Moving on from HR - what next?

Hi Amanda

Do not limit yourself with a list of job titles - What are your passions? What are you good at? What income do you need (not want)?

Find a job that makes you happy, don't squeeze yourself into a 'job box'

And good luck!

From Jo, the frustrated clock maker :-)

My profession is HR, but during my career in the third sector I have also managed and been responsible for a range of support functions - fundraising, PR/marketing, business development, estates, running a cafe etc. I enjoy the fact that the skills and experience I have in HR will always be fundamental to my work, but that I manage areas that similarly 'make the business work' - while developing a very different set of skills. It cuts both ways too - I think to be a good HR professional, having a broader business understanding is essential.

I think a lot of HR professionals, especially if L&D was their specialist interest, move into some kind of lifestyle coaching area.

But I agree that you need to do something that inspires you - whatever that is! Obviously finances will be a consideration and logistics but otherwise the world is your oyster!

A personal example - I've been very interested in maternity and birth since my first pregnancy and so I trained as a breastfeeding peer supporter and started attending my local maternity services committee. From there I became chair of the committee and then trained as an antenatal teacher and set up my own business.

I think HR skills can be transferable in many fields, but it will really depend on your own interests, experience and background. Moving into a change management or another operational role can sometimes be a good option for people.

There is nothing stopping you making any career change you wish. You just need to think about what you are looking for and make a plan to get there.

Thank you so much to everyone for their responses :)

Hi Amanda, adding to the excellent responses you have received you may want to consider staying within HR but in a project role, perhaps helping with implementing new HR systems. That way, you can still keep your HR head and use your experience to help with aligning new systems/processes which will support the business positively. I've worked with implementation teams for organisation-wide projects where my HR background helped with training the new users. Naturally, the final choice is yours however I wouldn't be inclined to shut the door on HR but simply keep it ajar just in case ... :-)