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Studies & Degrees in Human Resources Management

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Human Resources Management Study Programs

Level: Graduate     Location: Madrid
Level: Graduate     Location: Madrid
Level: Undergraduate Bachelors     Location: Barcelona
Level: Graduate     Location: Barcelona
Level: Undergraduate Bachelors     Location: Madrid

Human Resources are involved with the management of personnel within a company. It can be a highly misunderstood profession, perceived as simply hiring and firing people within the firm. On the contrary, human resources management has grown in importance in the recent years, and deals with employee benefits, policy creation, and other issues relating to personnel.

As a human resources manager, you would be responsible to determine what type of skills and how many people would be needed to achieve certain objectives within the company. You would have to perform an analysis of what qualities are required for each particular job, and then write job descriptions to attract potential candidates. During the selection process, you would have to advertise vacancies, after which you would screen candidates by reviewing application forms, carrying out interviews, planning assessment days, and so on. Human resources managers also have the responsibility of organizing the employees’ welfare services, advising employees on career development, as well as on personal and career matters. Last but not least, the human resources department maintains the employees’ personal records, and also updates management on various policies such as equal opportunities, anti-discrimination, health and safety, etc.

Personal Qualities

To work in Human Resources, you would certainly need to be a ‘people person’. Very good interpersonal and communication skills are required, together with a high level of discretion, as your job can often involve giving advice on personal and other matters, such as sexual harassment for instance. Other qualities include:

  • Excellent organizational and planning skills
  • Ability to solve problems in a diplomatic way
  • Analytical thinking
  • Decision-making

Study options

In order to be involved in human resources management, you would certainly need post-secondary education, and this would mean an undergraduate degree from a university or a community college. Sometimes universities do not offer a separate degree in human resources, but a very popular option is to undertake a business degree with a focus on human resources. Another possibility would be to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree or study a liberal arts subject, like English, or psychology.

It is likely that you would also be required to gain a human resources certification, which is a post-graduate study, and can be completed either full-time (for one year), or part-time (for two years). This type of certificate is designed to provide in-depth knowledge of the specific laws, practices, and procedures used in human resources. To qualify, you would most certainly need both an undergraduate degree and a three to five years experience in human resources.

Career Options

Career options for human resources specialists vary from large companies, to government, to employment agencies. Most graduates wishing to specialize in human resources start with positions as human resources officers, or generalists, climbing their way up to management positions. Within larger companies, there are a number of management positions, like the Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, the benefits manager, or the work/life manager. As far as the human resources manager is concerned, he or she runs the whole department, organizing and managing all other human resources roles.

To end with, a few other human resources related roles you might consider are Training Officer, Industrial Relations Officer, Recruitment Consultant, and Health and Safety Officer.

Job positions for Human Resources Management:

Human Resources Generalist

Every business, either small or well-distinguished, needs human resources, which is commonly known as HR. The strategic planning and organized results start here, which is why this is a very important component of the company. An aligned HR mission and vision will cause a successful management project. When you study administration and Business Management, you can apply as a Human Resources Generalist.

An HR generalist is often considered as the HR assistant manager. The role of a generalist is a serious one, connecting the manager to the relevant internal customers. Along with the job to create a careful decision-making method, a generalist has the power to recruit manpower, handle grievances, control attrition and maintain the databases of the company. In conjunction with this, an HR generalist should have appropriate knowledge and skill about all the jobs that are associated with human resources including the duty to correctly implement the areas of responsibility assigned.

HR generalists generate reports and regularly update them. It is also their role to deal with employees. They have to provide clarity regarding the policies, processes and procedures of the organization. It is also significant that they give apt motivation for their employees or the internal customers so that they will, in turn perform well towards the progression of the company. In addition, it is also the duty of generalists to take care of the benefits and management of the rewards.

With many responsibilities that an HR generalist will have to carry out, it is necessary that the applicant is self-motivated. This has been taught when a person has enrolled for the Administration and Business Management course. Having good coordination, prompt in actions and accuracy in operations are the basic requirements for the job. Being a generalist will offer you dozens of opportunities for improvement in communications, documentation, accountability and execution of the projects.

Although the tasks designated to the HR generalist are complex and even intimidating, most graduates of Administration and Business Management can efficiently handle this tough work. This is because of the fact that they have been trained to be professionals not only in their occupation but also in their life. As a matter of fact, they have been educated for leadership. Some would think that the work is very overwhelming due to the several assignments given but this would only occur at the early stages of the job. One would only need to apply the things he has learned and everything would be relatively easy.

Most executives are looking for competent human resources generalists that have adequate awareness and understanding with the organization. Being a proficient generalist is a must because there is no one in the company you can assign your tasks to so one must be capable of multi-tasking. In accordance, having a quick learning capacity is also a prerequisite because there are specific operations that are needed to be met.

Many companies prefer business management graduates for the position of human resources generalist. As you gain experience from your job, you will eventually step up the ladder and remain on top.