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HR Graduate Jobs - A Guide

About Graduate HR Jobs
Working in HR (Human Resources) can be a challenging yet highly rewarding career and, after completing university, HR is a field that attracts many young people for graduate jobs and careers.

Graduate HR jobs will suit those who love the challenge of working in a varied role. Many people think jobs in HR are just about hiring and firing staff for a company. Whilst that is a component of human resources jobs, there is also much more to the role.

HR graduate schemes with larger companies should give you the opportunity to perform various HR assistant jobs in different areas of the department so that you get a full overview of what the role entails. Eventually, this will help you to pinpoint your strengths so that you can move into HR manager jobs in the future.

As well as learning about the recruitment process for your company and the laws and legislation around this, HR graduate schemes will also give you experience in:
  • Keeping staff information and company operations confidential
  • Administrative tasks and how they relate to company operations
  • Understanding how the company systems work for payroll, timesheets and other staff details
  • How the HR team works to recruit staff and provide the necessary inductions and training for the benefit of the company
  • The role the HR team plays in looking after and developing existing staff both for their benefit and the benefit of the company
  • How current employment law relates to the company
  • Health and safety and how it relates to your workplace and the staff within it
  • The role of the HR team in keeping staff motivated and feeling valued by scheduling interviews, in house training, outside courses and examinations for further qualifications
Types Of HR Graduate Jobs
Human resources jobs can crop in a whole variety of sectors and this is also true of HR graduate programmes that are designed to fast track your career. Whatever the sector, as companies grow, either an HR team will be required or just one or two people can fulfil the company needs. This obviously depends on the size of the company.

HR graduate schemes are often to be found with larger companies that are looking for the best graduates to fill their roles. You could be doing graduate HR jobs in sectors such as:
  • Manufacturing - famous names in food production, textiles, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, for example.
  • The retail industry - this could be well known supermarket chains or high street fashion retail brands, for example.
  • The finance sector such as banking or insurance.
  • The construction industry - this could be with housing developers who use both permanent staff and contractors or housing associations.
  • Local authorities
  • The National Health Service
  • Charities
If you are working for a smaller company, graduate human resources jobs will see you covering all areas of the role. Larger companies will have the capacity to have people doing specialist HR jobs in a particular area of the profession so you could choose to specialise in one of these areas.

What Do Employers Look For In Their Candidates For Graduate HR Jobs?
Graduate HR jobs are popular amongst university leavers and, whether you apply for roles whilst still at university, or you apply after graduation, employers will be looking for particular skills and traits that they think will make you the perfect person for their roles. For some graduate jobs in HR, there might be company assessment centres that could include various tasks, role plays, interviews and psychometric testing.

If you have done HR jobs as internships whilst still studying, this could give you a chance to stand out above the competition either with the company you did the internship with or with other companies who offer HR graduate schemes or other HR vacancies. Some companies will require you to have a 2:1 degree, whilst others will ask for a minimum 2:2.

As for your degree subject, for many companies offering graduate jobs, it is not important what you specialised in. However, some companies might look for business related degrees or other subjects that relate to HR such as social sciences. If you think a particular aspect of your degree could give your application for HR jobs a boost, be sure to highlight this in your application.

Some of the qualities employers might look for, for those applying for HR careers are:
  • An ability to embrace change and keep up to date with developments in HR.
  • Ability to work as part of a team - especially important in graduate HR jobs for larger companies with various HR, and other, departments.
  • Excellent people skills - all human resources jobs will require you to be able to deal with staff members in a tactful, sometimes compassionate, way and also maintain their confidence. As well as organising training and staff development, HR assistant jobs and HR graduate schemes will also prepare you for dealing with staff welfare when difficult situations arise.
  • Persuasive personality - not everyone is going to agree with your way of thinking or new ideas when you are doing human resources jobs. Sometimes, this will require you to persuade people around in a professional and convincing way.
  • Credibility - graduate HR jobs will require you to learn quickly so that you really know your stuff and can communicate with others in a way that demonstrates you know your role.
  • Be a good role model - Human resources jobs are about looking after company staff, professionally and, sometimes, personally, too. If you are asking for particular behaviour practices from the staff then you need to demonstrate that you can do the same.
What Is The Salary For HR Graduate Jobs?
Starting salaries for graduate HR jobs will depend on the type of company you have applied to. If you have applied for specialised HR graduate schemes, you could be starting on an attractive salary. Those of you who are applying to smaller firms, you could be starting out doing HR assistant jobs where the salary is slightly less until you gain experience or CIPD qualifications.

Career Progression In HR Graduate Jobs
When you embark upon HR graduate careers, many companies will be hoping to fast track you, especially if you have been awarded a place on dedicated HR graduate programmes. Once you have completed placements or training, HR manager jobs could be possible or, eventually, HR director roles.

Apply For HR Graduate Jobs In The UK
E4S regularly advertises vacancies with companies offering human resources jobs for graduates. If you think HR is the graduate career for you, take a look to see if there is anything suitable right now.

HR Intern Placement

ADP

Staines-Upon-Thames

Competitive

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