Hi all,
Thanks in advance for reading and for any advice you offer. I'm a 28yo graduate who has held an interest in HR/L&D for the last three years now but due to being a flustered, non-committal 20-something, hasn't made huge strides until now (although I have been an online member of the CIPD for that time!) I have been in the job market for 6 years and have been mainly in the charity sector with roles in research and admin. I would like to move to the public sector if possible; preferably the NHS.
I am really interested in pursuing a career within HR. At the moment my heart lies 60/40 towards organizational development, but having speculatively job-hunted I also like the look of L&D. My quandary however is this. I am currently abroad in Bangladesh (working, as it happens, in an HR team although there isn't much to do!). Upon my return I no longer want to be based in London as I find it impossible to rent there, and would like to move to Manchester as in fact I've planned to for a long time now.
However, from my lack of direct experience and of course, qualification it appears I'm unlikely to get a job paying anything over 20k, if that. I would want to aim for 23/4k in order to rent alone and run a car. Most advice I've been given is to wait till I work to pursue a qualification and find an employer who will pay.
Whilst I don't have the funds needed myself for a Level 3 at present, it's feasible for me to borrow from my parents and pay back later, although I'd like to avoid borrowing if possible. My question is this. Do I:
a) wait until my return to the UK (currently planned for about 5 months time), doing my best to network online and job hunt in the process, hoping I'll find something
b) start doing a L3 qualification online in the hope that that will secure me a decently-paid role soon after I get back?
c) apply for any role I'm able to get, regardless of whether it's directly related to HR (although I would aim for as close as possible) and save up to self-fund L3 and eventually hope to work in HR thereafter?
Many, many thanks for reading and any advice you can offer.
Zeenat