by Kiana Willis
The Vice President of HR at Pfizer stated that human resources primarily deals with human potential, whereas in other departments you may be dealing with advertising a product, managing a team ect. However in human resources you have the ability to help people develop and grow. I think it’s great to be able to help others reach their highest potential and watch them mature as individuals. Someone once made a statement that if you do something you love then you’ll never have to work a day in your life, I totally agree with that which is why I decided to pursue human resources.
I think that people should work in a field that they are passionate about and if they’re not in it then at least work towards that goal then little by little you will eventually end up there. I like the field because you can work in numerous disciplines such as organizational development, compensation and benefits, occupational health and safety, HRIS, diversity, labor and employee relations ect with hundreds of different job titles. There’s no limit to what specific area you can work in so if you don’t like payroll you can easily change to training.
HR is such a valuable part of any company and it’s the greatest asset a company can own, human capital so why not invest in it-the bottom line. I believe that if you invest in your workers they will invest in you (as a company). I like that fact that HR professionals have such a wide variety of skill sets and most importantly that they are recognized as professional by advanced certifications and advanced degrees.
Whether you decide to take a specialist or generalist role in HR the rewards are plentiful. Although Cornell University is the only school in the world dedicated to the study of labor relations and human resources (undergraduate level) hopefully in the near future that will change.
Source: http://archive.blackenterprise.net/2004/06/01/hr-growth/