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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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  • Hi Alisdair
    I feel your pain, and wish you luck!
    I made this career transition over a period of time, finally making the 'official' move into HR at the age of 50. Here's what worked for me:

    Be clear on your transferable skills and how your achievements under each relate to the role you're applying for - in your CV and all conversations / communications you have about your career goal.

    You have a lot of practical experience as a team / people leader - what skills, knowledge and experience can you demonstrate from a strategic perspective? Everything you implement as a manager starts from the strategy and many HR roles are about the strategy.

    Networking was essential in my experience - in person, within my company and at events such as CIPD and industry events (I was in insurance and always sought out anyone in any role related to HR / L&D).

    LinkedIn - does your profile clearly show what you're looking for and why? Do you post about what you're looking for and why? Do you have lots of HR people in your connections? Are you in HR groups? I'm not sure if I can add an external link on this forum but will try in a separate reply - I have a blog about how to use LinkedIn for your job search that may be helpful.

    A mentor can be invaluable - for feedback, ideas, introductions and as a sounding board. CIPD branches often have mentoring schemes, and / or approach someone and / or post on LinkedIn asking for one, or find a paid one. Or even a mix, you'll get different experiences and benefits.

    Can you target a company you want to work for, find a role that fits your existing experience and then engineer a move into HR from there? This is what I did. It took a while but was a really worthwhile thing to do, overcoming those 'no experience' objections.

    I hope there's something helpful there for you!
    Best wishes
    Karen
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