Job Description of Human Resources Assistants:
Human resources assistants (HR assistants) keep an organization's personnel records up-to-date. They keep track of employees' address changes, changes in job titles, benefits, and salaries. Tasks may vary depending on the size of the organization. At a larger company, for example, an HR assistant may perform additional clerical duties or screen job candidates.
Employment Facts for Human Resources Assistants:
There were 170,000 working HR assistants in 2008.
Educational Requirements for Human Resources Assistants:
Employers prefer human resources assistant job candidates who have at least a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). Successful candidates should also have training in computers, filing and maintaining filing systems, organizing, and human resources practices.
Other Qualifications for Human Resources Assistants:
Human resources assistants must be tactful, diplomatic and possess the ability to communicate with individuals at all levels of an organization.
Job Outlook for Human Resources Assistants:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of human resources assistants will decline slowly through 2018.
How Much Do Human Resources Assistants Earn?:
Human Resources Assistants earned an annual salary of $36,650 and hourly wages of $17.62 in 2009.
Use the Salary Wizard at Salary.com to find out how much human resources assistants currently earn in your city.
A Day in a Human Resources Assistant's Life:
On a typical day an HR assistant might perform some of the following duties:
- update the appropriate form when an employee receives a promotion or switches health insurance plans;
- prepare reports for managers elsewhere within the organization;
- provide authorized information from the employee's personnel records when requested by credit bureaus and finance companies;
- screen job applicants to obtain information such as education and work experience;
- administer aptitude, personality, and interest tests;
- explain the organization's employment policies and refer qualified applicants to the employing official;
- request references from present or past employers of applicants;
- inform job applicants of their acceptance or rejection for employment;
- conduct Internet research to locate resumes
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos150.htm (visited November 23, 2010).
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET Online, Human Resources Assistants, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/details/43-4161.00 (visited November 23, 2010).
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