5 Things You Want to Know Before Entering a Career in HR - CareerAlley

5 Things You Want to Know Before Entering a Career in HR - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Human Resources Careers Human Resources is a career path more people are looking into. The field offers plenty of opportunities for different job types from IT specialists to managers. There are over 100 HR job titles out there ensuring you shouldnt overlook the sector when considering your future career path. Career analysts are predicting the number of available jobs and job titles to increase in the near future. HR is going through a revolution, driven by technological changes. Things like cloud HR software and artificial intelligence are creating plenty of exciting opportunities for HR specialists. The industry is growing globally, not just in certain countries, so your career could take a global turn. But before you start sending job applications, you should learn a few key lessons about the HR sector. You should know these five things before entering a career in HR. You need to be flexible Photo by David Hofmann on Unsplash HR is a career path that requires flexibility. The reason is the changing nature of the job and the industry itself. In many other fields, things can stagnate and certain ways of doing things are just superior. But in HR, the field is constantly changing and those who are at the top adopt new strategies. You must be willing to embrace this change and seek for it. You have to be able to adjust to the changing environment on the go. Its better if youre not just adapting either but also actively seeking new strategies. So if you find change difficult to deal with and youre looking for consistency, you might not find a home in HR. You must genuinely like people It might sound obvious but its important to be a people person in HR. You will have to like other people (all kinds of people!) and have a genuine passion to help them. If you cant be passionate about hiring and feel empathy in firing, you probably wont last long in the HR industry. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Its not to say you should become too emotionally attached. But you need a desire to find solutions to peoples problems, by focusing on the smallest of changes you can make. If you are able to be passionate about what you do, your life in HR will be much easier to manage. You must be tech savvy Being tech savvy is a key skill in the modern workplace. Almost all profession will require you to deal with technology in some way. But technological prowess is especially important for HR careers. The industry is leading the way when it comes to adopting things like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The biggest challenge in modern HR is how to best advocate for and implement the new technologies available to improve the recruiting and management process. Essential Personel Inc Its not just important in terms of preparing for the future. A big part of HR is dealing with digital information most job applications are done online, for starters! Workplaces use innovative cloud HR software throughout the recruitment and retention process. Without good IT skills and the willingness to improve, you wont make it very far in the sector. You should be smart with numbers Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash While you dont have to be a math genius to make it in HR, you cant be blind to numbers. Being smart with numbers is not about your ability to calculate complex equations but its about your ability to understand things like budgeting and savings. To many employers, HR comes down to cost-cutting and saving. They want to find the best talent without it bankrupting the company they want a good return on the investment. So whether its about hiring new talent, adopting new cloud HR software or managing the onboarding process, you must be smart with the numbers. You have to know how to invest and get returns you need to be financially savvy to survive the industry. You have to learn to communicate HR isnt a my way or the highway kind of job. You will need to be flexible with how you approach people and understand everyone is a bit different. Since you want to be efficient, you need to know how to communicate with people keeping in mind how everyone is unique in the way they listen and speak. You may be exactly where you want to be; if so, congratulations to you. If, however, you are thinking about a change or are trying to climb the ladder, then this year could be the year that you shake things up a bit. Tweet This You need to have a knack for communicating. You not only need to know how to get your message across and get people to listen to you, but you also have to listen to them. You need to be able to read between the lines and communicate in ways that lead to progress, not stalling. Above all, you must enjoy this part of the job! HR is a wonderful industry. It offers plenty of opportunities and unique career paths. The growth of the sector is also great for those looking for job security and a reasonable paycheque. But its important to understand what the industry is looking for and how you can survive it. By taking the above five lessons in, you could start your journey to becoming an HR professional. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to launch your career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search