42A Human Resources Specialist: civilian jobs and resume guide
The service source describes this work around preparing and maintaining personnel documents, supporting personnel actions and requests, and reviewing personnel data and records. Your assignment may have included only part of that work.
These are the civilian occupations O*NET connects to this military code. They are options to explore—not a ranking, a license, or proof that you performed every duty listed.
Compile and keep personnel records. Record data for each employee, such as address, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports, and date of and reason for termination. May prepare reports for employment records, file employment records, or search employee files and furnish information to authorized persons.
Typical national pay$44,030–$59,800Median $50,610 · BLS OEWS 2025
Pay can vary by location, employer, schedule, credentials, and experience.
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Requirements and work details
O*NET Job Zone 3: medium preparation is usually needed.
O*NET does not establish a universal civilian license for this occupation. Employers may still require credentials.
Example civilian duties from O*NET
Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
Record data for each employee, including such information as addresses, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports on performance, and dates of and reasons for terminations.
Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
Tools and software named by O*NET
Applicant tracking software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Test what transfers
Choose the skills you actually used
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Resume example
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This is an example for the civilian direction you chose, not your resume. The skills you select above update its Skills section. Start your own resume with the direction and skills you confirm here.
Human Resources Assistant
Summary
Human Resources Assistant compiling and maintaining personnel records, processing documentation for staffing and recruitment, and providing support for employee benefits and onboarding activities
Experience
Human Resources Assistant
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Processed, verified, and maintained personnel related documentation for staffing, recruitment, training, and employee leaves of absence
Recorded data for each employee, including addresses, weekly earnings, absences, and performance reports
Explained company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees and job applicants
Provided assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans
Prepared and set up for new employee orientations to facilitate onboarding
Compiled and prepared reports and documents pertaining to personnel activities for management review
Interviewed job applicants to obtain and verify information used to screen and evaluate their qualifications
Skills
Administration
Administering recruitment activities, Issuing documentation or identification
Core Skills
Searching files, Obtaining personal information, Interviewing others, Applicant tracking software, Compiling data or documentation, Recording personnel information, Explaining procedures, Setting up classroom materials, Training personnel
Tools and software
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word
Open to
On site, Remote
Education
Certificate Your training program, Year
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
Prepare before writing
Gather evidence from your actual work
Write private notes for yourself. Keep only facts you can explain and support.
What work involving preparing and maintaining personnel documents did you personally perform, and what record could support it?
For supporting personnel actions and requests, which systems, tools, materials, or records did you actually use?
How did you verify or document reviewing personnel data and records, and what result can you support?
Within your Army Human Resources Specialist assignment, what frequency, workload, timing, or scope can you document without guessing?
For this Army record, which training or credentials remain current, and which should be described only as past experience?
Fictional translation example
Put your experience into civilian language
Think of this as a translation, not a script. This fictional example keeps the same work facts while replacing military jargon with clear civilian wording.
Before
Processed personnel actions and maintained Soldier records for the unit.
After
Processed personnel requests and maintained workforce records for an organization.
Why this wording is fair
Processed personnel requests
Maintained workforce records
Supported one organization
Use the pattern, not the sentence: keep it only when the same facts are true for you.
Continue with your confirmed facts
Start with this service experience
Rung will carry this military code and your confirmed details into the interview on this device.
Structured guidance last changed: 2026-08-08. Source-verification dates appear with each source below.
Why: to help veterans evaluate civilian directions and recover truthful resume evidence before entering Rung.
How: deterministic software joined the approved records below. Constrained AI assistance helped draft explanations and evidence prompts from those records; it did not create military codes, civilian mappings, pay figures, credentials, or source facts. Every page remains subject to provenance, prohibited-claim, similarity, and attributed editorial-review checks.
Privacy: skill choices and optional notes stay in this browser. Rung requires no account. You can change or remove every carried detail.