Are you considering a career change into HR? Whether you’re transitioning from marketing, law, education, hospitality or another sector there are often some great transferable skills and moving into HR can be a rewarding decision with opportunities to work in a number of specialist areas.
HR and L&D professionals play a critical role in shaping workplace culture, managing talent and driving business success. But how do you make the leap into HR without prior experience?
We get asked this a lot so here are some steps to help you to successfully transition into an HR role including the skills you need, qualifications to consider and job search strategies.
1. Understand the Role of HR
Before making the switch, it’s essential to understand what HR professionals do because it is a broad field with various specialisations including:
- Recruitment and Talent Acquisition – hiring the right people for an organisation
- Employee Relations – handling workplace issues and maintaining a positive workplace environment
- Training and Development – helping employees grow through learning programmes
- Compensation and Benefits – managing salaries, benefits and rewards
- HR Strategy and Business Partnering – aligning people practices with business goals
2. Identify Transferable Skills
Even if you don’t have direct HR experience, you are likely to have trasnferable skills that will be useful in an HR role. For example:
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Leadership and Teamwork
- Data Analysis
- Organisation
- Attention to Detail
If you have experience in management, customer service, coaching or administration you may already possess some of these skills.
3. Develop Your HR Knowledge and Certifications
To boost your credibility and job prospects consider obtaining and HR or L&D qualification such as a CIPD qualification which gives you the credibility and recognition that goes with the CIPD brand as part of a network of 160,000 professionals worldwide. The options are:.
- CIPD Level 3 – Foundation Certificate in People Practice – mostly best for career changers
- CIPD Level 5 – Associate Diploma in People Management or L&D – suitable for those with some management experience eg as an HR Manager
- CIPD Level 7 – Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management or L&D – for those in HR leadership roles – usually with a minimum of 5 years experience
There are lots of non-accredited qualifications and various other accredited ones around the world – some countries now have arrangements with the CIPD to recognise each others qualifications.
4. Gain Practical HR or L&D Experience
One of the biggest challenges when changing career is being able to demonstrate that you can do the job. If you haven’t worked in an HR role you can do this in a number of ways:
- Volunteer for HR related tasks – are there opportunities in your current organisation or at a local charity perhaps?
- Internships and shadowing – ask HR professionals in your network if you can shadow them or look for an internship
- Freelance HR work – offer to help with hiring or HR policies
- Join HR networking groups – for example as a CIPD Student member you can join your local CIPD branch and attend events and meet people professionals in your area
5. Tailor your CV and Apply for Entry Level Jobs
Once you have built up some experience and knowledge ensure you tailor your CV for HR roles, Ensure you:
- Highlight transferable skills
- Ensure that any HR related training or experience is clear
- Use HR keywords such as CIPD, HR policies or recruitment depending on your experience
Entry level jobs to consider include:
- HR Assistant
- HR Administrator
- Recruitment Coordinator
Applying for these roles can help you to move into an HR team or role and expand your knowledge as you develop.
6. Network and Learn from HR Professionals
.Networking is the key to career success for example you can:
- Attend HR events – identify local meetups and industry conferences
- Use LinkedIn strategically – to grow your network of people professionals
- Join the CIPD community – to access networking, branch events, job boards and career development resources and advice
Ready to make the move? Remember your background can be an asset not necessarily a barrier – think creatively and consider how to sell yourself.
You may need to work towards your ideal role but we hope this gives you some pointers to get started.
We offer CV reviews and updates and the self development units encourage you to look at where you are now and identify your career goals.
CV and career development support is included as part of your CIPD Boost programme if you study with AheadHR and we have helped hundreds of learners to achieve their career goals.
Want to find out more? Request a CV review, book a call with our friendly team or request more information about our CIPD qualifications.
