Level 5 and breaking in to HR

Whilst I disagree strongly with the manager who described your Lvl 5 as a waste of time and money, he's right in one respect: it's a poor form of preparation for someone looking to enter HR at ground level.

Few CIPD courses will cover efficient personnel filing, the rapid back-of-a-***-packet calculation of residual holiday or how to back-track through six months of pay statements to work out whether you accidentally breached national minimum pay legislation, but that's the practical, day-to-day life of the HR administrator.

Oddly, you may be aiming too low. If you have experience as a team manager, you are going to be more likely to find your way into HR through a parallel, internal step. Having a Lvl 5 qualification is a good professional foundation for people management in or out of HR, so it is likely to be more highly rated by someone looking for a general manager than for an HR specialist.

From a management role, you can - once established - let your superiors know about your interest in pursuing HR more actively. In a good organization, this should open doors to get involved supporting relevant HR projects and working more closely with the HR team. Then, when a vacancy arises, you'll be well placed to step across and begin building that experience you'll need to build a new career in HR.

Meanwhile, however, I have to agree with Keith. Keep plugging away for HR roles, but perhaps raise your sights somewhat from HR admin roles to ones more at the HR Advisor or Team Leader level, where your experience and qualifications will be more relevant. I have over a decade of experience in HR, a Lvl 7 qualification and Chartered Member status, but clocked up a similar number of failed applications in my own recent job hunting. It's a numbers game and the only way to lose is to quit!

Whilst I disagree strongly with the manager who described your Lvl 5 as a waste of time and money, he's right in one respect: it's a poor form of preparation for someone looking to enter HR at ground level.

Few CIPD courses will cover efficient personnel filing, the rapid back-of-a-***-packet calculation of residual holiday or how to back-track through six months of pay statements to work out whether you accidentally breached national minimum pay legislation, but that's the practical, day-to-day life of the HR administrator.

Oddly, you may be aiming too low. If you have experience as a team manager, you are going to be more likely to find your way into HR through a parallel, internal step. Having a Lvl 5 qualification is a good professional foundation for people management in or out of HR, so it is likely to be more highly rated by someone looking for a general manager than for an HR specialist.

From a management role, you can - once established - let your superiors know about your interest in pursuing HR more actively. In a good organization, this should open doors to get involved supporting relevant HR projects and working more closely with the HR team. Then, when a vacancy arises, you'll be well placed to step across and begin building that experience you'll need to build a new career in HR.

Meanwhile, however, I have to agree with Keith. Keep plugging away for HR roles, but perhaps raise your sights somewhat from HR admin roles to ones more at the HR Advisor or Team Leader level, where your experience and qualifications will be more relevant. I have over a decade of experience in HR, a Lvl 7 qualification and Chartered Member status, but clocked up a similar number of failed applications in my own recent job hunting. It's a numbers game and the only way to lose is to quit!