Studying a postgraduate course... but no HR experience

Welcome here, Giovanna!

It is unfortunate that your present employers are not willing to let you gain some HR experience, as this may have been otherwise a good solution.

Have you thought about blitzing employers to go for an entry-level HR post - putting your Level 7 course on hold until you gain some experience? Your present employers' worries about confidentiality don't sound very well-founded to me, so there might even be some possibility with a more flexible employer in the hospitality industry you already have some experience in.

HR apprenticeships might be well worth considering - in another forum a colleague was bemoaning the fact that they could not find any suitable apprenticeship applicants whatever they tried - this seemed rather surprising, but possibly indications that there might be some shortages developing?

Or, are there any postgrad HR courses anywhere that incorporate spells of work experience where the university or similar arranges or facilitates these?

Voluntary and intern work might be another possibility, but at present you might not have sufficient skills in HR to offer; however, it may be 'a foot in the door' even if you volunteer at first in other than HR

I mentioned blitzing before, and will repeat it - I'm a strong believer in the principle that if you buy enough tickets in the raffle, sooner or later you'll win one of the prizes - and the other way round. So a blitz or scattergun approach may be essential to adopt. In this context I am reminded of a very talented and quite famous now 20th century author who when he was first trying to get published papered the walls of one room of his house with all the rejection letters he received from publishers he sent his manuscripts to - eventually he did get himself on the first rung of the ladder to success but he found it almost impossible to get started. But he didn't give up, and neither should you, if you really want to succeed and have the necessary ability, which I'm sure you do

Best of luck - luck can help, but is not necessary!

Welcome here, Giovanna!

It is unfortunate that your present employers are not willing to let you gain some HR experience, as this may have been otherwise a good solution.

Have you thought about blitzing employers to go for an entry-level HR post - putting your Level 7 course on hold until you gain some experience? Your present employers' worries about confidentiality don't sound very well-founded to me, so there might even be some possibility with a more flexible employer in the hospitality industry you already have some experience in.

HR apprenticeships might be well worth considering - in another forum a colleague was bemoaning the fact that they could not find any suitable apprenticeship applicants whatever they tried - this seemed rather surprising, but possibly indications that there might be some shortages developing?

Or, are there any postgrad HR courses anywhere that incorporate spells of work experience where the university or similar arranges or facilitates these?

Voluntary and intern work might be another possibility, but at present you might not have sufficient skills in HR to offer; however, it may be 'a foot in the door' even if you volunteer at first in other than HR

I mentioned blitzing before, and will repeat it - I'm a strong believer in the principle that if you buy enough tickets in the raffle, sooner or later you'll win one of the prizes - and the other way round. So a blitz or scattergun approach may be essential to adopt. In this context I am reminded of a very talented and quite famous now 20th century author who when he was first trying to get published papered the walls of one room of his house with all the rejection letters he received from publishers he sent his manuscripts to - eventually he did get himself on the first rung of the ladder to success but he found it almost impossible to get started. But he didn't give up, and neither should you, if you really want to succeed and have the necessary ability, which I'm sure you do

Best of luck - luck can help, but is not necessary!

Hi David,
thank you very much for the advice. I have already had some volunteering experience but when recruiters ask for more details and they find out it was unpaid job they just say sorr you are not a good fit for the role, probably they also can see that I am an italian lawyer (I am specialized in public employment law in Italy) and this can be a turn off .Unfortunately I had to go for a postgraduate course as due to my age I cannot afford to attend an undergraduate course (which includes the internship) . I was thinking to take a course in sage payroll and find a job as payroll administrator. Altrough I am spending so much money my motivation is really strong, only I want is get an international experience and then find a job in my country . But thank you for your advise, I will try to attend some Cipd events and see if maybe I can build a good network of contacts who would give me an opportunity . Have a nice week . G.