Human Resources Managers
Skills & Knowledge
Most Important Skills for Human Resources Managers
- Managing People—Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Managing Time—Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Being Aware of Others—Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Evaluating a System or Organization—Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning New Things—Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- 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.
- Making Decisions—Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Most Important Knowledge Areas for Human Resources Managers
- 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.
- Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- 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.
- Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government—Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Psychology—Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology—Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
- Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Interests
Different careers may be a good fit for your personality or interests. This career is:
- Enterprising—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.
- Social—Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Learn more about your interests. Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment.
Describe Your Skills
People who have worked in this career typically perform the following tasks.
These statements can help a prospective employer understand what you can do, on a resume or during an interview.
- Communicating with supervisors, co-workers, or people that work under you.
- Creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
- Resolving conflicts or negotiating with people.
- Staffing work units.
- Making decisions or solving problems.
- Collecting information from different sources.
- Consult with or advise other people.
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards.
Careers that Use Similar Skills
The following careers use skills, knowledge, and abilities that are similar to those used for Human Resources Managers.
View more careers in the Business, Management, and Administration cluster
View more careers in the Human Resources Management pathway
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
