HR Entry-Level Jobs Guide: Roles, Salaries, and Strategies to Get Hired

Human resources, commonly referred to as HR, is a vital department within any organization responsible for managing employee-related matters. Professionals in entry-level HR positions provide essential resources and support to employees. These resources can range from guidance on career advancement within the company, work-related training and education, and work schedule flexibility, to assistance with work-related concerns, personal issues, and medical problems.

Understanding the fundamental role of HR and exploring human resources entry-level positions can provide valuable insights into this dynamic and essential field. Discover more about what HR entails, examples of entry-level HR jobs, how to get a job in HR, and the various pathways to a career in HR.

What is HR?

Human resources, or HR, is the department within an organization that deals with all employee matters. When you work in HR, you'll handle tasks like:

• Employee recruitment

• Employee retention

• Employee hiring, evaluation, and termination

• Disciplinary actions

• Maintenance of employee records

• Payroll administration 

• Delivery of employee benefits

• Development of employee policies and procedures

As the name suggests, a human resources department provides resources to humans, in this case, employees. As someone working in HR, you'll typically provide these types of resources to fellow employees:

• Guidance for advancing within the company

• Work-related training and education

• Work schedule flexibility, if offered

• Guidance with work-related concerns, personal issues, and medical problems

Read more: What Does HR Do?

Examples of HR entry-level jobs

Entry-level HR jobs require different duties. Explore how to get into human resources with the following examples of entry-level positions. Consider those that fit your interests and skills. 

*All salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of November 2024.

Human resources assistant

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $48,677

As an assistant to the human resources manager, you'll have an opportunity to learn a lot about HR. Some skills necessary for this job include confidentiality, being organized, and communicating well. Job duties you may have include:

• Assisting with employee recruitment (posting job openings, pre-screening job applicants, and setting up interviews)

• Managing HR emails and other communications

• Maintaining personnel files

• Collecting paperwork from new employees

• Informing new employees about benefits

• Tracking changes to benefits plans

This position typically requires at least an associate degree in human resource management, but a bachelor's degree may be preferred. Companies might accept related degrees in personnel management or business administration. If you stay in this job for a few years, it's possible to advance to senior human resources assistant and maybe even human resources manager. 

Staffing coordinator

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $49,055

As a staffing coordinator in an HR department, you'll attend to personnel needs. Skills that help in this job include organizational skills and the ability to communicate well orally and in writing. Your job duties might include:

• Helping out with staff hiring, training, and orientation

• Explaining work duties and responsibilities to new employees

• Documenting work performance

• Preparing disciplinary reports

• Developing and monitoring work schedules

• Managing requests for time off

Most companies require that staffing coordinators have at least a bachelor's degree in human resources or a related field. Career advancements you might make within HR from a staffing coordinator position include becoming a recruiter and, eventually, a senior recruiter. 

Payroll administrator

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $60,859

The duties of a payroll administrator focus on employee compensation. Skills that can help you land a job as a payroll administrator include an ability to work with numbers and experience with payroll software. In this position, your tasks typically include:

• Processing timecards

• Managing payroll

• Maintaining hourly wage or salary information

• Tracking employee leave

• Managing payroll tax returns and deposits

• Entering data into employee databases and timekeeping systems

To get a job as a payroll administrator, it's a good idea to get an associate degree in accounting or finance at a minimum. With just a few years in this role, it may be possible to advance to a payroll specialist position. 

Training assistant

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $50,242

A training assistant works under the training manager. This job requires excellent organizational skills and the ability to work well under pressure. If you're hired as a training assistant, you would likely handle much of the prep work for employee training like:

• Creating training schedules and timetables

• Finding and securing locations

• Booking guest speakers

• Making travel arrangements

• Setting up rooms

• Preparing and distributing training materials

Although many companies require at least an associate degree for training assistant positions, you don't necessarily need one in human resources. Other acceptable fields might include education, business, or social sciences. If you have a goal for advancing from this position, possible jobs you might look to include training manager or training specialist.  

Additional entry-level HR positions include:

• HR intern

• HR coordinator

• HR associate

• Recruitment coordinator

• Talent acquisition coordinator

• Diversity and inclusion coordinator

• Benefits administrator

• HR generalist

• HR support specialist

The different pathways to a career in HR

You can pursue a few different pathways to entry-level HR positions. These include getting an HR degree or a degree in a related subject or using past job experience to try to land an HR job. 

A bachelor's degree in HR

Many companies expect candidates to have a bachelor's degree in HR as part of their hiring requirements or at least an associate degree. You can find colleges and universities worldwide that offer HR degrees in person and online, or you can get a business degree with an HR emphasis. Examples of HR degrees you can get and the average completion time include:

• Associate degree in human resources: Two years to earn

• Bachelor's degree in human resources: Four years to earn

• Master's degree in human resources: 16 to 24 months to earn after earning a bachelor's degree

A degree in a related subject

Sometimes, you don't need a degree in HR to get an entry-level position. Degrees in related subjects can offer knowledge and skills that might help you in an HR position like:

• Leadership skills

• Knowledge of employee management

• Ability to communicate orally and in writing

• Experience working with numbers

Examples of related degrees include: 

• Business

• Communications

• Economics

• Finance

• Marketing

• Organizational psychology

• Public relations

• Business administration 

Related degrees offer different strengths for HR positions. For instance, a finance degree might help you get a job as a payroll administrator. In contrast, a communications or public relations degree might be valuable when applying for an HR assistant position.  

Industry experience

Past work experience in non-HR areas might transfer nicely to an HR job. For example, you could be considered for an entry-level HR job if you have experience as a:

• Team leader

• Shift manager

• Customer service representative

• Administrative assistant

• Salesperson

Top this experience with a good work record and excellent references, and you might be one of the company's leading candidates. 

It also helps to let your superiors know if you're interested in getting an HR position within your company. With this information, they can help keep you informed when HR positions open up and point you toward available training opportunities.  

Tips on how to get into HR

Launching a successful HR career requires a strong foundation. You can do this by gaining practical experience through internships, developing business acumen through relevant courses, and leveraging professional networks to gain insights and discover opportunities.

Get experience.

An internship allows you to get basic hands-on experience that can help you be a more skilled HR job candidate. You might land a job at the company you're interning for or gain a few valuable contacts. Internships can be paid or unpaid. You can either be a student, looking for a job, or someone currently working on getting one. Check with your college or university, visit your local job service, or scan job ads to find an HR internship. 

Learn about business.

As an HR employee, it's important for you to know about how companies are structured and how financial systems work. This knowledge will help you look more legitimate to your employer and fellow employees, and it may help you advance in your HR career. To become more familiar with the business side of human resources:

• Read books and articles about general business management.

• Take classes in accounting, finance, or business statistics. 

• Get an accounting, finance, or marketing internship.

Network.

Networking is the process of developing professional relationships and contacts. You can get leads on jobs and job recommendations through networking, which can help you land an entry-level HR position. 

To start networking, check professional social media platforms for possible connections and ensure your social media page looks professional. Other ways to network include:

• Attending professional events

• Participating in workshops

• Joining a professional HR association

• Visiting the alumni department at your college or university

Read more: How to Use LinkedIn: A Guide to Online Networking

Take a course. 

Taking an online HR-related course or one through a local college or university could help improve your chances of getting an entry-level job and give you an opportunity to network with other professionals. Examples of course topics include HR analytics, hiring practices, and human resource management. While these courses are beginner courses, others may require qualifications like completion of prior courses or a certain amount of college credits. 

Qualifications to further your HR career

To improve your chances for advancement within the ranks of an HR department, you can complete one of several HR certifications. For example, HRCI (HR Certification Institute) offers certifications for:

• People just starting out in HR

• HR managers

• Senior HR managers

• Global HR managers

Some examples of its certifications include:

• aPHR (Associate Professional in Human Resources)

• PHR (Professional in Human Resources)

• SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources)

• GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources)

You can also get certifications from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and various other organizations, colleges, and universities. To stay on top of the most current practices in HR, it's a good idea to complete certifications throughout your career. 

Read more: What Is Human Resources and HR Management?

Get started with Coursera

The field of human resources offers a growing number of entry-level jobs with various paths to entry. HR is an essential department within organizations, responsible for managing employee-related matters, from recruitment and retention to payroll and benefits administration. Entry-level HR positions provide crucial support and resources to employees, such as career advancement guidance, training, and assistance with work-related concerns. By applying strategies for getting into human resources, you can be well on your way to getting an entry-level HR position.

To gain even more knowledge about HR, it can help to take a few courses. Find interesting HR courses for beginners on Coursera, such as Hiring Practices, from the University of California, Irvine. This course offers information about employee selection, recruitment, and retention with specific awareness of diversity and inclusion. 

Consider launching your HR career with the HRCI Human Resource Associate Professional Certificate. You'll have the opportunity to learn essential HR skills, such as employee relationships, training development, recruitment, compliance strategy, and more. Upon completion, you'll have a Professional Certificate to share on your resume and help you qualify for in-demand jobs, such as HR associate, HR specialist, and HR coordinator.