Trying to figure out what type of job I should actually be looking for (Payroll/Benefits + Army HR background)

Hey everyone, I’m trying to get some clarity on what kind of jobs I should realistically be looking at. I’ve posted here a few days ago about trying to get my foot in the door somewhere, but now I’m trying to understand what my actual options even are. A little backstory: I currently work as a Payroll and Benefits Specialist for a local school district. On top of that, I’m also in the Army Reserves and have been for 13 years. I’ve worked my way up to an HR NCO (basically second in command in the S-1 shop). Our shop handles things like awards, promotion orders, medical waivers, updating records for retirement, talent profile management, pay coding, regulation/law lookups for all sorts of actions, and just about every soldier/employee action you can think of. I’ve also spent time in another shop that handles putting soldiers into schools they need — either for their role in the unit or for their overall career progression. Outside the military, my main work is payroll and benefits. Every now and then I help with some HR tasks, but I won’t go down that rabbit hole. So here’s where I’m stuck: what jobs should I even be going after? I’ve been searching for a while, and I haven’t found anything that really fits or catches my eye. And when I do find something and send in my resume, I get crickets. I usually call within about 3 days just to confirm they received it, and still nothing. I’m just trying to figure out my next move and what realistic career paths exist with the mix of experience I have. HR? Payroll? Benefits? Something different? Entry-level? Mid-level? I honestly don’t know at this point. Any thoughts or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read and help me out.

Posted Dec 10, 2025, 3:06 PM UTC

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