Where do i go from here - HR Qualifications and studying - Careers Clinic

4 Where do i go from here

Adeel | 0 Posts

23 May, 2022 10:10

Hi All,

Just looking for a bit of advice, I will be relocating in September/October and think this would be a good time to really look at my career and what I want to gain from it.

A bit of background:

I have been HR pretty much straight out of uni since 2017, worked my way from a HR Administrator up to where I am as a HR Manager, unfortunately I did have stints where I was a called a 'HR Manager' but unfortunately the role was more just admin work so I did waste a bit of time, schools are notorious to give fancy name to jobs rather than looking at if the substance of the job matches the actually duties required! All my experience in HR has been in schools (mixture of Maintained and Multi-Academy trust) except for a stint where I did an internship at a university.

I am currently in a role where I am getting some good ER casework experiences and this is the part of HR that I really like. The thing is the the volume ER casework isn't there, and as someone who wants to maybe eventually be a ER specialist, I'm not sure if this is the right environment for me.

I just wanted to ask for any suggestion of where I go from here, I am currently doing a CIPD Level 5 course which hopefully will give me better chance of interviews. I think maybe being in a standalone role in the short career in HR I have so far might have held me back as I've never been managed by a 'HR Professional' so I've always had to be the be all or end all of HR advice at the schools I work in. Although these forums have been beyond helpful!!

I'm not sure if I should go for a HR advisor role and take a slight pay cut to gain that valuable experience and more so the 'volume' of ER casework under my belt as I don't think ill cut the mustard going into a HR Manager role in the private sector.

Just wanted any advice or thoughts, am I thinking about it in the right way?

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Robey | 0 Posts

23 May, 2022 12:24

You are, indeed, going about it the right way. The only thing I would add is that you needn't necessarily take a pay cut to take on an HR Advisor role. There are businesses out there paying good money for experienced HR professionals to support their managers with routine transactional and operational advice. I don't know what you're on now, but I've recently been working with a team where the HR Advisors were on £40k+.
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Sharon | 0 Posts

29 May, 2022 14:57

Hi Adeel, firstly, good luck navigating the next change in your HR career. I'd probably advise looking at your experience in each role rather than the job titles per se. It might be good to be part of a bigger team to get more experience, have peers, get some learning and also benchmark your experience and skills alongside other professionals.

I would suggest mapping out the skills and experiences you do have in each role, as well as the outcomes you achieved and position those and then match them to roles you would like to do. So many organisations choose job titles to attract candidates or because they mean something in their context and it's not universal across sectors, organisations or roles. Check out the content in the JD against your skills and then see if it appeals.

Then if you want to make a sideways move salary wise for the right role it would be an active and informed choice you make. As Robey says, you might not have to take a cut at all.
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Adeel | 0 Posts

9 Jun, 2022 09:10

In reply to Robey:
Thanks robey, Much appreciated. didn't realise Hr Advisors were on that much! Im trying to get some voluntary experience while im still here at a consultancy or the like but glad to know i haven't gone crazy
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Adeel | 0 Posts

9 Jun, 2022 09:11

In reply to Sharon:
Hi Sharon,

Thank you very much for your reply! makes perfect sense what you have said, it will definitely allow me to see any skills gaps i may have as well
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