Human Resources Specialists: Career Overview
Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. May perform other activities in multiple human resources areas.
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What Tasks Do Human Resources Specialists Do?
Typical responsibilities of human resources specialists cover:
- Interpret and explain human resources policies, procedures, laws, standards, or regulations.
- Hire employees and process hiring-related paperwork.
- Maintain current knowledge of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action guidelines and laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Prepare or maintain employment records related to events, such as hiring, termination, leaves, transfers, or promotions, using human resources management system software.
- Address employee relations issues, such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other employee concerns.
- Review employment applications and job orders to match applicants with job requirements.
- Inform job applicants of details such as duties and responsibilities, compensation, benefits, schedules, working conditions, or promotion opportunities.
- Select qualified job applicants or refer them to managers, making hiring recommendations when appropriate.
Skills and Knowledge
Effective human resources specialists combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Business Intelligence Engineer
- Career Development Specialist
- Career Development Technician
- Career Specialist
- Certification Specialist
- Contract Recruiter
- Corporate Recruiter
- Credentialing Coordinator
How Many Human Resources Specialists Are There?
There are about 362,942 human resources specialists working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +11.8% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Human Resources Specialists Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $90,840 |
| Hourly median | $43.67 |
| 10th percentile | $54,378 |
| 25th percentile | $72,609 |
| 75th percentile | $109,071 |
| 90th percentile | $127,302 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $102,500 |
| Washington | $83,230 |
| Massachusetts | $81,960 |
| California | $81,810 |
| Maryland | $81,140 |
| New York | $81,140 |
| Virginia | $78,580 |
| New Jersey | $78,170 |
| Colorado | $78,170 |
| Connecticut | $77,750 |
| Minnesota | $77,250 |
| Kansas | $76,490 |
| Vermont | $76,190 |
| Oregon | $74,030 |
| Delaware | $72,670 |
| Illinois | $72,350 |
| Rhode Island | $70,060 |
| North Dakota | $69,740 |
| North Carolina | $69,400 |
| Utah | $67,620 |
| Hawaii | $66,970 |
| Michigan | $66,400 |
| Wisconsin | $66,370 |
| Pennsylvania | $66,020 |
| New Hampshire | $65,610 |
| Arizona | $65,410 |
| Tennessee | $65,200 |
| New Mexico | $65,180 |
| Georgia | $65,130 |
| Kentucky | $64,950 |
| Iowa | $64,920 |
| South Carolina | $64,720 |
| Ohio | $64,600 |
| Texas | $64,560 |
| Maine | $64,420 |
| Nevada | $64,120 |
| Florida | $63,960 |
| Idaho | $63,630 |
| Alabama | $62,770 |
| Missouri | $62,710 |
| Wyoming | $62,690 |
| West Virginia | $62,300 |
| Indiana | $62,230 |
| South Dakota | $61,920 |
| Montana | $61,860 |
| Louisiana | $61,020 |
| Nebraska | $59,330 |
| Virgin Islands | $58,310 |
| Oklahoma | $58,070 |
| Mississippi | $56,050 |
| Guam | $53,490 |
| Arkansas | $52,890 |
| Puerto Rico | $37,920 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Pay for human resources specialists shift depending on where you work. The following regions pay the most:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $80,446 | 16.3% | 1.00 |
| Middle Atlantic | $77,586 | 15.2% | 1.01 |
| New England | $77,563 | 5.0% | 1.06 |
| Rocky Mountains | $72,618 | 4.1% | 1.07 |
| Plains States | $68,537 | 6.9% | 1.02 |
| Great Lakes | $66,856 | 14.0% | 0.98 |
| Southeast | $66,339 | 25.1% | 1.04 |
| Southwest | $64,208 | 12.9% | 1.02 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Human Resources Specialists
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $114,080 | 9,350 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $100,600 | 18,080 |
| Lexington Park, MD | MD | $97,490 | 350 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $97,340 | 25,320 |
| Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | WV | $89,860 | 420 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $88,050 | 16,350 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | WA | $86,650 | 640 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $85,200 | 1,580 |
Top Industries Employing Human Resources Specialists
The bulk of human resources specialists are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 176,700 | $59,500 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 133,160 | $81,330 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 100,820 | $62,060 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 70,720 | $79,110 |
| Manufacturing | 66,400 | $77,570 |
| Finance and Insurance | 48,250 | $83,060 |
| Educational Services | 45,880 | $66,650 |
| Information | 30,350 | $102,050 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Tools and Technology
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)
- Video conferencing software: Cisco Webex (hot technology)
- Geographic information system: ESRI ArcGIS software (hot technology)
- Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Application server software: GitHub (hot technology)
- Data mining software: Google Analytics (hot technology)
Work Environment
The on-the-job environment of human resources specialists tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Contact With Others
Education and Training
Typical human resources specialists positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Compensation and Benefits Managers (Primary-Long)
- Human Resources Managers (Primary-Short)
- Training and Development Managers (Primary-Long)
- Social and Community Service Managers (Supplemental)
- Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers (Supplemental)
- Labor Relations Specialists (Supplemental)
- Project Management Specialists (Supplemental)
- Management Analysts (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Future human resources specialists often complete programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
5 programs across 2 majors
Psychology
1 programs across 1 majors
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 13-1071.00 (Human Resources Specialists).
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