Many professionals start their Human Resources career and do well in it, or stay in it for quite some time because “that’s all that they know”. Being a Human Resources professional is an attractive role.
Some benefits are having access that is not open to the entire organization, implementing changes for the entire organization and working a pretty straight forward schedule. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that all senior-level human resources professionals are aware of the Human Resources Career ladder.
Human Resources Career Ladder
The most common Human Resources career positions at the senior-level are:
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- Human Resources Manager
- Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist
- Human Resources Business Partner
The Human Resources career ladder is important to know or you can miss out on some amazing opportunities or could be left very far behind. I went through each level of the Human Resources Career ladder in this video.
Use this as a starting point to not only see which positions are available in the human resources career field and to see the compensation for each. Use it to see where you can position yourself to grow your career or pivot into Human Resources.
Senior-Level Human Resources Career Positions
We all get excited about having a senior-level Human Resources Position. By the time you’re at this level, you want work to remind you that you’re blessed and lucky to have chosen the career you’re in. Otherwise, being a Human Resources Business Partner, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist or being a lead of an HR team can be overwhelming.
Being an Human Resources Generalist
During my time 4 1/2 years of being a Human Resources Generalist, I worked for two different organization. At each organization, I performed my best which made being a Human Resources Generalist on of highlights of my career.
One way I performed well, was that I really got to know the employees. They weren’t just numbers to me. In the picture on the left, one employee took this picture as I was talking to another employee. As you could see, I wouldn’t always go in sitting erect and soooo professional. I would kick my shoes off and literally talk to them.
That was one of the best way to see what employees liked, loved and hated about the organization. I would add this to my list of things to make changes before implementing change. In addition to that, I had and still do have a passion for Human Resources. Others could easily see it.
Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist
In this video, I gave a view of being a Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist from this day in the life view. If recruiting isn’t your thing, then let’s take the Human Resources Business Partner route.
Human Resources Generalist vs. Human Resources Business Partner
In this video, I compared the differences and similarities of being a Human Resources Generalist vs. Human Resources Business Partner. The picture on the left is a picture of my first office and that didn’t happen until I became a Human Resources Generalist. Finally, a place where I could be more private with employees through their most vulnerable moments and that allowed me to connect with them. After connecting with them, I could easily start creating a plan for change.
At that point in my career, I implemented processes, create their first employee handbook and give managers the autonomy and direction they needed to manage their team. I watched demonstrations of different Human Resources Information Systems and settled on Paycom. This was a game-changer for that organization!
Ok, I get it. Enough of my point of view, right? Well, here’s a video from Airson on a Day in the Life of being a Human Resources Business Partner/HR Manager.
Human Resources Career Questions & Answers
Now, this has probably introduced many questions for you right? Let’s see if ADP answered any of your questions with this blog full of “Answers to Your Toughest HR Questions”. That’s only their first part of this. If we take these questions a step further, then you definitely want to check out ADP’s part two of “Answers to Your Toughest HR Questions”.
To get a complete guide on how to navigate your Human Resources career, then grab the Human Resources Career Tool Kit.
Comment below and tell me what sticks into your mind about being at this level in your career.