I am a Human Resources Generalist. I have over 15 years of experience in the field. If I had to describe myself in three adjectives, they would be organized, intelligent and intuitive.
I am an Asian-American woman. My race and gender have neither hurt nor helped me in my career, although some people seem to believe women are better at reading character and expressions. That definitely has helped me in my field. My job is quite multi-faceted. As a generalist, I am responsible for almost every area of human resources for the company. I do the hiring (including coming up with the interview questions) and the firing (unfortunately). I implement training programs for the staff as well as handle employee conflicts. My work entails long hours and attention to detail. Many people believe that Human Resources is the easy part of the company’s operation. They think that we just come up with the typical interview questions and simply interview people. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. We handle labor disputes, negotiate contracts and deal directly with the labor unions.
On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate my job satisfaction a 10. I love being able to interact with people daily and make their work lives easier. I do sometimes wish I had greater control over some aspects of my job, but overall I’m very happy. I definitely feel like I’ve found my calling with this job. I’ve always been organized and able to negotiate well, so I think I’m well suited for every aspect of human resources, including the difficulties of letting go of employees and figuring out which customer service interview questions or information technology interview questions I should ask the next candidate.
I started my career in human resources as an intern. I was studying business in college and I took an internship with a large company in their H.R. department. I instantly loved it because it appealed to my meticulous nature. After that I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in human resources. If I could go back and do things differently, I would have taken an additional internship at a different type of firm to expand my experience, knowledge, and job interview abilities. There is a huge difference in working in H.R. for a large company than for working for a smaller one or a government agency.
I learned a lot of things the hard way in this job. One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned is that not everything is going to go “by the book.” You have to have intuition, judgment and great decision-making skills. In one of my previous jobs we had an employee that was chronically late to work every day. We made the decision to fire him. But a few days later, we did more research on said employee and found out that he had a very long commute to work and his tardiness was due to regular transportation issues. We worked out a way that he could work from home for two hours in the morning then come in a bit later. Because he was working before arriving to work and was now arriving on time, we ultimately saved the company money and saved him from losing his job.
The single most important thing I’ve learned outside of school is that the working world can be very cutthroat. You have to have a set goal in mind and work toward it no matter if you’re in nursing world, legal world, or the like. When you’re in school, you have a class that lasts for a specific duration, then you move to the next class and so on until you graduate. In the working world, you have to set goals for yourself and keep yourself on track.
The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in this job was a funny interview when an interviewee brought in a surfboard. I’m sure you can understand that I lost my train of though and couldn’t remember any of my prepared interview questions! He claimed that he was going to the beach after our meeting was over. Regardless, the surfboard was like seven feet tall and very distracting for both of us. Interview tip of the day: don’t bring your surfboard to your next job interview!
When I wake up in the morning, I get up and go to work each day because I know I’m helping people. I help people have a meaningful career and a great work and life balance. One of the accomplishments of which I’m most proud is advocating for a mother’s room within our building so that new mothers could pump milk during work time. The project was a success and I am glad that I was able to help provide that for all of the recent mothers in our company.
I face a lot of challenges on the job. Being a generalist leads people to believe that you are supposed to have the solutions to all of their problems. That’s simply not the case. I have a lot of fires to put out every day to make sure everyone gets paid on time and that their benefits are being received and are working.
My job is very stressful. On any given day I have to make sure the payroll is done, interview new candidates, write job descriptions and interview questions, run meetings and deal with the unions. All of this while someone is complaining to me that they don’t like the person’s perfume in the next office. I’m able to maintain a healthy work/life balance because I can disconnect at the end of the day. Some people can’t do this, and this can cause a great deal of stress. No matter your job, you should never take your work home with you (unless of course you’re working from home!).
Most human resources professionals start off as assistants and make an hourly wage. For my position, the average starting salary is about $55,000. I believe I’m paid enough for the work that I do, but there’s always room for a raise! I’m offered three weeks vacation every year but I rarely take all of it. I always feel that my staff is going to suffer if I’m gone, so my resolution is to take more vacation time in the coming years.
To get hired in the field of Human Resource, you generally need a Bachelor of Arts degree, preferably in a business-related field like Business Administration, Finance or Marketing. In addition, you should have some experience in a human resources department and your experience should include progressing levels of responsibility.
If I had a friend considering a career in human resources, I would tell her to invest in an extra helping of patience. It’s a great job if you can handle the stress and can keep your work separated from your personal life. For any future job interview, be sure to research the job interview questions that are relevant to your position, as well as the most common interview questions that you will likely face on the big day.
—–
This is a true career story as told to LatPro Learn. This site features real stories from Hispanic professionals in a myriad of professions. If you have considered a career in the employment industry, read on to learn what the job is really like from this Human Resource Generalist. Visit LatPro for more interviews with employment professionals including one from a Refugee Employer Services Representative a Job Fair Event Planner and many others.