Employment specialists work to place people in jobs that fit their talents, experiences, and interests. Read on to discover the responsibilities you'll have as an employment specialist and the education you'll need to start your career in this field.
Career Overview
As an employment specialist, you'll be responsible for recruiting potential employees or finding jobs for people who need them. You could run workshops, provide employment counseling, and/or perform community outreach tasks. Your duties might include assessing occupational skills, developing job-search skills, screening possible employees and building partnerships with potential employers.
Working as an employment specialist, you can specialize in finding jobs for specific unemployed populations, such as veterans, former inmates, people with disabilities, or members of a religious group. If you work as an employment specialist for one of these kinds of groups, your duties could also include sociopolitical advocacy or community activism on behalf of the group. You might also choose to specialize in a particular type of occupation, such as information technology, medical, or legal jobs.
<h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutHumanResourcesSpecialists">Important Facts About Human Resources Specialists</h3><p></p><table border="1"><tr><td>Work Environment</td><td>Offices, job fairs, college campuses</td></tr>
<tr><td>Similar Occupations</td><td>Public relations specialists, insurance sales agents, human resources managers</td></tr>
<tr><td> Median Salary (2021) </td><td> $62,290 (<i>for human resources specialists</i>)</td></tr>
<tr><td> Job Outlook (2021-2031) </td><td> 8% (<i>for human resources specialists</i>)</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---NecessaryEducation">Necessary Education</h3><p>To prepare for a job as an employment specialist, you could earn a bachelor's degree in social work, business, human resources, or a related field. Some of these majors might offer coursework or concentrations in community organizations. In a social work or community organization program, you could take courses that cover the following topics:
</p><ul><li>Interviewing skills
</li><li>Human behavior and organizational psychology
</li><li>Social welfare programs and policies
</li><li>Foundations of social justice
</li><li>Community social work practices
</li><li>Employee relations
</li><li>Employment laws and acts
</li></ul><p>Your program might also require you to participate in internship and fieldwork classes. Through these practicums, you'll receive exposure to practical situations through supervised experiences at social services or employment advising agencies.
</p><h3 id="section---GraduateStudyOptions">Graduate Study Options</h3><p>Earning a Master of Social Work (MSW) could offer you more employment options. Depending on your school and degree program, you may be able to choose an emphasis in a community organization or macro social work that can align with your career goal as an employment specialist. If you pursue this concentration, you'll take classes on social movements, program planning, and political advocacy. You'll also be required to complete field studies or practicum courses, which can give you experience in community organizing.
</p><h3 id="section---OtherJobQualifications">Other Job Qualifications</h3><p>In addition to meeting education requirements, potential employers might expect you to have some prior experience in recruiting and staffing. Depending on the duties of your specific position, you could also need communications, teaching, or public speaking skills. If you want to work with a specific population, you can learn about a group's particular needs by getting a job or volunteering in a specific setting, such as an outreach clinic, hospital, or community center. If you work for a state agency as an employment specialist in a social work capacity, you could need to obtain licensure through your state.</p>
