How to become an HR director and HR manager: 6 beginner jobs open today

1. Know what the work is. An HR director and HR manager leads a company’s HR: hiring plans, pay, policies, culture and the HR team. Beginner postings today use titles like HR Manager; Founding People Lead; Associate People Manager; Head of People.
2. Learn the duties, not only the tools. Postings for this work describe what you will do more than which software you will use: read ten of them and list the duties that repeat.
3. Build proof you can show. Two or three results with a number, from a job, a course project or volunteer work. The kind of line a recruiter looks for: “Was the HR partner for 300 employees in 3 departments”. Certifications the postings name: SHRM-SCP, PHR, SHRM-CP.
4. Write the resume and the letter. Start from the HR director and HR manager resume example and the cover letter example, and replace every line with your own.
5. Apply where beginners are hired. 6 of today’s 198 open HR director and HR manager jobs are junior or intern roles or ask for two years of experience or less. See the open jobs and check each one with the resume match checker before you apply.

Employee relations (30%), Workforce planning (27%), HRIS (25%), Performance management (25%), Change management (15%), Compensation (12%), Employment law (12%), Workday (10%), SHRM certification (10%), Benefits administration (8%) of today’s 198 open HR director and HR manager postings name them. Learn the first three well before the rest.

The step is the level word in the job title; “No level in the title” is usually the mid-level role. After senior, people move into lead, staff or principal roles, or into managing a team. What each level means.

• Build one piece of work you can show and talk about in an interview.
• Earn a certification employers name in this work: SHRM-SCP, PHR.
• Keep a list of your results with numbers, updated every month: it becomes your resume lines and your interview stories.
• Find one person a few years ahead of you in this work and ask for a 20-minute talk each quarter.

• Headline: the title employers search for, then your strongest skills and one result: “HR Director and HR Manager | [one result with a number]”.
• About: three short paragraphs: what you do, two results with numbers, what you want next.
• Skills section: list the skills postings name, in their words: Employee relations, Workforce planning, HRIS, Performance management, Change management.
• Open to work: set the job titles and places you want; recruiters filter by them.

Write the headline with the LinkedIn headline generator.

How much experience do HR director and HR manager jobs ask for?

The median in today’s postings is 8 years; 5% of the postings that name a number ask for two years or less.

Do I need a degree to become an HR director and HR manager?

11% of today’s 198 postings say no degree is required. Many others accept equivalent experience: read the requirements of each posting.

How much does a beginner HR director and HR manager earn?

Few beginner postings state pay. Across all levels, the median advertised pay is $226K a year.

What qualifications do you need to become an HR director and HR manager?

Employers name skills first: the duties in the posting. The median posting asks for 8 years of experience. 11% say no degree is required. Certifications named in the full text of 44 postings: SHRM-SCP (13), PHR (5), SHRM-CP (4).

Is AI replacing HR director and HR managers?

Not in today’s postings: 198 HR director and HR manager jobs are open on Jobs Every Hour as of Nov 15, 2026, and 4% of them ask for AI or machine-learning skills.