Barriers to career progression

Similar to the others - availability of roles without a massive commute and wanting only to work for industries I considered to be at least broadly ethical. I don't like driving and have a preference for greener travel, so have always been restricted to roles I could get to by public transport and didn't involve a lot of driving to different sites (always happy to do it other means though). Whilst it has restricted the number of roles, it has meant I've been 'forced' to look at different sectors, which in fact has lead to a broader career than I might have had otherwise!

Work/home life balance - my choice to decide I wanted to work in a particular location and not have a long commute a few years ago limited the choice of roles available in that geographical area. Also sometimes the areas of HR I have in depth experience of and interest in has limited roles that were available.

Limited availability of roles to apply for if wanting to advance my career with another company. Like others, not wanting to travel an hour or more. Limited scope within a company to progress.

I struggled getting onto the HR ladder as very few companies wanted to hire me as I started off as an accountant. Often the feed back was 'not enough experience' despite applying for trainee and junior roles!
I also had to find a company willing to sponsor me through exams due to the costs.

That sounds really frustrating, Maisie. Did they not recognise the transferable skills?

Lack of flexibility in terms of Work / Life Balance.
Limited in terms of PT work available in the Geographical area.

Like a few others its been the commute a lot of the big Companies are based in Belfast and the drive into the city from where I live is a nightmare. Also after I had my family the lack of opportunities for PT work or even just more flexible working. I changed jobs last year and was disheartened at the number of HR professionals who were unwilling to offer flexibility in their working hours

I'm with you on the 'not enough experience'. Even though I have a lot of transferable experience and skills. Took a while to get into HR.

I went to a recruitment agency, and we wrote my CV highlighting all transferable skills but still found it difficult to get an interview!
Thankfully I found a company that fully supports my learning and progression.