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Late career change to HR

Alasdair

Hello all,

This is my first post on a CIPD forum, so hello world of HR!

I will keep it brief(ish). I am 49 years old, in transition from a completely different area to HR, and in the middle of CIPD level 5. I have many years of team-side implementation of HR policies, a lot of recruitment/interviewing behind me, project management, team leadership etc. I believe skills mean more than job titles, and all the skills required to be an HR professional are in place, but I lack the job titles on the CV.

I am well and truly stuck in the "you'll be bored"/"need more experience" trap with respect to getting started.

So in your experience, how do people in my position kick things off? I feels like aiming for a vanishingly small sweet-spot at the moment, which is frustrating, knowing how much I have to offer. I'm an unconventional candidate, and it looks like people don't know how to handle me!

Thanks very much all, I really look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I know it takes time to post, so thank you so much in advance for your time.

Alasdair

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  • The answer is "temp work".

    Employers are much more willing to take a risk on someone for six months than they are for a permanent role. Temp HR work is often created in response to a crisis - restructure, excess casework, culture shifts etc - so it's also a great way to garner lots of different kinds of experience in different kinds of organization in a short time, which will then serve you well in pursuing a permanent role later.

    Initially, set your sights relatively low at administrative or junior advisor posts and then ratchet up your expectations as you get experience under your belt.

    Being an effective, reliable temp also puts you at the front of the queue for any emerging permanent jobs in the same employer.
  • in reply to Robey
    Thanks for that. Yes, I'm pursuing temping and the roles I have had to date have been great experience. I am going to pursue internships following a suggestion on this discussion as well. I totally understand the starting low point about roles - I had gathered this, and have only been thinking of that kind of level. I think it's now a numbers game of getting a large number of applications out. Thanks very much for the thoughts.
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  • in reply to Robey
    Thanks for that. Yes, I'm pursuing temping and the roles I have had to date have been great experience. I am going to pursue internships following a suggestion on this discussion as well. I totally understand the starting low point about roles - I had gathered this, and have only been thinking of that kind of level. I think it's now a numbers game of getting a large number of applications out. Thanks very much for the thoughts.
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