Good Morning Sarah,

Congratulations on completing level 3.

Placing that you are shadowing is great on your CV, as even though employers may see that your not in an active role, you are however taking it upon yourself to still get some skills and training while in your normal role - very proactive.

Have you also looked at volunteering in the third sector if you are able to? This will also allow you gain the experience required and can be placed on your CV as well.

Linkedin is great for networking. You can add your HR team (if they are on) and any other HR connections you have, as sometimes roles are posted on there.

1. Absolutely add the job shadowing to your CV detailing the aspects of HR work into which you've gained an insight.

2. Apply for jobs anyway, even if they require 2 years' experience of HR, but make sure your CV is neat, concise and accurate. If they have a dearth of good CVs you might get shortlisted on that basis alone.

3. Think carefully about your knowledge of an exposure to the key areas of HR practice: employee relations, employment law, recruitment, training/learning and pay/benefits. Visualize every example you can think of where you were involved in any one of these, what you did and what you learned from the experience. If you get an interview, the ability to articulate relevant examples of experience is the definitive skill when it comes to securing employment.

4. Look for temp HR roles either via agencies or direct with employers. Temp roles often require less experience as long as you can bring a decent brain and some relevant knowledge. Being Level 3 CIPD qualified will usually be sufficient to make you a good candidate for such roles and, once you've got one or two under your belt, you will become a much more attractive candidate to recruiters.

Hi Sarah,

Congratulations on your level 3!
I second what Luigina and Robey have advised.

I also self funded mine whilst working a full time job in the hopes of getting into HR.
The way I did it was by taking a Recruitment admin role on a temp 3 months basis. After 1 month I managed to secure a perm role in the main HR team. Once your foot is in the door it will make it easier. Unfortunately temping is probably the best way (plus volunteering if that is possible) and from there you should get a chance to really show off your skills.

Another thing that helped me was approaching local HR managers and asking to shadow them for a day. Most won't due to the nature of their work, but you would be surprised how many are willing to pass on their knowledge (sometimes just over a quick coffee)
Where I am HR is a very small world, everyone knows everyone so once you're in with 1 person, your name gets passed around to many many more.
You also have the local CIPD events, which are great for networking. Linkedin is fantastic for opening up that communication once you have met someone, or even seen them as a speaker at an event.

Best of luck with the search whichever way you decide to go with it. You know where we all are if you need any more advice!