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Thinking of giving up on my HR career :(

James Webber

Hello,

I’ve really demotivated about the trajectory, or complete lack of, in my HR career. I attained a HR degree in 2008 and I’m an associate member of this fine establishment.

Quick career overview; I held a permanent position within HR for 8 years in the same organisation progressing from coordinator to advisor (of the Teacher’s Pension scheme). However, I was then unfortunately given mandatory redundancy.
I took this opportunity to travel the world and experience new cultures for 6 month and since I returned, 2.5 years ago, I’ve been trying to reignite my HR career with no meaningful success.

I managed to get a temporary HR coordinator role for 3 months, a year and a half ago, covering a long term sickness but I've not be able to get another HR role since.
I’m applying for both entry level and HR Advisor roles but it seems to be a glass ceiling and floor scenario due to me either having too much or too little experience. I’ve had 3 interviews for a HR advisor role in the last 12 months, without success, but nothing at the coordinator level.
As such I’ve been forced to accept a few sporadic temporary finance based roles out of necessity. But it’s not what I enjoy and it bores me due to the lack of human interaction among other things.  

I recently pad a few hundred pounds to get a newly designed CV in the forlorn hope this was my issue. It was not and the status quo continues.

I’m signed up to dozens of job websites, apply for most jobs at coordinator and advisor live, and have about a 2% success rate.

I’m really wondering whether as much as I want to work in HR does HR want me as much in return?
I don’t even know what else I want to do with my working life.

Parents
  • Well, for a start, James, don't give up on HR without a Plan B!

    You aren't alone in struggling to find a foot on the ladder, but you have a significant advantage over others in that you have already had HR roles. However, I'm guessing that you may not have had much involvement in recruitment in your previous roles, as it sounds like you may be misdirecting your effort (and money!).

    1. Most job websites just recycle jobs from other job websites. You should sign up for two, maximum three. Pick one big one (Indeed, say), one specialist HR one (PM Jobs being a good choice) and one industry-specialist one (like CharityJobs for third sector roles).

    2. The easier it is to apply for a job, the more applications it will receive. Jobs that require only a CV and maybe a covering letter are easy, but inundated. Consequently, there is a tendency to look, mainly, at the two most recent roles a person has performed. Focus on roles that ask you to complete a job application form (physical or digital). These filter out more applicants, reducing the volume and making it easier to stand out. They should also provide an opportunity for you to articulate your experience in practical terms, without the reader being distracted by less relevant, more recent jobs.

    By all means, still apply for CV-based jobs (it's quick and easy) but try to tailor your CV. For example, adjust the order in which you report your experience - order it by relevance, rather than date, for example. Emphasize your HR qualification and experience in the (short) opening statement. Focus on your experience (I'm guessing HR administration, onboarding and employee relations, maybe payroll).

    3. Sign up with temp agencies - as many local temp agencies as you can - and emphasize to them that you are looking for HR work and *only* HR work. This will improve your CV, update your knowledge, widen your experience and put you at the front of the queue should these companies decide that they need someone permanent in the role for whatever reason. Treat your temp agency contacts well - tell them all when you are starting a new contract. Let them know when you expect it to finish. Update them when you're a week or two away from completion to let them know your availability and to inform them of any new experience you've gleaned from the time you spent there.

    4. Learn the STAR approach to answering interview questions: Situation, Task, Action, Result.

    5. Work on a Plan B. Somehow or other, you need a way to make a living. While getting back into HR is your Plan A, before you give up on that, you need a Plan B. Look for community courses, volunteering opportunities and ways to monetize your other skills and hobbies.
  • in reply to Robey
    Writing a good cover letter helps to stand out on those "easy apply" roles. Read the job and person specs carefully and try to demonstrate how you meet all the essential criteria. Also answer the "why" questions: why this job, why now, why you are a good fit.
  • in reply to Anka
    To be honest I am not a huge fan of cover letters - I think they are often fluff.

    Many recruiters have a skill of scanning CVs so its vital the key things jump out and hit the recruiter between the eyes
Reply Children
  • in reply to Keith
    Preferably on page one. Page 2 gets hardly a glance
  • in reply to Keith
    I have usually taken the opposite approach: I do read cover letters because I find it a) a useful gauge as to whether someone could string a coherent sentence together b) a way of distinguishing between a lot of otherwise samey CVs. So, when job-hunting and applying directly, I put effort into cover letters in case the person at the other end is like me! If you were the recipient, presumably you would not penalise me for having written one, but if the recipient is someone like me, they might penalise me for providing a badly written piece of fluff. I should have specified though that I would only write a cover letter when applying directly (e.g. on Linked In), not when responding to agencies.
  • in reply to Anka
    I also like a personalised cover letter as I feel it demonstrates someone has given more than a cursory glance at the job title and salary and thought 'that will do.'
    It usually demonstrates they have read the advertisement and at least given some consideration to the role and how they would fit.