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Career Advice in Learning and Development

Hello everyone,

Until recently I was working with a temporary staffing agency in a mixed HR, Learning and Recruitment role. I have decided that Learning and Development is the right path for me as I loved that aspect of the role, delivering training and creating new content so I am now studying towards my level 5 in L&D.

I am looking for a new role that is more focused in L&D but I'm quite worried that the fact I had a mixed role is standing in my way. I was also in quite a senior position in my previous role which so far has seemed to stand in the way of getting the more junior positions.

I would really appreciate some advice on changing industries and getting my foot in the door.

Thank you very much in advance

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  • Hi Tom,

    Coming from someone with an L&D background - I can thoroughly recommend the L&D pathway as a career - tough at times, but richly rewarding.

    If you're finding that your career history and seniority is holding you back from junior positions, I would recommend adapting your CV so that you focus on the skills you have, rather than your work experience. Explaining you're happy to take a slightly more junior role as a starting point since it is a switch from your old roles would make sense to most people, so doing this on your covering letter/email would probably help as well. 

    You'll need to convey the fact that the previous role titles mean little, it is the skills and experience you bring to the world of L&D that will make you an asset to the next company. 

    Attached is a template for a more functional CV, which focuses on skills. Fill the first page with what you have done and all your examples relating to L&D - I think you'll find the barriers become smaller. 

    Kind regards, 

    Laura 

  • In reply to Laura Fazackarley:

    Hi Laura,

    Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post, it's been really helpful!

    Have a great day!