What does a Labor Relations Specialist do?

Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints. Day to day that includes work like negotiate collective bargaining agreements and Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.

What skills should a Labor Relations Specialist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Labor Relations Specialist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Internet Grievance System IGS, Kubernetes, LaborSoft LaborForce Arbitration/Appeals Manager module, LaborSoft LaborForce Discipline Manager module, and LaborSoft LaborForce EEO Claims Manager module. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Labor Relations Specialist work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Business Agent, Business Representative, Labor Specialist, and Grievance Manager. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Labor Relations Specialist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 33% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Labor Relations Specialist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Labor Relations Specialist resume example

A resume for a Labor Relations Specialist needs to show the work itself: resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints. Day to day that means work like this: negotiate collective bargaining agreements; investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Business Agent
Business Representative
Labor Specialist
Grievance Manager
Employee Relations Rep
Employee Rep
Employer Relations Rep
Industrial Relations Rep
Labor Relations Rep
Labor Rep
Union Rep
Appeals and Grievances Specialist
Arbitration Specialist
Collective Bargaining Specialist
Conciliator
Contract Negotiator
Employee and Labor Relations Specialist
Employee Relations Representative

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.
Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations.
Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations.
Interpret contractual agreements for employers and employees engaged in collective bargaining or other labor relations processes.
Prepare evidence for disciplinary hearings, including preparing witnesses to testify.
Mediate discussions between employer and employee representatives in attempt to reconcile differences.
Review employer practices or employee data to ensure compliance with contracts on matters such as wages, hours, or conditions of employment.
Recommend collective bargaining strategies, goals, or objectives.
Monitor company or workforce adherence to labor agreements.
Call or meet with union, company, government, or other interested parties to discuss labor relations matters, such as contract negotiations or grievances.
Assess risk levels associated with collective bargaining strategies.

28 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Negotiate collective bargaining agreements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Internet Grievance System IGS
Kubernetes
LaborSoft LaborForce Arbitration/Appeals Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce Discipline Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce EEO Claims Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce Grievance Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce Incident Tracking module
LaborSoft LaborForce Personnel Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce Reporting/Dashboard Manager module
Micropact entellitrak Labor Relations Edition
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook

20 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Digital copiers
Handheld calculators
Image scanners
Laptop computers
Laser facsimile machines
Office inkjet printers
Personal computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Oracle HRIS
Oracle PeopleSoft
Internet Grievance System IGS
LaborSoft LaborForce Arbitration/Appeals Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce Discipline Manager module
LaborSoft LaborForce EEO Claims Manager module

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Negotiation
04Critical Thinking
05Reading Comprehension
06Writing
07Persuasion
08Social Perceptiveness
09Complex Problem Solving
10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Personnel and Human Resources
English Language
Law and Government
Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

33%Bachelor's Degree
10%Some College Courses
10%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Labor Relations Specialist do?: Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints. Day to day that includes work like negotiate collective bargaining agreements and Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.
What skills should a Labor Relations Specialist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Labor Relations Specialist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Internet Grievance System IGS, Kubernetes, LaborSoft LaborForce Arbitration/Appeals Manager module, LaborSoft LaborForce Discipline Manager module, and LaborSoft LaborForce EEO Claims Manager module. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Labor Relations Specialist work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Business Agent, Business Representative, Labor Specialist, and Grievance Manager. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Labor Relations Specialist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 33% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Labor Relations Specialist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.