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Availability of Part-time HR Manager roles in London

Paula

Dear All,

RE:  Part-time HR manager roles in London.

I wonder if anybody has been through similar scenarios, and if so, how on earth did you manage to resolve it?

I am a seasoned HR professional with experience of working as part of a global HR team at a large multinational bank in the City, this was followed by significant experience of working in a stand-alone HR manager role at a niche Central London-based asset management boutique where I sat and professionalise their HR function from zero.  I am a Chartered Member of the CIPD, have an MSc in HR Development and Consultancy and I am currently doing a PhD in Organisational Psychology.  I am now looking for a part-time (2-3 days/week) role in HR (really....I would consider any role from: HR advisor through to HR manager/HRBP).  I am not afraid of rolling up my sleeves and putting together paper files and dealing with excel spreadsheets rather than custom-made databases, etc..  Quite happy to deal with transactional/operational work as well as advising senior management.  The challenge is that this type of part-time work appears to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!  So much for HR coaching and preaching to the business on the wonders of working flexibly!

In addition to the above, recruitment agencies, their consultants, and their wall of silence do not make the process of part-time HR job searching very easy to navigate.  I have dealt with recruitment consultants both from an employer's perspective in which they are only too happy to phone you several times a day and meet up with you at the drop of a hat, and also as a candidate.  The latter scenario is a very different narrative to the former.  As a candidate, recruitment consultants are quite happy to phone you at the last minute to attend an interview at short notice, but then they completely ignore you, do not return your calls, not even meet with you prior to sending you for interviews with one of their clients...My question is: What is this behaviour all about?  At a very basic level, 'acknowledgement' is something that is at the core of our very own identity as human beings (i.e.: who we are).  These walls of silence are not only disrespectful but a serious professional concern that should also worry future employers.  Do they want to be represented by these people?  Do these consultants forget that at a certain point in their lives the shoe may move to the other foot?  If so, I wonder how would they feel about being treated like they treat job applicants? 

I would wholeheartedly appreciate to hear from colleagues that have experienced similar situations (seeking for part-time work in HR in London, dealing with non-responsive recruitment consultants) that have successfully emerged from them.  Also, does anybody know if recruitment consultants are regulated in any way?  If they aren't, they should be!  

Thank you in advance.

Yours sincerely,

Paula

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  • Hi Paula

    In my early HR career, I too needed to work part time and eventually managed to find an entry level role working in the NHS that suited me. In my experience, the Public Sector are usually quite open to compressed/reduced hours however, the basic remuneration will probably not tally with what you are used to working in the Sectors you are used to.

    As for recruitment agencies, I wholeheartedly agree with your comments on the difficulties of finding one that will consider applicants wishing to work part time. It is only now that my circumstances have changed and I am looking at full time hours have I found them willing to engage and put me forward for roles.

    On a slightly different note, having myself navigated the agency route these past few months I have been extremely disappointed with my experiences. This has included being put forward for job with a list of objectives rather than a JD and then being advised that I was unsuccessful because I didn't meet the clients full requirements. Things I wouldnt have known without having a definitive job description and then it feels like you are being critiqued on unknown and unseen criteria. Conversations with friends and colleagues let me know that this is extremely common. When I approached agencies to source candidates for me, the ones I worked with requested JD's all the time and were not happy to start the search without it! Lesson learned here for me in that I now ensure that I request as much information about the job I am being put forward for.

    I have also been put forward for roles, interviewed and then told that actually, they have changed the scope of the job or that the company are not ready to recruit yet. Changing the scope once you have gone through a wave of interviews is not totally unusual in itself nor is not being ready to recruit and this is not necessarily the fault of agencies either but frustrating as a candidate nevertheless. But yes, the whole lack of acknowledgement thing is irritating too.

    I dont know what others on here would say but perhaps apply for full time jobs and then raise the question of whether the employers will consider part time/job share. Perhaps once they see you are a worthy candidate it might encourage them to look in to these options. Anyway, Good Luck with your search
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  • Hi Paula

    In my early HR career, I too needed to work part time and eventually managed to find an entry level role working in the NHS that suited me. In my experience, the Public Sector are usually quite open to compressed/reduced hours however, the basic remuneration will probably not tally with what you are used to working in the Sectors you are used to.

    As for recruitment agencies, I wholeheartedly agree with your comments on the difficulties of finding one that will consider applicants wishing to work part time. It is only now that my circumstances have changed and I am looking at full time hours have I found them willing to engage and put me forward for roles.

    On a slightly different note, having myself navigated the agency route these past few months I have been extremely disappointed with my experiences. This has included being put forward for job with a list of objectives rather than a JD and then being advised that I was unsuccessful because I didn't meet the clients full requirements. Things I wouldnt have known without having a definitive job description and then it feels like you are being critiqued on unknown and unseen criteria. Conversations with friends and colleagues let me know that this is extremely common. When I approached agencies to source candidates for me, the ones I worked with requested JD's all the time and were not happy to start the search without it! Lesson learned here for me in that I now ensure that I request as much information about the job I am being put forward for.

    I have also been put forward for roles, interviewed and then told that actually, they have changed the scope of the job or that the company are not ready to recruit yet. Changing the scope once you have gone through a wave of interviews is not totally unusual in itself nor is not being ready to recruit and this is not necessarily the fault of agencies either but frustrating as a candidate nevertheless. But yes, the whole lack of acknowledgement thing is irritating too.

    I dont know what others on here would say but perhaps apply for full time jobs and then raise the question of whether the employers will consider part time/job share. Perhaps once they see you are a worthy candidate it might encourage them to look in to these options. Anyway, Good Luck with your search
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