find Related CareersSOURCE: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Human resources managers also need to be very conscientious in regards to employment laws. Society today is increasingly litigious, which makes it very important for a resources manager to be aware of all pertinent laws and to ensure that all of the staff members are following them. Without adequate following of human resources laws, the company could find themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

How Do You Become a Human Resources Manager?

Human resources managers usually have a Bachelor’s Degree or a Master’s Degree. While there are some exceptions, this is to protect the company. Managers will also need to undergo fairly extensive training and seminars in regards to their responsibilities as a manager. Those that enter the field of management may enter into it through other avenues such as being an office manager or other type of management position.

There are entry-level human resources positions for those with the adequate education and drive. There is significant on the job training for these positions and many may begin by managing the day-to-day personnel issues of the office. Large companies often have a staff of a few to a dozen human resources managers, to deal with any potential issues as well as employee benefits. As noted by O*Net Online, there are very few in this field that have less than a Bachelor’s Degree.

How Do You Advance as a Human Resources Manager?

In larger companies, human resources managers may aspire to eventually become the head human resources manager or the manager of the entire division. Human resources managers may also enter into other areas of management if they are interested in business or would like to deal with more difficult issues of personnel. Further, a human resources manager who is extremely talented may be able to find a position at a larger company or more lucrative company.

Human resources managers can also work in related fields such as talent scouting and casting, though these fields often require some form of additional certification in addition to the ordinary training and education of a human resources staff member. The field of human resources is intended to grow by 13 percent in the next ten years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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