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I am looking for some solid, practical, realistic & down to earth advice here.

Andre

How easy, difficult or virtually impossible is it in reality and practice to move from being an HR Administrator (as a mid career changer) starting out at the age of 45 to eventually becoming an HR Director / Head of People?

Is it a question of having entered the profession at least 20 years too late or just waiting to see where you are at in 20 years time, as one would need as an absolute minimum at least two decades worth of solid HR experience and an accompanying career track record to become an HR Director / Head of People?

Or alternatively, would it be that it’s not completely impossible per se, but as you entered the HR profession and sector later in your working life, you now need to extend it and your career at the same time to win back extra time and (health permitting), add on at least an extra 10-20 years with a possibility of eventually becoming an HR Director and Chartered Fellow in your 70s or 80s, as it does take time to reach the heights of any profession?

Along the way, is it possible to skip or jump over certain levels on a career pathway, or is it set in stone that one must be an HR Officer before coming an HR Advisor, and an HR Business Partner before becoming an HR Director?

Your answers will also give a wider clue about socio-economic mobility in general, as no exact, scientific or specific formula exists to make a career move from one end and level of a profession to the other.

Parents

  • You are unlikely to become a HRD in a Footsie 100 company. No matter what. If you were you would probably already be very close or even there by now. Whilst in theory extending your career into 70s gives you the same amount of time it’s just unlikely to get you there in my opinion. 

    If you have the talent there is no real reason why you can’t progress to Head of HR / HRD in a much smaller organisation. In some organisations there is little difference between a HRM and HRD and it just depends on what people want to be called. I have seen the term HRD used in a 80 person company.

    This is not atime served industry or profession - talented people tend to rise quickly. 

    So a little bit of your answer comes down to what you actually want? Is it the title or is it a fulfilling worthwhile stretching job in HR? The latter is certainly possible for career changers if you have the talent.

    Focus on adding value , delivering business related solutions, being pragmatic rather than dogmatic and listening to your customers. That’s the key to getting on.

    As to steps to jump. There is really no one career path. In a small organisation someone might through luck and hard work progress from HRA to HRM to Head of HR. Depending on opportunity and probably other people leaving and being in the right place.

    In a larger organisation it’s likely you would be looking at a more varied career path with time spent as a HRBP and possibly in a specialist function

    find the names of a few HRDs / Heads of HR in organisations you would see yourself working in and look up their career profiles on LinkedIn to get an understanding of their particular path  

    Have you looked at the HR career map?

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  • You are unlikely to become a HRD in a Footsie 100 company. No matter what. If you were you would probably already be very close or even there by now. Whilst in theory extending your career into 70s gives you the same amount of time it’s just unlikely to get you there in my opinion. 

    If you have the talent there is no real reason why you can’t progress to Head of HR / HRD in a much smaller organisation. In some organisations there is little difference between a HRM and HRD and it just depends on what people want to be called. I have seen the term HRD used in a 80 person company.

    This is not atime served industry or profession - talented people tend to rise quickly. 

    So a little bit of your answer comes down to what you actually want? Is it the title or is it a fulfilling worthwhile stretching job in HR? The latter is certainly possible for career changers if you have the talent.

    Focus on adding value , delivering business related solutions, being pragmatic rather than dogmatic and listening to your customers. That’s the key to getting on.

    As to steps to jump. There is really no one career path. In a small organisation someone might through luck and hard work progress from HRA to HRM to Head of HR. Depending on opportunity and probably other people leaving and being in the right place.

    In a larger organisation it’s likely you would be looking at a more varied career path with time spent as a HRBP and possibly in a specialist function

    find the names of a few HRDs / Heads of HR in organisations you would see yourself working in and look up their career profiles on LinkedIn to get an understanding of their particular path  

    Have you looked at the HR career map?

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