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Route into HR

Bryan

Hello All,

I am presently completing my level 5 in HR. I plan and will be finished at latest in December 2020 however I am hopeful to be completed before then.

My background is as a duty manager, line manager, senior manager and business owner in sports, retail and food service industries which had given me 20 years experience as a manager with 9 years of it in a larger retailer where as a line manager and senior manager I had a lot of exposure to dealing with people management and HR within my roles such as recruitment and selection, performance management, people management, disclipnary and investigations etc which I am seeing especially now with completion of this course.

My question is how do I translate this into jobs I can apply for once the course is completed.

For example I have a lot of business experience so would I be considered for a HR business partner role? 

Thanks for your help in advance.

I am from Edinburgh and would be looking to commence a full or part time role in HR on completion of the course and I am flexible to what level I start.

Bryan

  • in reply to Bryan
    Yes, if you can get one. They are more common at administrator level. When I was in the same situation I was given a basic role that involved assisting a senior manager in re-writing people policies. Within a week it was clear that I was capable of re-writing the policies on my own given basic guidance. Within a month I was done and assisting an HRBP with data analysis. So they put me on casework for the next two months. They wanted to extend me, but by that point I'd been offered an HRBP role elsewhere.
  • in reply to Robey
    Thanks for help really appreciated and insightful.
    So what was your background before moving into HR where you a experienced manager and if so what industry and if not what did you do?
    I assume temporary roles can be part time as well? To gain experience to get a permanent role feels like I might have to balance my present career with a temporary part time HR role for a while? Or even a permenant part time role for a while. Or consider that as a possibility to then open up permanent roles at a acceptable starting salary point as a full time role.
    Yeah am not moving planning to move into HR for increasing salary as main focus it’s for lifestyle choice and doing something that interests me. As a operational manager was always good at the people management side of things and interested and good at HR side of things I completed as part of my role.
  • in reply to Bryan
    I was a British Army officer. It meant I had a great background in leadership and management, and because of the roles I'd done in the Army, I was quite happy finding my way around complex legislation and policy. But when I left, I found people reluctant to take me into an HR role because management processes in the military are, understandably, quite different to civilian ones (although not as different as you might imagine).

    Circumstances aligned that it made sense for me to stay at home and look after the children and the house for six years, so my skills were seen as even rustier by the time I got back into the job market.
  • I'm in an almost identical position, Bryan: 20 years in retail operations and I'm taking a year out to get my CIPD 7 and MA in HRM.

    The advice I've been given is:

    Apply for HR advisor posts to get a HR role on the CV. Large companies with more chance of progression to HR Manager are a sensible option.

    Apply for HR grad schemes, if this applies to you. They invest in you for 2-4 years and rotate you around HR departments to give you varied exposure.

    Taylor your CV to be skills focused, rather than role focused: really pull out those HR experiences.

    Look for fixed term roles to get varied experience and build that HR CV. Most expect you to come in and hit the ground fast, though.

    Get out there at CIPD events and get networking. Try and get a mentor, if possible. I've found that invaluable.

    Good luck!
  • in reply to Pete
    Thanks for reply appreciate it. Yeah I was thinking that once completed course should have a HR focused CV designed as well as my standard one.

    I know that retail has given me loads of HR transferable experience within my retail store line manager and senior managers positions as well as my other positions I have carried in my career.
  • Hi Bryan
    I am going through nearly the same situation as you I am also currently studying for level 5. I am currently a factory manager after working my way up after 20 years in the same industry. I am also looking to change jobs into a HR role but fining difficult to do. Maybe we could help each other along to our new profession?
  • in reply to Gary
    Thanks for reply. Yes might be able to help each other by sharing experiences along the way. I am working on completing course first before starting to apply for roles etc but starting to think about how I go about getting a role now I have completed a large bit of course.
  • I would back Robert, I made the move from retail management into hr advisor role and it is very different... as Robey said, we are very hands on and faced paced which puts you in good stead. I started doing volunteering within a hr department with a charity, I then secured my first role in HR however took at £15k pay decrease! However I needed out of retail so was happy to do this!
  • Gary give me a message, I’ve just went through this and might have some tips for you