Hi all,
I have recently completed my CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management and am looking for some advice on job hunting…
I have 5 years’ retail management experience, during which time I led human resource activity including recruitment, hiring, training and resource management. I was also involved in conducting disciplinaries, managing for performance/absence and hearing appeals/grievances, working with the support of an internal HR team.
I am now actively looking for my first HR role and wondering where best to start. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the different job roles and responsibilities. There are no suitable vacancies with my current employer, so as I will need to move to a new organisation, I would prefer to start small and work my way up.
Can you offer any advice for someone just starting out? Many thanks in advance.
I transitioned from 10-12 years of retail management experience into HR, I'm the HRD of an SME now 3 years later.
Speaking openly here, you will crush it once you get into a role. The grit, guts and commercial awareness that retailers bring into a HR role is incredibly valuable.
Graham's advice has merit but I respectfully don't agree with it. I would be looking for a Junior HRBP role instead, or a fully fledged HRBP within the retail industry. It would play to all of your strengths and you'll still be exposed to challenges that you will need to go away and do a bit of research on, developing yourself.
I think entering an admin of role of any kind would be a waste of the skills you've built up.
I transitioned from 10-12 years of retail management experience into HR, I'm the HRD of an SME now 3 years later.
Speaking openly here, you will crush it once you get into a role. The grit, guts and commercial awareness that retailers bring into a HR role is incredibly valuable.
Graham's advice has merit but I respectfully don't agree with it. I would be looking for a Junior HRBP role instead, or a fully fledged HRBP within the retail industry. It would play to all of your strengths and you'll still be exposed to challenges that you will need to go away and do a bit of research on, developing yourself.
I think entering an admin of role of any kind would be a waste of the skills you've built up.
You raise some good points Charles. Speaking from my own experience, when I transitioned into HR after a long career in retail management, I personally wouldn’t have felt ready to step straight into an HRBP role, even with my level 5. There were just so many elements to HR that I wasn’t fully familiar with to enable me to operate on that level.
That said, I’m someone who likes to really understand every aspect of a role, so I’ve always preferred working my way through different positions to get a full understanding. But I know everyone’s career path is different and it’s not a one size fits all.
It’s interesting to read about the journey of others from similar backgrounds.
