Every company, big or small, relies on human resource professionals — those versatile employees responsible for everything from making great hires and fostering a strong company culture to communicating and enforcing company policies. Skilled HR professionals help things run smoothly and make their companies great places to work.
In any sizable organization, the foundation of the HR team is the human resources specialist. HR specialists attend to day-to-day HR operations like screening and interviewing job candidates, onboarding new hires and more. HR specialists typically report to an HR manager.
Although the HR specialist is an entry-level role, it can open the door to many opportunities.
HR skills are very widely used and transferable — you can be in the HR function in any industry.
—
Rupert Bader
Group Director of Workforce Intelligence, Walmart
“HR skills are very widely used and transferable — you can be in the HR function in any industry, from very small companies to very large companies,” says Rupert Bader, group director of workforce intelligence at Walmart, who helped develop the UW Certificate in Human Resources Essentials offered by UW Professional & Continuing Education. “It’s a really strong skill set to have when you’re starting out.”
Human Resources Specialists Jobs are on the Rise
According to O*NET, the number of jobs for HR specialists in the United States is expected to grow 8% through 2033. Prospects in Washington state are even better, with growth expected to more than triple that amount at 26%.
Seattle’s robust economy is creating more jobs, and more jobs means more HR jobs.
“Seattle has a high-growth economy, but it also has a lot of jobs that depend on the quality of the people you hire, like technical jobs or professional services,” Bader says. “If you are a company with those kinds of jobs, you’re really motivated to invest in the HR function.”
Projected Growth
U.S. (2023-33): 8%
Washington state (2020-30): 26%
Median Annual salary
U.S. (2023): $67,650
Washington state (2023): $71,190
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET
Skills HR Specialists Need to Know
HR specialists need a wide range of skills and abilities to start out in the industry — skills that the UW Certificate in Human Resources Essentials is designed to impart.
In the first two courses, students learn foundational competencies that are necessary to succeed in an entry-level HR position, including records management, communication, compliance with policies and regulations, and problem solving.
The third and final course uses real-world scenarios to teach students how to apply the skills they’ve learned in key HR functional areas such as payroll, operations, compensation and benefits, recruiting and learning and development. It also teaches students how to prepare for launching their HR careers at either small or large organizations.
The certificate program emphasizes cutting-edge HR skills like project management and analytics, which reflect the changing nature of HR in today's workforce. It used to be that HR had a more tactical role; more and more, it’s an essential part of the overall strategy.
“The older model was about HR providing service to the organization’s leaders. The new model is about HR asking leaders what problems they are trying to solve, and then helping to solve them,” Bader says.
That’s where analytics come in: In their problem-solving capacity, HR professionals rely on data to inform their recommendations.
“Like many fields, HR is all about the analytics these days,” Bader says. “It’s not enough anymore to just do what the managers or leaders of the organization want. HR is bringing a stronger point of view based on the data than they have in the past.”
Getting Started or Advancing Your Career in Human Resources
Interested in getting started in the field of human resources? Check out the UW Certificate in Human Resources Essentials.
If you’re already a HR professional and would like to move into a management role, you might consider our more advanced UW Certificate in Human Resources Management.