Are you planning to start a new career and thinking about how to find a job in HR and payroll?
Staff it employs, and therefore employers increasingly value good HR professionals.
What are responsibilities of a human resources department?
It is the HR teams that conduct all the activities concerning the employees and associates of the company.
Their job is to ensure that the rights and duties of the employees are respected and that they work in safe conditions.
If you plan to start a career in this industry, you need to know that there is a lot of learning ahead of you. To be successful and earn money you need to work hard.
You might invest in a human resources and payroll course to get the specialized knowledge you need for this profession.
Human resources (HR) is a broad field that requires a lot of work and knowledge. The most important thing, however, is to know where to start.
What does the hr department do?
How to prepare yourself for it?
Can you find job offers for HR professionals who are looking for their first job in the profession?
Find the answers to these questions in the article below.
Staff changes
In the past, payroll departments dealt comprehensively with all the issues of today’s HR.
Some time ago, however, there was a division of HR management in a company. HR has been divided into “hard” and “soft”.
Hard HR includes a variety of administrative, human resources, and payroll tasks, such as accounting for employee salaries, keeping employee records, preparing employment agreements, etc.
Hard HR includes administrative, compensation and benefits records.
Soft HR focuses on employee issues in terms of the quality of work performed, relying on direct contact with employees and watching over their development.
Soft HR professionals handle recruiting, employee evaluations, motivating and training employees, and nurturing relationships. Often, their duties also include conflict resolution and communication during layoffs.
In the abovementioned distinction, HR professionals perform completely different tasks. So, their professional backgrounds should be varied, and they should have other abilities and personality traits.
In smaller companies HR activities are outsourced to external organizations such as accounting offices. Individual staff members or department managers are often assigned to the whole range of HR tasks.
On the other hand, in larger companies extensive HR units usually are divided into several departments, depending on the duties performed.
What will you do as an HR and Payroll Specialist?
How do you prepare for this job?
If you are interested in hard HR, you must be familiar with the details of employment law and develop skills in the field of billing and accounting.
The specialist in this department handles on-time and correct salary payments, calculation of allowances and bonuses for employees, keeping records of working time, etc.
Their task is also to submit the necessary declarations to Social Insurance Institution and tax office regarding employees’ salaries. All these activities must be carried out under the law and the company’s rules.
Due to the automation of HR and payroll processes, complicated mental arithmetic won’t be necessary.
You should be proficient in computer skills and familiar with automated payroll and HR programs that make your job much easier and faster.
Additionally, it is the HR department’s responsibility to keep employee records, like:
- preparing documentation for the future employee
- keeping personal files, through issuing certificates of employment
- referring to medical tests
- completing the formalities in terms of dismissals and notices
If you want to develop in soft HR, it is a good idea to learn about talent management.
Knowledge in the fields of psychology and sociology will also be helpful. If you have not studied these subjects, you can gain the necessary information in post-secondary school, postgraduate studies, or specialized courses.
What are the requirements for human resources and payroll department employees?
Most often, a relevant education is required. The most valued majors are law, administration or finance and accounting.
If you already have a degree in another field, you can enroll in postgraduate studies or extended courses.
Most important, however, are specific skills. HR and payroll department employees should have a broad knowledge of labor law and social security law, as well as the ability to use a computer and human resources and payroll programs.
Interpersonal skills are also important, as well as conscientiousness, precision, and a desire to self-development.
Unfortunately, it is very common for a HR professional to be expected to have experience in a similar position.
That is why, even before taking up this kind of job, spend some time to extend your CV, for example by completing training and courses in HR and payroll or learning skills in operating HR and payroll software.
How to find a job in HR?
Getting started in this profession is quite a challenge.
Re-qualifying for an HR and payroll position without prior experience in finance or economics is difficult.
Some experts believe that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find a job in HR without the right education.
Taking on a freelance HR and payroll position requires prior experience in a similar position.
Fortunately, now we have access to many courses to complement our knowledge in this area.
Before applying for a HR and payroll position, start building your career with trainings that will prepare you for future responsibilities.
You could volunteer in human resources, do an unpaid internship in the payroll department, or start working as a receptionist. This will allow you to gain your first work experience.
You can find job offers in temporary work agencies. In such companies, you will not earn much at the very beginning. However, the requirements for beginners are not high and often focus on personal skills (about which we write more below).
A job like this will allow you to gain the credentials you need to start working in HR.
There are also more and more offers on the market for entry-level HR professionals in the position of junior HR and payroll specialist. In these cases, prior HR experience is not required.
Soft competencies
Knowledge and experience are extremely important in the work of an HR and payroll specialist.
However, aptitude and soft skills are also very important and help a lot in performing daily duties.
Interpersonal skills can be a bargaining chip during a job interview, even if you do not have extensive work experience.
We can define soft skills as personal and interpersonal skills. They are traits and social abilities that influence our behavior and the way we interact with people.
HR officers constantly work with other people. Even if he or she has limited commerce with employees, he or she often interacts with many other institutions. Therefore, a human resources officer is required to be communicative and able to build relationships.
Often, human resources staff members are the ones who deal with conflict management in teams. As such, they must exhibit qualities such as openness and the ability to handle difficult and stressful situations.
Tasks in the human resources and payroll department are largely connected with documents. Therefore, it is important that a specialist in this field is characterized by accuracy, conscientiousness, and systematically.
Due to the constant need to keep up to date with legal changes and market news, a HR professional should be eager to develop their knowledge and take on new challenges.
HR and payroll jobs are not for everyone
It involves a constant increase in knowledge and working with many documents. The person who undertakes it must know the obligation to their expand skills. The candidate must be responsible and orderly and be able to organize their own work.
The job of a HR professional involves making decisions in terms of billing on your own. Specialist in this position should have a business mindset and be ready for new ways of doing things.
Now you know how to find a job in HR even without experience. Everything may seem difficult, but you have to take the first step. Start making a profit and find your dream job.
If you are meticulous and enjoy working with documents and tidiness – this could be the perfect career path for you!
You can choose a different career path. Think about working in the accounting office and check accounting office business plan. Maybe it is your idea for your future.
