Human resource professional certification is designed for people who have work experience within human resources and want to formalize their experience and knowledge. Maybe you are already in a senior management role but want to the certification to help you make a sideways career step into human resources, away from general management. You might study strategic management, workforce planning, human resource development, compensation and benefits, employee and labor relations, and occupational health and safety. You may find that with your particular work experience you may already have an in depth knowledge of some of the courses. Others may prove more challenging.

It is difficult to offer much insight into individual career progression and opportunities. Everybody's experience is different and what one employer needs may be different from the next. Since human resource professional certification is designed to formalize your current knowledge, certification will be taken into account together with your personal industry relevant experience, which may have come from finance, heavy industry, IT, or hospitality. You might find work as an employee benefits director, employee relation manager, or training director. You may be a senior manager new to human resources. Human resources professional certification may also prove useful if you want to update your skills or you want to move further up the ladder within HR away from routine tasks.