HR is ensuring that the company you work for has the employees that it needs and more importantly that it wants and that these employees are given advice on employment law, the health and safety aspects that the company enforces and or those required by government and training relevant to the employees position and to allow them growth in their career.

Entry into a Human Resource career is extremely competitive, so do a degree in Human Resource Management and get onto a graduate programme; you would ideally need a masters. Typically you would start off as a HR Administrator while studying for your CIPD qualification, working up to HR advisor then HR Manager.

Start off pay is not the greatest due to HR a being a popular career. In London you could earn £20,000 as a HR administrator compared to £24,000 in most other admin jobs. After you have completed your training and have chosen your field of expertise then pay can get rather good for instance a generalist HR assistant could earn up to £30,000 while a director up to £200,000 (2012 London HR Salary Survey by Hudson HR) Some professionals develop their careers by consistently applying for the next rung on the ladder or by moving to a similar role in a larger organisation. Others take a different route by first getting some experience at officer or manager level then specialising in areas such as organisational development in larger companies. Finding a way through the profession has become easier with the CIPD HR Professions Map. This is available to view online and can be developed in detail as a personalised tool. It illustrates what HR people do and deliver across every aspect and specialisation of the profession and looks at the underpinning skills, behaviour and knowledge that they need to be successful. Commercial awareness is key. Rather than seeing HR as a people profession it might be better to view it as an opportunity to see how an organisation and its people can get the best from each other.

To help with your career search you might want to schedule information interviews with HR professionals you may not know how to further your knowledge about jobs in HR management and transitioning into the HR field. Good luck in your career and happy job hunting.

If you are looking to for a career in HUMAN RESOURCES please see a list of Job Vacacies.