Coming up to 30... want to change career maybe HR or L and D. Advice?

[Darklava09]

I’m looking to change career I’m 30 next year and I just don’t feel fulfilled in my job.

I’m currently back in the sector I wanted earning the money I wanted but I’m just not happy.

I’m interested in learning and development or HR or both. I’ve enquired in some of the CIPD courses but they are at least £2/3k.

How easy is it to get a job in HR if you’ve changed career? I know I’d have to look at maybe admin jobs beforehand to get some experience which I’m willing to do.

For anyone who does work in HR how easy is it to get a job in the sector? I’m worried about paying out for the course and not being able to get hired!?

Thanks

Hello, HR person here! I think unfortunately your questions aren't an easy to answer as it depends on where you are in the country (London has most opportunities but also most competitive), your salary expectations and whether you need any other flexibilities like part-time, what the rest of your CV is like and how related your current sector/job is to HR. I recruit mainly in London and quite regularly recruit entry level jobs through to HR Advisers and HR Business Partners, and I'd say the HR Adviser/L&D Officer level (about £30-35k salary in London) is the most competitive, for these roles we get a lot of applications (100+ per role sometimes) so we can picky and tend to want at least partial CIPD completed but also some direct HR experience so I'd agree if that's your aim then paying out for CIPD may not be worth it unless you are prepared to do full-time study and can do an integrated course which includes a substantial work-placement. It is tricky for people who want to career change but can't afford massive salary drop because although in theory it would be possible to do a mid grade/graduate level HR role without too much HR experience if you are bright and understand the concepts, but IME there are plenty of HR graduates with experience on the market (in London anyway) so I haven't ever in fairness really been able to shortlist anyone who is more of a career changer for that kind of role. It may be different outside London though...

One thing you could consider if you have a degree is an HR graduate training scheme - again these do tend to be competitive but if you can get a place really good in terms of getting your CIPD/Masters funded plus even more importantly getting high quality work experience on the CV...

Otherwise I'd look at more entry level HR roles - things like HR Administrator, HR Officer, (in house) Recruitment Officer - for these roles we're less bothered about direct HR experience and qualifications and might consider someone with a good general CV and a well written supporting statement about why they want to work in HR and how their experience/skills will transfer. The salary will only be £25k ish in London for those kind of roles (probably more £18-£21k outside London) - but we do regularly fund CIPD for our junior staff and more importantly give opportunities to be involved in different kinds of HR work such as ER, L&D, OH etc so it is possible to progress quite quickly out of these roles for someone who is keen and able...

@maxelly thank you for your response! Lots to think about.

I’m outside of London- midlands based and work in social work (non social worker qualified though). As a new earner I would expect to be taking 20-22k maybe less if I did admin based roles. I don’t have high salary expectations because I know it’s about working my way up!

I have just looked at the HR graduate scheme I have a 2:1 but in an unrelated field to HR- does this matter?
I do in fairness have lots of transferable skills I.e managing people, managing difficult conversations, policy writing etc.
I do a lot of L+D at the moment and really enjoy it. I’ve created training packages, deliver the training, get feedback ect so feel I could transfer easily into L+D but I don’t have any CIPD qualifications.
I’d be willing to fund it and have enquired and was told it was part time course (online based) with Avado? Does this sound right?

I am pretty good at learning new skills quickly and pick things up fast and I am always willing to learn but in the current climate it’s an employers market!!

That's good that you are OK with a £20k or below salary - that being the case I def wouldn't worry too much about CIPD quals and just focus on applying for HR entry level jobs, make sure you write a really good CV/supporting statement emphasising your relevant experience and transferable skills.

HR graduate schemes - it will depend on the scheme (there are lots) but most don't mind if your first degree isn't in HR, in fact the ones I am most familiar with actually slightly prefer non-HR first degrees. Could be a good option for you although most schemes only recruit once a year starting around september to tie in with university graduation times so you may have a bit of a wait...

If you did want to do your CIPD, I'm not specifically familiar with the provider you mention but so long as it is CIPD accredited that is fine - is that a level 3, level 5 or level 7 course you are looking at? For HR advisor + roles I generally expect level 5 completed (or at least mainly completed), and for HR Manager or HRBP or higher most people have level 7, often as part of a full MA or MSc and leading to becoming a chartered member so that's where you ultimately want to be aiming, but most people do this alongside working in HR not necessarily off their own bat when starting out (plus as you are finding the courses are expensive so it helps if you can find an employer who will at least contribute!). I wouldn't bother with anything below the level 5 if you already have a degree, for sure...

@maxelly ahh thanks for the advice!

Yeah salary wise it is abit of a paycut but I’m trying to look at the longer goal and not only that I still have another 20/30+ years of work so it’s a small sacrifice to make for a long term investment is how I see it

The courses I have been looking at is level 5. When I spoke to the advisor she said I’d be fine at level 5 due to me already having some experience and having a degree already which shows I can cope with the academic side.

I’ll start having a look at jobs next year then doing entry level/ admin experience and see where I go from there