Human Resources & Recruitment

Whilst Human Resources (HR) and Recruitment are distinctly separate industries, they have much in common. The HR department of a business implements strategies and policies surrounding the management of individuals, whilst a Recruitment department manages the procurement of staff. Both functions are very important in modern businesses and as a result rely heavily on a constant influx of graduates.Recruitment consultancies can be employed to do a company's hiring for them.

It is not essential to have a HR qualification to get a job in either industry and typically in Ireland a graduate would begin their career in HR as an administrator and in Recruitment as a Recruitment Consultant.

In larger businesses, a HR department will have a variety of sub-divisions such as:

• Employee Services - dealing with employee grievances, answering queries etc.
• Compensation and Benefits - Managing annual salary reviews and company pension, healthcare plans etc.
• Training - Providing courses/training days/qualifications for employees.
• Payroll - The function that manages the salary payments of employees.
• Staffing - Staffing departments manage the influx of new recruits across all disciplines of the organisation.

In smaller companies graduates can expect to be trained as a HR generalist, dealing with all of the above and more.

Recruitment companies enter agreements with companies to advertise job vacancies for them and manage the companies' interview diaries, with the final say on the hiring of the candidate resting with the employer. The job of a Recruitment Consultant is largely a sales role, finding new clients to recruit for and matching candidates with vacancies. Most recruitment firms are meritocracies and results driven, with career progression based on performance rather than seniority.

Some of the common required skills to work in these industries are:

• Professionalism - You are the face of the business to the employee or potential candidate and this should be represented in your behaviour/personality
• Attention to detail - Essential in effectively representing a business unit
• Analytical skills - e.g. Forming an educated opinion on a current employee's grievance or the suitability of a potential candidate
• Organisation - No two days are the same for employees of either industry. Time management and personal efficiency are key.
• Multi-tasking - Being a point of contact means your schedule will be interrupted regularly. The ability to juggle numerous tasks in a day without dropping any is also essential.