Career profile for Human Resource Assistant

What does a Human Resource Assistant do?

Human Resource Assistants compile and keep personnel records.

In addition, Human Resource Assistants

record data for each employee, such as address, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports, and date of and reason for termination,
may prepare reports for employment records, file employment records, or search employee files and furnish information to authorized persons.

What kind of tasks does a Human Resource Assistant perform regularly?

Human Resource Assistants are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
Record data for each employee, including such information as addresses, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports on performance, and dates of and reasons for terminations.
Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans.
Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.
Prepare and set up for new employee orientations.
Gather personnel records from other departments or employees.
Examine employee files to answer inquiries and provide information for personnel actions.
Search employee files to obtain information for authorized persons and organizations, such as credit bureaus and finance companies.
Compile and prepare reports and documents pertaining to personnel activities.

The above responsibilities are specific to Human Resource Assistants. More generally, Human Resource Assistants are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Processing Information		Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Processing Information

Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

What is a Human Resource Assistant salary?

The median salary for a Human Resource Assistant is $43,250, and the average salary is $44,170. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Human Resource Assistant salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Human Resource Assistants earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Human Resource Assistants earn less than $30,040 per year, 25% earn less than $35,650, 75% earn less than $51,290, and 90% earn less than $61,430.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Human Resource Assistants is expected to change by -2.9%, and there should be roughly 10,600 open positions for Human Resource Assistants every year.

Median annual salary: $43,250
Typical salary range: $30,040 - $61,430
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -2.9%

What personality traits are common among Human Resource Assistants?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Human Resource Assistant are usually higher in their Conventional and Enterprising interests.

Human Resource Assistants typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Also, Human Resource Assistants typically have moderate Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Human Resource Assistant tend to value Relationships, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Human Resource Assistants strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Human Resource Assistants moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Human Resource Assistants moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Human Resource Assistants must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, cooperation, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Human Resource Assistants, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

What education and training do Human Resource Assistants need?

Human Resource Assistants often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Human Resource Assistants usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Human Resource Assistants

1.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
17.5% completed high school or secondary school
28.7% completed some college coursework
11.4% earned a Associate's degree
31.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
9.3% earned a Master's degree
0.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Human Resource Assistants

Human Resource Assistants may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as personnel and human resources, administrative, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Human Resource Assistants might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Personnel and Human Resources		Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Important Abilities needed by Human Resource Assistants

Human Resource Assistants must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Human Resource Assistants need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and written comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Human Resource Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Speech Clarity		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Critical Skills needed by Human Resource Assistants

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Human Resource Assistants frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Human Resource Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Human Resource Assistant

Human Resource Assistant

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