Human resources specialists play a key role in an organization because they are the main player in the hiring process. But their duties cover much more than that.

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Amy Vanglish, assistant vice president, human resources for Fiserve Inc., says there are a variety of specialties in human resources, including recruiting, compensation and benefits.

Recruiters search for promising job candidates and screen and interview applicants. They also check references and sometimes make job offers. This can involve much traveling.

According to Vanglish, compensation specialists set pay scales, help with performance appraisals and help design merit-system plans. This job also includes other factors such as cost-of-living adjustments and comparing their company's wage scale to those of other firms.

There are also those who manage human resources information systems, in other words, the computer system has employee information databases. "This is usually someone who is more technically mature,'' says Vanglish, who is also president of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. A good background in computers, software and systems analysis is needed.

Larger firms also have training specialists in their human resources departments. They provide orientation sessions for new employees, job training and often work with supervisors and managers to improve their supervisory skills.

"An increasingly popular trend today is to have training outsourced,'' says Vanglish, meaning the company pays a consulting fee to an outside firm or trainer to come in and fill a specific training need.

Human resources specialists also work in employee relations, employee welfare management and as job analysts.

Depending on the size of the company they're working for, the nature of human resources jobs vary. In a smaller company a human resources manager may be directly involved with all of the specialties mentioned. In a large corporation human resources directors oversee managers who run each specialty area.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, jobs in human resources will grow modestly in the next eight years with competition for jobs being very strong.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary offer in 1996 for graduates who received a bachelor's degree in human resources was $25,300.