Break Into a Career in HR
Whether you have just graduated, or are considering changing industries, the Human Resources (HR) industry may be the right path for you. The HR industry is booming, which means it can offer a wide range of opportunity for people interested in beginning a new career. In order to break into the HR industry, you will need to learn a bit about it, as well as gain the necessary skills, before joining a company.
Contents
Steps
Learning About the HR Industry
- Decide if HR is really your calling. Research different jobs within the HR industry; could you see yourself performing these tasks? Try to stay up to date on HR trends and news; does this information interest you?
- If the answer is no to these questions, a job in HR might not be right for you.
- Look at professional profiles of people who are in the HR industry. While researching the HR industry as a whole can be very helpful for getting a sense of the general tasks HR employees perform, it can also be very helpful to look at specialities within the industry to determine if you might pursue one of these roles.
- Search through professional platforms, such as LinkedIn, and take a look at the profiles of people who specialize in an area of HR.
- By doing this, you can get a sense of the career track these people have followed. What did they study in college? Do they have any certifications that you should consider getting? What sort of programs and tasks do they excel in, and do you have the skills to also excel in these areas?
- Look at job posting to get a sense of what sort of tasks you would do in various HR departments. You can do this by running an internet search to see what openings in HR divisions currently exist. Read through the lists of required skills and the various tasks you would be doing were you to get this job.
- Analyze the role of HR in the specific companies you are hoping to apply to. While HR has begun functioning as a business environment, some companies still relegate much of HR to administrative tasks. For the latter, you may find that you will get less opportunities to work beyond standard administrative tasks. For companies that consider HR as a large, separate unit within the company, you may find that you have more opportunity to gain new skills.
- Look at the different sections within the HR heading. Large corporations, and companies that focus on HR, generally have larger HR units that are comprised of several different departments. Each department has a manager that specializes in the activities that the department handles. These departments include:
- Training
- Compensation and benefits
- Labor relations
Gaining Necessary Skills through Programs and Certifications
- Know that the HR industry draws people from a variety of educational backgrounds. Since HR draws from a number of disciplines, those pursuing a career in HR obtain degrees in a single discipline or many.
- Successful HR professionals may have a degree in sociology, psychology, education, business or other social sciences.
- Consider getting a HR-specific degree program. You may either go for an online option that offers flexibility that fits your busy schedule or enroll in a traditional classroom course.
- Regardless of the learning method you choose, ask yourself: “Does the degree program fit my education goals?” and “Is the online program valid?”.
- Apply for some HR internships. Getting hands-on experience is particularly valuable in the HR industry. You can do this by applying for internships in during which you will learn the basics of various HR departments.
- Doing an internship before you enroll, or while you are enrolled, in an HR specific program can also help you to determine if this is the course you would like to take, and can help you apply your skills to a theory-level understanding of the industry that you would get through a program.
- Ask your program instructor for recommendations. Talk to your professors or direct supervisor about tips for breaking into the industry. Ask them to write you a letter of recommendation to help you jumpstart your career.
- Ask your professor to look over your resume, cover letters, or job applications to give you feedback.
- Think about getting an HR certificate. To further solidify your academic or professional standing, you can consider earning a certification. Being certified not only demonstrates your profound knowledge of Human resources, but also authenticates that you have applied the HR principles. The best known HR certifications are:
- Professional in Human Resources(PHR)
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
- Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR)
- Certified Personnel Consultants
- Certified Compensation Professional
- Global Remuneration Professional
- Certified Professional in Learning and Performance
- Expand your network further. Before you land on a job, it’s highly recommended that you join an HR organization which operates to advance both individual careers and the HR industry as a whole. This is a gateway to meet people in the HR industry, have up-and-close interactions about HR specialty areas and pave the way to finding a job.
- Such organizations usually charge a small membership fee, but it’s worth it if you are seriously considering long-term career in HR. Certain well-known organizations are:
- American Society for Training and Development
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Get involved in the online community. In addition to active in-person participation, consider joining online discussion groups, forums and likely platforms. These interactive nods allow you to connect with like-minded professional from whom you can ask questions, debate currents affairs and even talk about open positions.
Beginning Your Career in HR
- Start applying for jobs. Now that you have gathered the required details and analyzed if HR is a right career for you, craft your resume and start applying for the jobs. This entails applying through employers’ websites, building upon your contacts to secure interviews, drilling down into your target company via trade journals or industry directors or simply using an online search to find open positions.
- Keep your skills sharp. Once you get hired, continue to up-level your skills so that you can both shape your career and contribute to the company that has hired you.
- Take on challenging assignments
- Come up with your own action plans to execute ideas.
- Transition into HR. Whether your professional journey brings you in the field of HR by luck or you intentionally take this divergent path, you can consider it a long-term career deal if you enjoy managing people. When moving into HR from a different field, you should look into the following aspects.
- Listen to the stories from people already working in HR; they will give you an idea of the challenges different HR functions entail.
- If your previous profile has no similarity with directly managing people, consider starting to work in the administrative area of HR.
- While working in your current company, you may put up a request to move into HR department. You can seek official agreement to apply whenever an opening becomes available.
- Seek a temporary working opportunity in any HR department, as a recruiter or trainer. This can be in your organization or any other company.
- Take up proper classes or earn a certification for entering the field. If you have majored in people-oriented subjects like psychology or sociology, you can be seen as a good fit even without a degree program.
- Network with influential people and ask them to review your prior employment experience, education and highlight components that qualify you for a career in HR.
