How did you get into HR/ get your first role?

While I was in college we were required to complete a 6-month internship, I applied for one within Human Resources and got it. I have stayed on in the company after the internship was finished working casually while I went back to college to finish my course and right after I did the HR Manager approached me asking if I was interested in covering her maternity leave. I took the opportunity and with the experience and exposure I got from doing it I managed to secure another role within HR. I have come across plenty of temp HR/Admin roles and I think if you have not already been exposed to that environment they would be beneficial for you so do look into that and I'm sure your hard work will pay off!

I began in the Armed Forces, where commissioned officers are expected to move flexibly between operations and personnel roles from one appointment to another. As I found G1 (personnel) partcularly to my taste, I arranged for an extended appointment in a management role and the MoD paid for me to do a postgraduate qualification in HR.

And then I left the Army...

I won't say no one was interested. I had a lot of interviews. But when push came to shove, no one was willing to take a risk on someone with no experience of managing personnel in a civil environment.

When I finally got a break, it was as a temp HR administrator for a local authority based less on my experience and more on the fact that they were desperate. I can't say the trajectory of my career has been a consistently upward one since then, but I have, at least, been able to stay within HR and move approximately upwards to the point that I'm now - ten years later - back in a management job.

Thanks for posting, Dagmara... and welcome to the Community.

Hi Charlotte,

I seemed to be quiet lucky when getting in HR.
I have been working in Recruitment for about 1 1/2 years and decided I wanted to make the move in HR. I self funded my Level 3 CIPD course and started applied for jobs. I made sure my CV enhanced my skills which are HR related (maybe google some tips).

When I gained my first interview for a HR position, I was determined to get the job. I did so much research on the company, contacted people who was working at the company for advise, asked other people working in HR for tips on interviewing answers. I also made a presentation about what I could bring to the company (this wasn't asked by the managers) but it made me stand out from the others.

With that being said, I was successful and offered the job.

If I can help in any way, shape or form please do contact me!

Try and apply for industries you have previously worked in also.

Hi Charlotte. Like many others here, I got into it from an office job whereby I was dealing with some HR type issues. When the organisation I was working for as an office manager decided that it needed HR I told them that I was interested and got them to sponsor me to undertake my HR studies. Many many years later, I have had a variety of roles. You say that you have some good experience due to your Volunteer Co-ordinator role so you may want to think of specific examples to provide in interviews of your experience. Also consider doing a skills based CV rather than a CV which purely shows the roles you have been doing, this was invaluable to me in the early days when I did not necessarily have the experience of working in a HR role but had gained a lot of the skills needed. Keep going, you will get there eventually. You could ask your current HR team if you could shadow them which is a good way of letting them know you are interested. A friend of mine did this and as a result was approached by the department when a junior role opened up within the team.

I left school with no qualifications but was never out of a job, I started working with people and found that I preferred looking after them rather than managing them. I was lucky enough to have a period of time with a large employer in the HR team and decided that was the route I wanted (I was 40 at the time). I negotiated my redundancy package to include CIPD Level 3 and CIPD membership. I then took a low level role to concentrate on my studies and finally landed a role in HR as an assistant. I completed my Level 5 and am now a HR Consultant.

I still find that I need help with somethings as nobody can ever learn everything. I find on the job training a lot better than qualifications.

Hi Charlotte,

I had a level 3 in HRP, along with line management experience in an admin team which (eventually) landed me in a HR admin role. Good luck, but do persevere and be prepared to start at the bottom.

I was involved in HR back in South Africa and came across here in 2001. I completed my CIPD level 5 HR certificate last year - but have found it extremely difficult to even get past the application stage. I think my age and lack of experience has counted against me. I would love to get into HR and L%D but have found it to be impossible.