Generalist at 100-strong firm or Manager alone in 40-strong firm? - Development, CPD and skills - Careers Clinic

3 Generalist at 100-strong firm or Manager alone in 40-strong firm?

23 Jan, 2019 16:23

I am four years into HR and currently work in an office of 45 with one other HR person (my manager). I want to leave in order to grow and have more autonomy.

I have secured interviews at two places. One is the same size (c.45) but I'd be People Manager and setting up the department. The other is a generalist role with a company of 110 (although just under half work remotely in Europe satellite offices) and there is a small but established department which is well-respected by senior management (so they tell me).

Which would you advise is the best opportunity for me to grow?

It feels scary to start a department myself - no safety net, perhaps a little lonely in the role, not sure of senior management buy-in and could be loads of autonomy or could be more limited.

But does the larger company give me the benefits of being larger, if many employees are remote rather than in the office? And the department is still quite small.

I don't want a much larger company as I don't want to be pigeon-holed - I like the variety.

I don't really have time to attend both interviews - which would you say is best?

Thanks

Hannah

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Jamie | 0 Posts

23 Jan, 2019 17:07

Unfortunately you can only answer it yourself - any advice would be based on our experiences and personalities.

Personally, the experience of setting up a department, making it work, watching it grow and potentially expand would give the satisfaction, along with autonomy from a HR perspective would excite me.

I wouldn't be put off by being pigeon-holed, I've worked in companies of 200 and of 4,000 and there are pros and cons to each, you could have more HR responsibility in a small organisation but less business responsibility (e.g. family-owned, where only one opinion truly matters!)

In summary...no advice but good luck on your decision!
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Elizabeth Divver | 0 Posts

23 Jan, 2019 17:09

Hi Hannah

This is a tough one. My immediate instinctive reaction was that the larger organisation would be the better one to get on your CV. A second very small company, and 45 people is a *very* small company, could cause future recruiters to question how you would adapt to a larger company and you could find your options limited when the time comes for your next move. It also means you can get international experience, which could open doors for you in the future. On the other hand, you could learn a lot by building a function single-handed. Is there no way you could find the time to attend both? It would be the best way to get a feel for the jobs.
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Keith | 0 Posts

24 Jan, 2019 07:34

Hannah

I think Elizabeth makes some very valid points you ought to consider.

My take for what it’s worth is

A) 45 is small. You are very lucky to have two HR bods in a business that size. Many wouldn’t have any.

B) you say there is a small HR team in the 100 person business. How small? What would your role be?

C) what are your long term career aspirations? Are you planning on specialising in SMEs or do you hope to move “on” to bigger organisations? If it’s the later then I share Elizabeth’s concerns.

D) your chances at interview are at best 50/50 but possibly a lot less depending how many candidates they see. Only going to one interview seems a hopelessly brave / eggs all in one basket move to me.

E) the most important factor is cultural fit. How are you going to judge this if you don’t govsnd meet both?

F) I think the sizes of the two organisations aren’t that different. Your choice is really do you want to gain some start up experience ( and if so why) or some international exposure.

G) the key for me is understanding where you see your career going.

Good luck.
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