Working in HR? If you could start again, would you?

This is a great thread! I've loved reading all of your stories.
I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I went to 6th form and left with a secretarial qualification (in the days when typing lessons still existed on a type writer). I worked in a bank as a clerk for a while, then when I was made redundant from that job, I trained to be a croupier and worked on the ships. When I returned I dabbled in other admin/PA jobs and met my husband and started a family. I then trained to be a homeopath - but this never really took off as I went on to have a third child, which meant I couldn't really work from home any more. I then went back to work part time as a PA and then fell into HR when I landed an Office Manager role. I started by doing the admin for the lawyers there, then decided that if I'm going to be working in HR, I'd better qualify, so went and did my level 3, then level 5. I left that role after 3 years because as an outsource company, I never got a sense of the company culture that I was advising, so I went for an internal HR role as an assistant.
Unfortunately, as soon as I took on that job (fixed term contract), I was diagnosed with cancer! I tried to work in between surgeries (didn't have to have chemo), but as you can imagine, I wasn't my best self. The HR Manager there decided to "restructure" the HR department, and I had the chance to either apply for an adviser role, or part company - I took the latter. I was in no place for the challenge of being an adviser at that time (and I knew deep down it was her way of getting rid of me and yes, it still leaves me with a bitter taste). The whole experience knocked my confidence, so I took a local admin job in an estate agents - I was bored stiff!!!! After a year of that, I finally gained confidence in my body again to not let me down again and decided that I would try to pursue my HR career once more, so went for an assistant role in my current company. I quickly climbed to adviser, then my lovely manager retired and the company promoted me as manager! All this within a year of joining!
I'm like one of the previous posters on this thread, I suffer with imposter syndrome on a daily basis - I really lack confidence and never feel as if I am good enough for the role. But I fight it each day and just try to do my best - after all, I have to do something for a living!
I'm not sure if I will be doing this for the rest of my working life (probably another 20 years left), but until I think of something else to do in its place, or when I finally get found out as an imposter - I will carry on.
I'm standalone now and would very much like to work in a team as it can be quite isolating sometimes - I feel sometimes as if I can't form tight friendships at work because one day I might need to make that person redundant or something like that.
I find that you need to be quite poker faced some times and I find that difficult.
I'll stop now! Otherwise I'll end up writing a book!!!

This is a great thread! I've loved reading all of your stories.
I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I went to 6th form and left with a secretarial qualification (in the days when typing lessons still existed on a type writer). I worked in a bank as a clerk for a while, then when I was made redundant from that job, I trained to be a croupier and worked on the ships. When I returned I dabbled in other admin/PA jobs and met my husband and started a family. I then trained to be a homeopath - but this never really took off as I went on to have a third child, which meant I couldn't really work from home any more. I then went back to work part time as a PA and then fell into HR when I landed an Office Manager role. I started by doing the admin for the lawyers there, then decided that if I'm going to be working in HR, I'd better qualify, so went and did my level 3, then level 5. I left that role after 3 years because as an outsource company, I never got a sense of the company culture that I was advising, so I went for an internal HR role as an assistant.
Unfortunately, as soon as I took on that job (fixed term contract), I was diagnosed with cancer! I tried to work in between surgeries (didn't have to have chemo), but as you can imagine, I wasn't my best self. The HR Manager there decided to "restructure" the HR department, and I had the chance to either apply for an adviser role, or part company - I took the latter. I was in no place for the challenge of being an adviser at that time (and I knew deep down it was her way of getting rid of me and yes, it still leaves me with a bitter taste). The whole experience knocked my confidence, so I took a local admin job in an estate agents - I was bored stiff!!!! After a year of that, I finally gained confidence in my body again to not let me down again and decided that I would try to pursue my HR career once more, so went for an assistant role in my current company. I quickly climbed to adviser, then my lovely manager retired and the company promoted me as manager! All this within a year of joining!
I'm like one of the previous posters on this thread, I suffer with imposter syndrome on a daily basis - I really lack confidence and never feel as if I am good enough for the role. But I fight it each day and just try to do my best - after all, I have to do something for a living!
I'm not sure if I will be doing this for the rest of my working life (probably another 20 years left), but until I think of something else to do in its place, or when I finally get found out as an imposter - I will carry on.
I'm standalone now and would very much like to work in a team as it can be quite isolating sometimes - I feel sometimes as if I can't form tight friendships at work because one day I might need to make that person redundant or something like that.
I find that you need to be quite poker faced some times and I find that difficult.
I'll stop now! Otherwise I'll end up writing a book!!!