Top human resources careers

If you love working with people and want a varied role that keeps you busy, a career in human resources may be for you. Recruiting, onboarding, training, mediating – these are some of the many tasks a human resources professional takes care of on a day-to-day basis. 

Careers in human resources centre around hiring employees. Sometimes referred to as the ‘People Team’ or the ‘People and Culture Team’, the HR department of an organisation handles the entire employee lifecycle, taking care of employees from the application stage through to their last day on the job (and sometimes beyond). They’re also in charge of advertising job roles and finding employees in the first place.  

The larger the organisation, the more specialised and diverse HR roles it has — the skill set you need for a specific career in HR therefore depends on the role you want to do. Generally speaking HR officers begin as generalists, using soft skills like communication, teamwork, organisation and conflict resolution to work their way up to more senior or specialised positions.

A HR career path in Australia typically begins with a related course: either a certificate, diploma or degree. Is HR a good career in Australia? Yes, for people with the right skills and a passion for working with people, it can be an exciting and fulfilling career. In this article, we go into detail about the different careers in human resources and their average salaries in Australia.

HR generalist [$60k – $107k]

Of all the many careers in human resources, HR generalist may be the most versatile and varied. These HR professionals are skilled in a wide range of duties, like talent attraction (advertising for roles and headhunting), recruitment, employee relations, employee admin and so on.

An entry-level role in HR doesn’t strictly require a degree – you should be able to find opportunities after completing a certificate or diploma. There are also HR internships where basic computer skills and a positive attitude are the only criteria. You’ll find that once you’re in an HR department, you’ll learn and upskill through on-the-job training, learning hiring policies and practices specific to that organisation and industry. 

HR manager [$120k – $140k]

HR manager is a more senior role in an HR department, typically leading a team of HR generalists or interns. They take care of hiring strategies, employee engagement activities, attrition issues (employees leaving faster than they can be replaced) and employee complaints. They also make sure the organisation is compliant with labour laws.

A human resources career path in Australia to become an HR manager typically requires a bachelor’s degree, but may be possible via a diploma and internal promotions. Some HR officers can study for a graduate degree while they’re working, if it’s required to be move up to HR manager.

Key skills for an HR manager role are leadership and management abilities, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking and organisation. HR managers also have to be familiar knowledgeable about Australian legislature and regulations around employment, like the Fair Work Act. 

Recruitment specialist [$100k]

Recruitment specialist or recruiting specialist is one of the more niche careers in human resources. Unlike generalists and HR managers, recruitment specialists only focus on finding talent. They help companies find the right people, and their role includes advertising jobs, researching applicants, conducting screening interviews and introducing shortlisted candidates to employers. 

Key requirements for recruiters include communication, organisation, decision-making and time management. Recruiters should also have a wide industry network, as they use connections to find new talent. Recruitment requires soft skills – there is no technical knowledge required to break into the role. As such, it’s not an HR career that requires a degree, though some kind of tertiary qualification would help if you have no experience. Industry knowledge would also be a distinct advantage. 

Training and development officer [$110k]

If you’re interested in a teaching role in HR, you may enjoy working as a learning and development officer (also called L&D). This HR role is responsible for upskilling employees through professional development programs within an organisation. 

At a big company, there are many different types of training programs for employees, including for compliance, diversity, upskilling, safety, leadership and onboarding and orientation. L&D officers are in charge of making sure every employee gets the training they need according to their organisation’s policies and their individual role. 

There aren’t any specific qualifications needed for a career as a training and development officer, though it helps to have a bachelor’s degree or diploma in business or HR management. If you want to train specific technical skills, you would naturally first need expertise in that field. 

Compensation and benefits specialist [$85k – $140k]

There’s a wide range of specialist careers in human resources that you can pursue once you have a few years of experience as a generalist. If you’ve got decent numbers skills and in-depth industry knowledge you may enjoy a role as a compensation and benefits specialist (or remuneration specialist), handling wages and non-wage programs (benefits and bonuses) for employees.

This HR career is focused on overseeing employee salaries for organisations, which includes benchmarking industry wages, complying with legislation and awards, maintaining salary databases and applying bonuses or raises to do with performance reviews.  

This type of HR specialist needs to have good budgeting and accounting skills and excellent attention to detail. Qualifications in business and HR can help get you into the HR field, giving you opportunities to move into a more specialised role. 

Employee relations specialist [$130k]

Many HR roles can be admin-heavy: inputting and updating employee details, vetting and recording job applications and handling employee documentation. For a role that’s more people-focused, you might consider becoming an employee relations specialist.

As an employee relations specialist, it’s your job to ensure the wellbeing of staff. That could include engagement activities (like competitions or fun events), resolving complaints, dealing with compliance issues, helping with onboarding and doing exit interviews. It’s a great job if you have strong soft skills and get enjoyment out of making people happy. 

Aside from good communication skills, an employee relations specialist should have a high level of empathy and knowledge of employment laws and regulations.

HR consultant [$100k+]

Once you have several years of experience under your belt, your human resources career path in Australia could lead to a job as an HR consultant. An HR consultant is usually an independent contractor hired by an organisation to help them with hiring strategies and provide advice on their organisational structure. 

They can be called in to help on a wide variety of issues, like improving workplace culture or managing diversity. HR consultants tend to be experts in the field – the job requires in-depth  knowledge not only in human resources but in specific industries, along with many years of experience in different HR roles. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in business or HR would be a reasonable expectation for most HR consultant jobs.

Payroll specialist [$87k – $128k]

A payroll specialist is another niche role you’ll find in careers in HR. Payroll specialists are in charge of processing employees’ wages and expenses on a month-to-month basis, as well as managing and streamlining departmental budgets within an organisation. But there’s more to the role than making sure people get their paycheque.

It’s a payroll specialist’s responsibility to accurately calculate wages based on hours worked, including leave entitlements, taxes and superannuation. They also calculate final payments for employees leaving a company, long-service leave and lump-sum payments. They also need to create payroll reports that help companies review labour costs. 

A payroll specialist naturally needs good numeracy skills, with a knowledge of tax, super and award entitlements. There are specific courses aimed at payroll officers – usually a certificate or diploma is enough for an entry-level position. More experienced payroll clerks can hone their skills with a course offered by The Association for Payroll Specialists. 

HR analyst [$90k]

Another high-level career in human resources is HR analyst. An HR analyst looks at the HR data of an organisation and makes recommendations to help them become more efficient. They take a broad look at HR processes, their costs, the company’s attrition rate and training expenses, and draw insights that can improve HR effectiveness. HR analysts might be data analysts crossing into HR or HR managers with years of experience in reporting.  

HR analysts need to have strong analytical skills. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in human resources, business or a related field like psychology or data science could be a pathway to a role as an HR analyst. Several years experience would also be required.  

Overall, HR careers offer plenty of upward movement, alongside opportunities to change locations and industries. It’s an accessible field if you have good all-round soft skills and the desire to work closely with an organisation’s leadership team. If you’re a ‘people person’ with empathy and ambition, then a career in HR might be for you.