Since human capital is a term used to describe the value of a person’s skills, experience, or talents to a particular company or organization, all jobs would be considered human capital jobs. Some may rely more on the hard work and talent of each individual than others, such as in industries like sales and marketing, but most industries rely on a team of workers to make things run smoothly. Even unskilled jobs are considered human capital jobs. Assembly line workers, those working in fast food preparation, or employees who clean the office buildings or homes are adding to the productivity and value of the business as a whole.
Jobs which require a lot of human interaction between the company and customers or clients are good examples of human capital jobs. Customer service representatives and sales representatives are of extreme value to most businesses because they are the faces consumers will associate with the company. Whether many clients return for a second or more purchases will be heavily dependent on how well the sales or customer service representatives handle their concerns, help them make a purchase, or direct them to the correct departments.
Other jobs are solely based on the knowledge and skills of a person or people, and these are the most well-known as being human capital jobs. Consultants for business or individuals are one example. They may work in any industry to offer advice and guidance for any number of things. Examples are marketing consultants, sales consultants, or consumer buyers, lactation experts, professional organizers, or nutritionists. All of these professionals offer advice and knowledge-based goods to consumers.
Leadership roles are also human capital jobs, because managers and company owners are responsible for directing and ensuring the success of entire departments or the whole business or organization. They may be in charge of hiring the best and most valuable employees to handle each position within the company, finding new clients, helping existing clients, and keeping track of any subcontractors being used. These professionals are essentially in charge of managing all other human capital in the company.
Employees can increase their human capital by attending continued education courses, taking seminars, and learning as much as possible about their chosen field. This can allow them to move up to higher paying positions and to add more human capital to the company. Doing so is an example of exchanging human capital from one position, department, or company to another, much like actual money is exchanged.