Are jobs in human resources right for you? A career in human resources involves helping an organization manage its people. This includes hiring and firing, training, compensation, administering benefits and handling the informational side of people management. Human resource managers are frequently in top management roles and are critical to the success of any company. To excel in this role you have to be sensitive to the needs of the other departments and see their perspective. You need to be able to see the big picture to help sell ideas to the other functional managers and to serve them as internal clients. You have to be able to sell HR throughout the organization to come up with solutions that will be most effective.

This is an exciting career area that attracts people who are sensitive, big picture, team-oriented, extroverted and honest. On the other hand, because human resources jobs support more visible functions in the company, they are not for people with huge egos and a strong need to be center stage.

The human resources field is changing rapidly with increasing use of technology, training and outsourcing. A career in HR promises to keep you busy, engaged and deeply involved in making things happen in your company.

Further Information on Human Resources

• Skills & Talents Required in Human Resources Jobs
  
• Job Options in Human Resources
  
• Salaries in Human Resources
  
• Facts & Advice About Human Resources Careers
  

Best Resources

The Vault Guide to Human Resources Careers

By Susan Strayer

Human Resource Executive

A leading magazine covering strategic issues in human resources management.

Careers in Human Resources

Wetfeet Insider Guide

The Human Resource Guide

A great free resource in the area of human resources.

The Human Resource Professional's Career Guide: Building a Position of Strength

By Jeanne Palmer and Martha Finney.

The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional

By Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell

The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources Professionals

By Shawn Smith and Rebecca Mazin

PHR/SPHR: Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide

By Anne Bogardus

Career Links

• Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of HR Careers
• Beginning a Career in HR from About.com.
• Society of Human Resource Management Job Page

Blogs

• Your HR Guy
• Cheezhead
• Renegade HR

"What conditions of work, what kinds of work, what kinds of management, and what kinds of reward or pay will help human stature to grow healthy, to its fuller and fullest stature?"

Abraham Maslow

“The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.”

Agha Hasan Abedi