Here are more stories about how people transitioned into a career in Human Resource management.
Skjonnhet Boyle, PHR, says:
"Yes, I transitioned into HR from an Administrative Assistant role. I had some staffing experience as a recruiter and I had assisted an HR Manager with some HR work previously, but I specifically took a position as an Administrative Assistant in a growing company in hopes of transitioning into HR when the opportunity presented itself. Finally, when the opportunity did arise and they needed a recruiter, I raised my hand and they let me take the position. From there I was able to perform other HR work and learned more when recruiting was slow.
"From there my next job was again in a small and growing company and I was able to land an HR Coordinator job from which I have now grown and am the HR Generalist. Prior to becoming an HR Generalist I obtainined my PHR certification to deepen my HR skills."
Marc LeVine says:
"I took the employment agency route at a time when such people were looked upon as 'career peasants.' Few old style corporate 'personnel' managers wanted to look agency people in the eye, let alone hire them to work in their departments. However, in the late 1980s, a severe labor shortage put an end to the headhunter stigma and many aggressive agency/search firm recruiters began were sought after by companies trying to compete for talented employees in an increasingly limited labor pool.
Many of the top-tier agency recruiters said, 'no thank you,' because of the money being offered versus what they were already making on either a retainer or contingency basis. However, many very good recruiters, who were either planning to hone their recruiting skills in a fast paced agency environment before entering corporate HR or those who preferred a regular salary and benefits over straight commission easily moved over to what we used to call the dark side - corporate HR.
"I still think the best preparation for a career in HR - especially the employment side - is solid employment agency and executive search experience. The diverse experience one gets in an agency and the fast pace they become accustomed to in that kind of environment helps them run rungs around corporate recruiters with OJT. Many of those see recruiting as a brief visit on the way to becoming a generalist. Agency recruiters are 'hiring animals' and remain up for the challenge hire after hire. After 30 years, I still have an 'eye of the tiger' when it comes to finding people under rocks. The passion is still here with me! My clients appreciate that."
Kimberly Maiorana says:
"I had done a lot of Administrative positions and was finishing up a communications degree. A full time Office Manager position opened up, and it was HR heavy, which I didn't know about. I sort of fell into the position in a smaller company. I had to learn on my feet - and there has been alot to learn. I used resources where I could find them and am planning to get further education in HR; there are a lot of certificate courses which can greatly increase your ability to get into the HR field. There are also a lot of entry level HR positions. You just have to find the right opportunity. But, a lot of companies need HR assistants, which is an admin position focusing on HR. This is a good way to get into the field without a lot of HR experience."
Dan Ryan says:
"I made this transition into HR over several years in a unique way. I worked in manufacturing for 14 years. During this time I evolved from a Technical Manager to a General Manager. While on this journey I spent a period of time starting a Training and Development function, an exercise that spurred my interest in the Human Resource Development (HRD) field. I chose to complete a second masters degree in HRD and then moved into two different HR generalist roles that allowed me to learn about the total HR spectrum. There is much more detail to this story, but the key point is that having a background in a different area can make your HR contribution much richer when you are in the right situation."
