Do you work in Human Resources?

amother

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 2:28 pm

A good friend works in HR. She has her bachelors. It took her almost a year to find a job. She works very rigid hours with a long commute. She is single and has told me that she would find it very difficult to do this with a family. Obviously not all jobs are like this.

What do you like about HR? A friends husband just finished a two year masters to be a career counselor and is enjoying it very much. I think there can be some overlap. When I was job hunting I used a local career services center and the counselors helped with resumes, interviewing skills, cover letters etc. Maybe its something else to think about?

ElTam

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 4:35 pm

Here's a good site with pay info on HR.

http://www1.salary.com/Human-R......html

I think it is a good job, but challenging with some problems for frum people. Shaking hands is going to be an issue even if you aren't in a recruiting type position. Even if you are in a company large enough to have someone who ONLY does benefits (pay, healthcare, 401k), you are going to deal with people from companies that provide 401(k) services, healthcare, etc. They are going to expect to shake your hand.

In a midsized company (not large corporate), hours are pretty much 9-to-5 in my experience. Possible problems could be yearly team-building events such as company picnics as well as holiday parties, which HR often plans/implements.

In a mid-sized firm (which is the majority of companies out there), the HR department is often only one or two people. So, your duties run from A to Z.

It is a real mix of dealing with people, both would-be-hires and employees, as well as paperwork like pay, 401(k), etc. You need to be a people person and also detail-oriented and able to handle complex regulations and rocky emotional situations. In my experience, HR sat in on all firings and many disciplinary actions, which is VERY difficult and you have to be a calm, rational person to handle that well.

You may also be called on to deal with situations that may be difficult for you, such as employees going through divorces, which ripple back into work when pay gets garnished, employees with substance abuse problems (e.g., an alcoholic employee). You have to be able to put aside what you feel as a Torah Jew with what is the law. For example, if you deduced from a resume that a person was gay (or found out after they were hired), you could not discriminate against that person in even the slightest way without landing yourself and your company in legal jeopardy. Personally, before I switched to working primarily in a Jewish environment, every place I ever worked had at least one openly gay employee.

You also need to know if you are a person who can leave work at work. H.R., in my experience, is very stressful. When I managed people, I went to H.R. with the things I couldn't deal with on my own. (One of my employees came to me and said an employee from another department was looking at her in a zexual way, for example. Or, one of my employees came to me because her ex-boyfriend was stalking her to the point that it involved the police and a restraining order and we needed to figure out what we needed to do so that no one in the company would accidentally give him any information that jeopardized her safety.) If you are going to take it home, that can be very hard on your shalom bayis.

Another issue that could come if you are working in a smaller firm is that for certain meetings or events, H.R. ordered food. Would there be an issue of providing non-kosher food to non-frum Jews who don't ask for kosher meals? I don't know.

If I were considering this field, I would speak with a knowledgeable rav in advance. I think it would work for some hashkafas and some personality types, but not others.

Hatzlacha in your endeavors.

Tova

Thu, Dec 08 2011, 9:55 pm

STovah wrote:

Do you realize that most jobs in the U.S. that require a BA don't pay $60K without any experience? Accounting, for example, is known to be a well-paying field for entry-level jobs, and at least at mid-tier firms, the salaries are in the mid-50's, not quite at 60K (Big4 might be closer to 60K). You might want to devote more time and get a masters in one of the therapies if you're fixed on that $60K number, but student loans to get that degree might make it not worthwhile.

Yup - starting salaries at my firm (soon to be 10th largest nationally after merger in January) is $52-55K but give it 2-3 years and you will be at (or above) $60K. Although OP said she doesn't want anything with too much math.

I also think the therapies are the best option although they need more schooling.

[I'm reading this over and realizing I'm just repeating your post, so let me just say that I AGREE!]

STovah

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 8:12 am

Tova wrote:

STovah wrote:

And here I was thinking all along that you were at one of the Big4... Hope the merger comes with less pain than the one my firm went through...

amother

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 8:19 am

STovah wrote:

I have no problem getting paid less while I get my experience. I just want something where there is potential to grow.

STovah

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 10:47 am

amother wrote:

STovah wrote:

I have no problem getting paid less while I get my experience. I just want something where there is potential to grow.

That wasn't clear from your original post. In that case, there are many professions where with experience, you can earn $60K and up. What are you interested in (other than human resources)?

amother

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 2:47 pm

STovah wrote:

amother wrote:

STovah wrote:

I have no problem getting paid less while I get my experience. I just want something where there is potential to grow.

That wasn't clear from your original post. In that case, there are many professions where with experience, you can earn $60K and up. What are you interested in (other than human resources)?

Honestly, I'm not interested in anything except for things that don't really make a lot of money (nutrition, personal training..) My main concern is making a nice amount of money without having to go through more than a BA in college. I hate school and I hate going by someone else s schedule but I need to make money so I'm trying to find the best fit.

I wish I could just continue being a stay at home mom to my 3 kids because I love it so much.

Thanks for your help!

MiracleMama

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 2:56 pm

amother wrote:

STovah wrote:

amother wrote:

STovah wrote:

I have no problem getting paid less while I get my experience. I just want something where there is potential to grow.

That wasn't clear from your original post. In that case, there are many professions where with experience, you can earn $60K and up. What are you interested in (other than human resources)?

Nutrition and personal training don't make a lot of money? I sure wouldn't know it going by what I've paid for these services.