Transitioning from Agency Recruitment to HR

The google auto-fills I must say are no surprise to me. As for LinkedIn, there's not a day that goes by I don't see someone bashing them for one reason or another, most of them I've experienced as a job seeker and unintentionally done as a recruiter.

That's great! to be honest, I just "fell" into sales probably due to the entry barrier being so low, it's only with being in such a role and my own further research I discovered what HR was

Your problem is that their are many recruiters who are out-and-out sales people who chase a one-off commission without building a relationship. There are also some terrific recruitment consultants who take time to learn your business and only put forward candidates they believe are perfect for the vacancy. Your problem is that we have all met too many of the first.

There is a cross-over between sales and HR, and I speak from experience as someone who went the other way, although in a different industry, and came back again. HR people need influencing skills as do sales people. We need to build credibility to gain influence with our "customers", as do sales people. Also, the first time you meet a customer and initiate a conversation about their business and what their needs are, you are using the same skills as you use in a recruitment interview.

I think you are bound to encounter the difficulties outlined by Keith and Peter, but I really liked Catherine and Owen's suggestions and think you are more likely to get where you want to go if you plan the journey in several steps rather than one bound, as Claire suggests.

Hi Busayo,

I'd suggest you join your local CIPD branch and attend their meetings if you aren't already.

The other thing I'd recommend is to look at charities that deal with things you care about. As an example for me, I'm a big fan of supporting young people into the workplace and helping them understand the work environment and how it differs from the school environment and I'm a trustee in a small, local charity that support young people do just that. Search for charities local to you and see if they are looking for any sort of volunteering opportunities, or for trustees.

Hi Busayo, Unfortunately it doesn't get any easier whatever your level as the higher you are in an agency the more you are deemed as a sales demon. Agencies do get bad rep and now I am the otherside I don't touch them often. Anyone can be a recruiter, to me it seems that the industry has changed and now it is just a race for the commission rather than the traditional approach of making a great match between employer and employee. I am inundated on a daily basis with script reading consultants with bad attitudes it has just changed so much over the years.

I think volunteering would be a great start or I have seen lots of ads for HR people to help on a contract basis for the common wealth games, maybe something like that will give you a kick start. Alternatively, with the new HS2 happening and I read an article in a rail magazine (my org is in the rail industry) of the HR manager who is building her teams and is crying out for people.

Persevere, make sure your CV is at its best and hopefully soon you will be able to get fixed in to a place.

For volunteering ops Google around, you can find a lot, for example found this:
www.charityjob.co.uk/.../human-resources
it's a start, you're on the ground getting skills, meet people, move up, hope this helps

I fully understand from being on both sides of the fence why it gets a bad rep, I was only at the lower level in an agency for 6 months, a lot of my skills are transferrable to an internal function also though I worked in call centre jobs beforehand as those were the only positions I could secure.

Do you know the name of article or where I could possibly find this? I’ll be at the CIPD student conference this weekend so that should give me an opportunity to network also

www.hs2.org.uk/.../

Type in HR and it will give you all levels from apprentice to Management :) Good Luck!

Hi Busayo,

I was in a similar situation a few years ago as I wanted to move from agency recruitment into an HR role. The avenue that I took was to get an internal recruitment role. This gave me exposure to the HR team and many HR activities. From there I was able to move into an HR Admin role in another company.

My advice would be to look at internal recruitment roles within sales environments such as call centres and use that as a foothold into HR.

Best of luck in your search!

Hi Peter,

I work in recruitment myself for an agency as an Account Manager as opposed to hardcore calling and sales and "new business".

I work with two main accounts (one a large travel agency and another a global consultancy) resourcing candidates (IT Contractors) to fill vacancies for large IT projects. Despite having large success in this and have achieved a high number of successful placements over the years, I still wouldn't fully see this as a sales role as I don't necessarily do large amount of sales, I find them candidates and their profiles speak for themselves.

Would companies still tar me with the same brush, as it were?

Just finished my CIPD and waiting for the right opportunity come along for me to transition my skills.

Thanks
Amy

Hi Busayo - abit late to the feed but don't give up! I searched solidly for 6 months will no joy. All vacancies wanting at least Level 5 qualified plus experience. Try looking at smaller companies is my advice - also my college tutor recommended me for a position they knew of and a few months later and im here as a HR Manager only just finishing my level 3! I have a background in retail management so it can be done!