Hello everyone,I’m currently studying for a master’s in Human Resource Management in the UK, coming from a non-HR background with a few years of work experience in another field.
I’ve been actively applying for part-time roles to gain practical HR experience alongside my studies, but I’ve found that many roles require at least 1–2 years of UK HR experience which I don’t have yet. Plus, I live in a smaller city, which makes it even more difficult to find remote opportunities.
At this point, I’m wondering if I should shift my focus to unpaid internships just to build some experience or if there might be better ways to approach this job search.
I’d really appreciate any advice on where to look or how to position myself better in applications. Thank you so much in advance!
I went from the Army to accountancy to banking to becoming a School Bursar (with a return to the Army, volunteering abroad, and a lot of financial agency work betyween banking and Bursaring) and became an HR Manager two years ago.
I had had a lot of responsibility for HR as a Bursar. This, together with knowledge of how schools tick; experience in dealing with some complex ER stuff in schools; and a good business background was what got me my first role. I understand that for both of the roles I have held, I had to make myself redundant from the first, I was selected over a CIPD qualified candidate because of sector understanding.
Very glad I did my EA to become Assoc CIPD to back up the experience. It's turbulent in the Independent Schools world at the moment and this gives me the confidence that should anything go wrong in my current role I am that little bit more marketable outside!
Transitioning into HR from a different background is incredibly common and brings such valuable, diverse perspectives to our profession. Getting that crucial first bit of practical experience is usually the hardest hurdle to clear.
What often helps is finding a structured programme that bridges the gap between theory and practice. For instance, the e-Careers HR Career Academy pairs your CIPD studies with guaranteed remote work experience. It makes a massive difference in getting your foot in the door—in fact, 1 in 4 students typically receive a job offer directly from their placement host company!
What background are you transitioning from? You might be surprised by how many of your current skills are already highly transferable.
Yes me! :) I was in a sales account manager role in telcoms. I paid for my level 3 myself, studied outside of work as a single parent, took a pay cut to get a HR admin roles, went straight into my level 5 and landed a HR Advisor role for a consultancy. I think people expect to walk into these roles as soon as they get there CIPD and its just not the case x
I started as a PA to a senior manager in the Probation Service and after a few years began doing some HR admin to help out. One of the other senior managers mentioned HR qualifications to me. That was a life changing conversation. I looked into the studies and began attending college. After four years I was fully CIPD qualified. and began the start of a varied and interesting HR career.
