Breaking into your HR career, it’s considered enough of educational qualifications that you have an undergraduate or a master’s degree to your name in an HR-related subject discipline. But, that was the traditional thinking and eligibility requirements in the HR field. Nowadays, on top of the requisite educational qualifications, you need to acquire a few extra industry-relevant skills to bag an HR job role. For instance, HR tech skills are hot these days, and every other HR job vacancy, across industry verticals, is demanding these skills in a candidate, especially, post the discovery of AI and automation in HR. 

As an aspirant, you might need some sort of aid to help acquire such an extensive HR skillset. And here, comes the role of the highly-valuable and skill-nurturing HR certifications. In this article, we will be discussing the role of professional certifications in shaping a rewarding HR career.

HR Tech Skills Must Not be Ignored in the Contemporary Times

Areas for increased spending on disruptive HR tech by companies worldwide in 2019

Source: Statista

As per a Statista study, it was found that organizations across the world, of late, have increased their spending on HR tech significantly. The areas in HR that are attracting the maximum investment on HR tech, as per the study, include – talent management with 59% respondents, and HRMS (human resources management systems) with 47% respondents agreeing to the same, under the said survey.

Why go for Professional Credentials?

Certifications may not be asked as a mandate in an HR job description but they do offer a distinct competitive advantage, and recruiters do prefer individuals with professional HR credentials under their name. And, as a matter of fact, middle and upper-level HR job listings, sometimes do demand specific certifications as eligibility. Certifications help establish you as an expert in the field, or a better-qualified candidate for a job position in the field of HR management.

Benefits of Acquiring HR Certifications

• Being certified allows you to demand higher salaries. It gives you an added cushion when it comes to salary negotiation.
• As per a Payscale survey, professionals equipped with an HR certification receive higher salaries compared to their non-certified peers, to be specific, between 17 to 31 percent.
• Significantly better chances of getting promoted at work.
• A professional HR credential, once acquired, will help you throughout your career, i.e. helping to climb the career ladder fast.

Different Certifications Help with Different HR Roles

As an HR aspirant, one thing that is the most critical while choosing an HR certification to enroll in is that you must consider what HR position you are aiming for. Each certification serves a specific purpose and is dedicated to making you learn a certain kind of HR skillset. So, do choose wisely when making a choice while keeping in mind your long-term career goal.

Here are a few common HR roles in the current times, for which the hiring is happening in good numbers across the globe - Online Recruiting Specialist, Candidate Experience Specialist, Recruitment Analytics, Diversity Hiring, Corporate Recruiter, External Recruiter, and Talent Acquisition Manager.

Concluding Words

If you are a fresh undergraduate seeking a break in the HR space, do consider enrolling in certifications, as they will help you build a powerful resume that will eventually offer you an unparalleled competitive advantage. And, it’s a well-known fact that the competition in the job markets is the most intense for entry-level job roles. Besides, if you happen to be an early-career HR professional, an industry-relevant HR credential, or multiple certifications in HR management, will help your career take off at a tremendous pace.