Human Resources Assistant job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

9

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

Associate's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$50,610

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping (O*NET-SOC 43-4161.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence. importance 4.1 of 5
2. Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants. importance 4.0 of 5
3. Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans. importance 3.9 of 5
4. Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information. importance 3.8 of 5
5. Prepare and set up for new employee orientations. importance 3.8 of 5
6. Gather personnel records from other departments or employees. importance 3.8 of 5
7. Examine employee files to answer inquiries and provide information for personnel actions. importance 3.7 of 5
8. Search employee files to obtain information for authorized persons and organizations, such as credit bureaus and finance companies. importance 3.5 of 5
9. Compile and prepare reports and documents pertaining to personnel activities. importance 3.2 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Working with Computers, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships and Processing Information.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Interview job applicants to obtain and verify information used to screen and evaluate them.
• Process and review employment applications to evaluate qualifications or eligibility of applicants.
• Inform job applicants of their acceptance or rejection of employment.
• Select applicants meeting specified job requirements and refer them to hiring personnel.
• Arrange for advertising or posting of job vacancies and notify eligible workers of position availability.
• Request information from law enforcement officials, previous employers, and other references to determine applicants' employment acceptability.

Knowledge areas: Personnel and Human Resources, Administrative, Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management and English Language.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Applicant tracking software. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among human resources assistants surveyed by O*NET is a bachelor's degree (34%).

Job title: Human Resources Assistant
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Human Resources Assistant to compile and keep personnel records.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
- Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
- Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans.
- Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.
- Prepare and set up for new employee orientations.
- Gather personnel records from other departments or employees.
- Examine employee files to answer inquiries and provide information for personnel actions.
- Search employee files to obtain information for authorized persons and organizations, such as credit bureaus and finance companies.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists an associate's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, active listening and speaking
- Working knowledge of Personnel and Human Resources and Administrative
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $50,610 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $24.33. BLS estimates about 90,220 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of human resources assistants to decline 6.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full human resources assistant salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real human resources assistant posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only human resources assistant work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and active listening); human resources assistant interview questions turns them into practice questions.