Human resources: Who it’s good for p1 - Military Transition - Military Times EDGE

As demand for qualified employees rises across U.S. markets over the next 10 years, expect more human resources professionals to step in to recruit and retain top talent.

Susan Smith knows all about trends in human resources as head of her recruiting firm, Detroit-based Smith Professional Search, which specializes in placing people in human resources jobs.

“When I first started in recruiting, the HR field that I now specialize in wasn’t much more than a payroll-and-benefits function,” Smith said. It since has emerged as its own professional field.

Here’s what Smith, a certified senior professional in human resources, had to say about choosing HR as a career.

Q. Why are human resources departments important in today’s workplace?

A. Successful businesses understand that their employees are their greatest assets. Human resources professionals are the connection between good employees and successful businesses. HR’s involvement includes finding and hiring the right people, training them, paying them a competitive wage, offering attractive benefits and creating incentives to retain good employees.

Q. How do you know whether human resources is right for you?

A. Aspects of HR can be attractive to a variety of personalities. If you enjoy selling, you might make a good recruiter. If you like counseling or advising, try an employee relations position. A personality assessment or interest inventory test can help you determine your strengths. There are many excellent education programs offering degrees in HR, with certifications available through the Society for Human Resource Management.

Q. What personal qualities are important in human resources?

A. HR requires communication skills and a sense of fairness. HR professionals must tackle issues from diverse perspectives and be both employee advocates and management representatives.

Q. What’s the most rewarding aspect of working in human resources?

A. Most HR people say it’s the variety of work they perform. HR is charged with the “people” part of an organization’s mission and vision, and HR professionals never know what people issues they may have to tackle. Changing culture, improving productivity and managing employee issues during up times, down times, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures are all aspects of HR.

Q. What factors deter people from working in human resources?

A. This isn’t a profession for someone who enjoys being an individual contributor or working on highly analytical projects. There are many difficult situations to deal with, such as delivering reviews for poor performance and terminating employees.

Q. What trend in human resources hiring should transitioning service members know about?

A. There are entry-level HR careers almost anywhere people are employed. A growing trend in human resources is outsourcing — businesses that provide human resources services to other businesses. Since these firms are growing, so are the job opportunities.

(Originally published Jan. 7, 2008)