Working alongside people and processes makes a human resource career rewarding and challenging.

A human resources career involves serving as an arbitrator, a supervisor, a coordinator, and a teacher. Human resource professionals interview and hire new employees, oversee benefits programs, manage payroll, and facilitate communication between management and staff.

To find out if a career in human resources is right for you, keep reading. 

Advice from a human resources professional

Tina Hawk's HR career has spanned industries over 25 years. She currently oversees the people and talent teams for Inflection, parent company of GoodHire, a provider of background checks for small and mid-size businesses. 

Tina previously headed up the global HR operations for Conduit Global, an international business process outsourcer. She also held several executive leadership positions at TriNet. 

Tina Hawk holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Missouri State University and in her spare time is an avid traveler, foodie, and wine connoisseur who enjoys spending time with her family.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

ZDNet: What type of person is successful and thrives in an HR career? 

Tina Hawk: I've worked with so many amazing HR professionals in my career, and they each bring their own unique attributes. I would say that they all share a passion for people and the ability to navigate complex situations with a high degree of confidentiality.

ZDNet: What type of person may not be the best fit? 

TH: HR professionals wear many hats and must be able to thrive in fast-paced, ever-changing environments with flexibility. Many times the right answer begins with "It depends." If someone needs rigid structure or absolute certainty when solving complex matters, HR might not be the best fit.

ZDNet: What are the most rewarding aspects of your career? 

TH: The ability to motivate and activate colleagues toward a common goal and mission.

ZDNet: What are the most challenging aspects of your career? 

TH: Keeping up with the ever-evolving regulatory environment, particularly when working in global companies.

ZDNet: What's a typical day for an HR professional? What tasks do you typically work on? 

TH: HR is all about communication, so lots of meetings both formal and informal, emails, and phone calls. That's all part of creating that connectivity that permeates all facets of HR, whether it's receiving feedback, setting goals, planning for growth, evaluating policies or practices, etc.

ZDNet: Who do you communicate with? 

TH: Literally everyone in the organization. Each role is critical to our success, so it's important to stay connected with colleagues in every area of the organization.

ZDNet: What kind of hours do you keep? 

TH: I'm straddling a few time zones. My typical day is 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., and most nights, I'll hop back online after 9:00 p.m. to clear out my emails or plan for the following day.

ZDNet: Since becoming an HR pro, has there been anything about the role that you didn't expect or anticipate? 

TH: There are so many dimensions of HR. There is no way to anticipate everything a role may require, and roles tend to form around people over time. This is actually one of the many things I love most about HR.

Day in the life of a human resources professional

No two days in the life of a human resource professional are the same. HR duties vary depending on the business or organization's size.

In a small business, human resource workers might handle:

• Hiring and firing
• Compensation and benefits
• Employee training
• Employee relations
• Conflict resolution
• Personnel record keeping

At large corporations and organizations, a human resource professional may specialize in one area