WWYD in my situation? work related

[NoGoodAtMakingDecisions]

Background - I am a HR Administrator in a small organisation but I have some experience in HR in a large organisation prior to joining this role. My role is more than HR Administrator, it's probably a low level HR Advisor role. I am CIPD Level 3 qualified and almost completed my level 5.

I am bored to tears with the slow pace of my current job, the role doesn't have much variety. It's a lot of mundane, boring administration with the odd bit of disciplinary/recruitment issues thrown in. It's very much 'old school personnel'. My boss isn't very good but the money is ok. It is also a stable job but I really want to progress, learn and be the best possible version of myself!

The two options:
A) I've been offered a new role (my dream role) which is very fast paced with loads of exciting HR projects, a full HR advisor role but they are expecting someone competent to come in and hit the ground running. It's more money, company car, better benefits but ultimately supports my progression that I want. However, i'm now worrying I won't be able to do it. I'm still learning, it's so fast paced and i'm scared I won't be able to keep up :(

B) Stay where I am - bored, but my role is safe and I could try and progress, gaining the little bits of experience I do get here and there. I could reject this offer and try and find something slower paced to help me get up to speed?

I'm just terrified I won't be able to do the job, that I won't be able to keep up and i'd have left a relatively safe role that pays well?

I'd take it like a shot, and as part of your probation, request a mentor who can orient you into the company. Don't talk via your imposter syndrome. Simply explain that you've come from a small organisation into a global company, and you want a mentor for say, 3 to 6 months who can fast-track you into the company culture, so you can step up quickly & efficiently.

This makes it sound as though you know what you're doing, you want to contribute, and you're mindful of the business imperatives. Secretly, if you get the right sort of person, you'll have some support. But it won't look like "support." It'll look like you're getting fit for the fast track!

Are you able to actually put the hours in? Do you have commitments at home? If not, I would definitely go for it. If you have commitments which mean eg that you can't do work in the evenings, I might think differently.

If they have offered you the job, they believe you can do it. You need to believe it too. Of course there will be a learning curve but have confidence - they do! Take the new job, fake it until you make it, and grab that opportunity! Good luck.

I was also going to say re finding a mentor. Have you got a local cipd network? Can you tap in to that?

Thank you for all the replies and the kick up the arse. Definitely what I wanted to hear and needed to hear!

I don't have any kids and I have a small amount of savings so if it didn't work out, then I could use those for a few months.

Good idea regarding a CIPD mentor! Why did I never think of that?

I have lost confidence and it's one of the reasons I want to move. I'm forgetting all the good experience I have from my previous role which was fast paced.

@gurglebelly thank you so much. I am currently in a standalone role and I'm so excited to go back into a large HR team! Do you have any tips for me moving into a busy advisory role?

@CharlieandLolaCat I love "what options have you considered?" I will definitely be using that! Thank you!

I'm the type of person who picks things up really quickly by doing the work, I put the hours in and I'll sit up all night researching if I need to.

I got this!

Now time to hand in my notice tomorrow

Option A plus CIPD mentor. Also use the CIPD communities forum - such a great place to share ideas, questions and to get advice. You've got this.

Yep go the new job

If it’s a big firm they will have to be consistent across the board in their approach to HR to be fair to all employees so checking in with others to see what has been done in a similar situation should be standard.
Enjoy!

Yay! Go for it! Good luck in your new role 😀

Go for it! Good luck

A A A A A A A A A A A

^

You're easily gonna learn the ropes. Please do it!

but then I start to doubt myself because it's a global firm with loads of policies/processes to get my head round.

^

Google these before you start the job. Try and read as much as possible before you start the role.

I've already received all their policies etc with my own contract. I've printed them all out, got a highlighter ready and will spend the next 4 weeks understanding them.

Anyone else find it daunting handing in their notice?

You have got this! And you've had some good advice on the thread

You asked for some tips, I kind of got dropped in at the deep end early in my career and I found that the following helped me a lot:

• Go through the policies as soon as you can, make notes of any questions you have about them and get them answered - every circumstance is different but at least then you feel you have a solid grounding
• Spend the time building relationships with your colleagues, they will be your biggest source of support (not just with knowledge sharing, but also keeping you sane during the difficult periods and celebrating your successes)
• get to know the business. Having a good understanding of the products, what other departments do, the results, the jargon is crucial.
• be visible and approachable, always make yourself available for the 'have you got 5 minutes' chats with employees (but it's also perfectly fine to say 'of course but I'm just in the middle of something, can we catch up at xxx)
• notes, write lots of notes! Particularly around any systems you need to use - it's amazing how often people don't do this and it makes their lives so much harder
• I can't remember who said it but have some stock phrases to buy you some time if you don't know something. Too many people hazard a guess and it often comes back to bite them
• don't be afraid to put your hand up and say you don't know something
• don't be afraid to say you've made a mistake. We all do and most things can be unpicked if they are caught early enough, it is far harder if something has been hidden or sat on in the hope that no-one notices
• Line Managers will often happily pass the difficult conversations to HR to manage. Check what should happen in your company, but in most our job should be about coaching the line manager to be able to have the conversation themselves not doing the bits of the job they don't like
• Listen. Really listen to what people are saying to you, as often people are trying to tell you something without actually coming out and saying it. That sounds odd but but it's much easier to talk about vague issues in a department rather than saying 'my colleague/line manager is a bully' for example. Have a conversation, don't be afraid to ask questions so you can be really clear what the issue is and what they want from you - is it to offload, is it that they want you to talk to someone, are they raising a complaint? Quite often people want to make you aware of something but when you ask them what they want you to do they don't actually want anything to happen just yet, in that case I will always follow up with an email about the conversation, confirm that at this point they don't want you to do anything but refer them to the relevant policies and tell them your door is always open. That way there can be no confusion later that they 'raised it with HR and nothing was done'

Sorry that was a bit of a brain dump!

Oh and finally imposter syndrome is real, I still think I'm going to get caught out any day now.....