Career Path Planning for HR Pros

Human resources professionals manage every aspect of the employee lifecycle through recruiting, administration, compensation and benefits, training and development, employee relations, performance management, mergers and acquisitions, and more. 

They’re directly tied to some of today’s most high-priority business metrics, such as culture, employee engagement, and retention. Their job is all about employees, so it’s hard to remember that HR professionals are also employees themselves.  

And, like any employee, HR professionals have career goals and interests within their field. They have skills they want to master and passions they want to pursue. Just like any other role, HR professionals have the opportunity to move up through the ranks and, eventually, manage teams of their own. 

Long gone are the days when HR was just an administrative function.  Now HR is involved in most key decision-making and strategy at a company. So what does a modern career in human resources look like? 

HR Career Path Trajectory 

Generally, the upward path of career mobility for HR professionals follows the following timeline and structure: 

HR assistant/coordinator

The entry-level position is where most people begin their careers in human resources. This position is usually a very generalized role that might help with recruiting, benefits, payroll, employee relations, engagement, performance management, and whatever else needs to be done. It’s an opportunity to learn and understand how the various disciplines of HR affect an organization

HR manager

One step up from assistant/coordinator, the HR manager has more decision-making power and ownership of day-to-day HR processes—and they’re more empowered to be analytical. With around five years of experience under their belt, they get more input when it comes to the HR strategy and processes that affect the larger business ecosystem. Often, the HR manager also leads a team of assistants/coordinators. 

HR Director/VP 

From a manager position, HR professionals can move up into a director position, then a VP role. The HR director and vice president are more senior members of the department, usually with around five to 10 years of experience. Someone at this level is the owner of end-to-end process creation and the execution (and oversight) of every metric. Directors and VPs set, enforce, and evaluate HR policies, procedures, and best practices that are in line with the company’s mission, values, and goals.

Chief HR or People Officer 

The most senior role in HR within an organization is the chief human resources officer (CHRO), sometimes known as the chief people officer (CPO). With 15+ years of experience, they collaborate with the rest of the C-suite and key company stakeholders (CEO, board of directors, etc.) to develop all company-wide HR initiatives, policies, and strategies. From employment law to organizational planning and beyond, they completely understand all HR disciplines and the leadership skills to back them up. They oversee the HR team to ensure that monthly, quarterly, and annual goals are met to advance company objectives. 

The HR career ladder mirrors that of most careers, but within HR, several avenues of specialization–and the opportunity to work in-house or as a consultant—make HR a unique career path to journey down. 

To Specialize or Not to Specialize 

The career trajectory outlined above applies largely to HR generalists—human resources professionals with a wide range of HR skills and expertise across a variety of HR disciplines. More senior HR generalists likely have gained their diverse skill set through in-house careers. 

An HR specialist, however, is someone who is trained to work in a particular area of human resources—with an acute skill for a specific HR discipline and years of experience working on that one piece of HR. Specialists usually get their start as generalists but decide to go deeper in one area that they are uniquely skilled or interested in—through certifications or more schooling. 

Specialization can unlock new career opportunities for HR professionals. Larger companies tend to hire specialists to oversee each HR discipline or vertical (compared to smaller companies that might hire one or two generalists). Organizations also bring in specialists to solve a specific, interesting problem (rather than to take over general HR administrative responsibilities). 

Popular areas of specialization for HR professionals include: 

  • Benefits 
  • Learning and Development
  • Payroll 
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Talent Acquisition and Hiring 
  • Labor Relations 
  • Analytics 

Specialization is not a pigeonhole: within these specializations, there is still forward momentum in career structure. A benefits specialist might start out as a benefits coordinator and grow into a benefits manager. A recruiting specialist might grow from a recruiting coordinator into a VP of Talent Acquisition (and so on). 

In-House HR vs Consulting 

Beyond specialization, HR professionals can customize their careers by taking their talents in-house or becoming free agents. HR consultants step in to help organizations manage and support their workforces when they need an extra set of hands or an expert opinion on how to move forward. Often, organizations will bring in a consultant when they need help with a specific problem, like a recruiting push or a labor relations issue

Consulting is ideal for HR professionals who seek greater flexibility in their work life (like many modern employees right now), that enjoy working on new problems and ideas regularly, and that have a few years of in-house experience under their belts (so that sourcing work isn’t a problem). 

Resume Review: See What a Modern Career In HR Looks Like Today

Tomorrow, Gill Godfrey, Chief People Officer at Storable, joins us for another episode of America Back to Work: Expert Interview Series. Tune in to hear from a true HR professional with 25+ years of experience in the field to see how she built out her HR resume. 

Godfrey has years of both in-house and consulting experience (even running human resources consulting businesses as a managing principal)–and a wide variety of specializations and certifications across HR strategy, coaching, organizational development, change management, employee relations, and psychometric testing

America Back to Work features weekly blogs and interviews with industry professionals, and together, we’re dreaming up a future where companies are thriving, employees enjoy their jobs, and America is back to work. Click here to subscribe. 

Subscribe to America Back to Work

Join America Back to Work, a weekly podcast, video, and blog series that covers timely and relevant topics affecting the labor market and workforce with industry experts. The series includes recruiting, hiring, retention, employee satisfaction, customer service, background screenings, and more.