Landing that all-important first job in human resources can be tough
By Brian Kreissl
It’s great that many young people are now making a conscious decision to go into human resources.
To me, that speaks volumes about how far the profession has come now that few people these days “fall into” HR or end up working in HR because they couldn’t cut it elsewhere. But it isn’t all a bed of roses either.
One reader left a comment on one of my recent blog posts (the one about how to get to the top in HR) requesting that I write another post on how to actually get into the HR profession in the first place. That person — like most of her classmates — was having a tough time finding an entry level job in HR.
People have asked me for advice on how to get into HR a few times over the years. Lately, I’ve struggled to answer that question because the job market in HR isn’t great right now — especially for entry-level roles.
I also believe we may be graduating too many people from HR academic programs. There probably aren’t enough jobs for everyone who studies HR, although the same could probably also be said for many other fields. And the job market for new graduates is dismal in general right now.
Nevertheless, I believe there are signs HR in particular is undergoing a fairly radical transformation and perhaps even some contraction. Because of technology, outsourcing, the tendency to “downsource” transactional personnel activities to line managers — and the fact many HR departments are still operating in “lean and mean” mode in the wake of the recession — there aren’t as many entry-level opportunities in HR as there once were.
HR always difficult to get into
But HR was always a difficult field to break into (other than for those who almost “fell into” it accidently before HR was an academic discipline in its own right). Even when I started in the profession nearly 15 years ago, I found it difficult to land that all-important first job.
And, for me at least, what was then considered the all-important stepping stone to a career as a senior-level HR practitioner — the highly coveted HR generalist role — eluded me. It’s a job title I’ve never actually had even to this day.
I actually got my start in HR as an agency recruiter, a role many people don’t even see as being in HR. From there, I moved into in-house corporate recruitment, then compensation administration and HRIS work, and finally into HR program management, before moving into my current role, which encompasses just about all aspects of HR and employment law.
But when I couldn’t land a generalist-type role, I decided to acquire several HR specialties separately. That, along with my legal, business and HR education, eventually paid off in getting me where I am now.
No doubt things have changed since I started. But I believe my experience is still valid in illustrating how HR graduates may need to be creative in looking for opportunities that differ from the typical HR coordinator or generalist role.
Getting a foothold in HR
It may be necessary to get a foothold in the profession by looking for work in recruitment agencies, HR outsourcing providers, HR technology vendors, benefits providers, consulting firms, compensation consultants, outplacement and career counseling firms, relocation consultancies, employee assistance program providers or background screening companies.
But it’s also important — particularly if you’re doing something non-traditional — to avoid staying too long in such a role for fear of becoming “typecast.”
Other things that can help are co-op and internship programs, volunteering in an HR capacity for non-profit organizations, pursuing further education in business or HR, networking, joining and possibly volunteering in an HR association, being active on social media groups dedicated to HR, writing articles and blogging about HR.
People who are new to HR, but have previous line management or other types of business experience, should highlight transferable experiences, skills and competencies relevant to the practice of HR. And those with certain industry experience can also help parlay that into a career in HR within that industry.
I’m not going to lie to people just getting into HR — it isn’t an easy field to break into. But with hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck, savvy graduates will eventually find work in this challenging yet rewarding field.
Brian Kreissl is the managing editor of Consult Carswell. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.consultcarswell.com.
