Both work equally well /badly. One isn’t better for development or the other.

Its about using what opportunities come up and making the most of them.

Fast paced usually means you are getting lots of development. What do you think your current role isn’t offering.

In reply to Keith:

My current role uses a lot of manual systems which are extremely inefficient and they only have plans to change this in the next 3-5 years.
Due to the admin workload it doesn’t leave me much time to research or even think for myself. It’s a case of form filling and getting the job done.
I have seen roles for small start up companies who are seeking HR support and wondered if this opportunity would give me a chance to learn by experience as the company grows I can imagine new areas of HR will need looking at. I believe this would also give me the chance to shape how things are done.
Or at such an early stage in my career is it better that I hang fire and sit before I start crawling?

In reply to Niketa:

My take is it’s better to get a good sold 18-24 months on your cv and then look to jump onwards. Some small start ups will be better , done much worst.

Hi Niketa,

I started my first HR role in a shared services function which was very similar to you, lots of box ticking and not a lot of room for training. I did learn quite a lot from a theoretical standpoint but didn't get a chance to do it in practice.

I was there for about a year then moved to a small company where it was just myself and a HR manager. That was for about 2 years; in which time I did learn quite a bit from researching myself but no training as such.
I'm now at a new employer which is slightly bigger. There are about 4 of us in the HR department and my learning in just the 7 weeks I have been here is phenomenal. It really does depend on the company and how much they are willing to support your learning.

Whichever way you go, experience on your CV is key to new/higher level roles. As Keith said, they both have their advantages and disadvantages - it all depends on the Company.

I much prefer small companies but that's personal preference. I know people who much prefer multi-nationals and everywhere in between even though we've started in the same org.

There are pro's and cons to both. I prefer smaller companies as it gives you the full generalist exposure that you need in comparison to larger organisations where you can sometimes fall into the trap of being 'pigeon' holed. On the contrary, I enjoy bigger corporations, as the team size is larger and do love the element of working in teams.