MESSAGE FOR ROBINW

[threeangels]

Hi robinw - A couple days ago I posted for some advice on going into Human Resource Management. Mollipops said she thought you work or used to work in this feild. She thought you might be able to give me a little info on what the jobs like. I havent signed up for school yet but am planning to in April this year. Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated.

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Thankyou anyway robinw. Hopefully that person will come across my post.

Just a thought but why not try on that old post 'what is it you do for a living one?'

Thanks Charliesmummy I will take a look.

I used to work in HR. I had to think twice about posting, but then thought you asked for opinions, so here goes.....
I mistakenly wanted to work in HR as I thought that it would be a great place to help people get the most out of their jobs. I really enjoyed finding good people for tough jobs (it was for a start up organisation), but hated the rest of it. This was for several reasons:
I'm actually more suited to creative project management jobs (eg marketing, which I do now), and I found HR was more of a scientific job, with lots of repetitive elements and lots and lots of record keeping.
Rather than helping people, the job I did was much more about protecting the company, and I felt we screwed a few people and exploited some others (I was v v uncomfortable with this!). (Sorry, not sure if allowed to use 'screwed' in this context!)
I felt a bit out on a limb - HR people have access to personal records, details on disciplinary hearings, etc, etc, and were, in my experience, viewed like the police of the organisation, so held at arms length by peers in other departments.
Apart from appointing people, the only other time we interacted with employees was if there was a problem - disciplinary, pay issue, bullying, etc. Giving bad news (redundancy, for eg) or having to confront a difficult situation (drunk at work, for eg) is, at best, character building, and at worst, a total nightmare.
I was also shocked to find out how much people try to play the system and get away with things that are totally not acceptable. It opened my eyes, and made me realise that I wasn't tough enough for that area of business. It's really hard to have to negotiate with/confront someone who is significantly more senior than you.

So, as you can see, I didn't have the best time. However, I'm sure that there must be someone out there who enjoys it and works for a company that was slightly more ethical than the one I worked for so I hope you get the other side of the story! Bottom line was that it didn't suit my character and personality, so my advice would be to think carefully about whether it will suit you!

Lalaa - Thanks for your posting. I dont know all the details about being an HR at this time but am still reading up on whats involved before I sign up. Were you working for a large company? My dh worked at a very well known computer company as a technician and told the regional HR lady (who actually hired him) I'd love to talk to her. He told me he knows that she loves her position. So maybe she can also sheds some light from her point of view.

I really want to get the neg and positive opinions of the career so I can really think if it's something I want to do. I really think maybe how I feel about it will be on where I get a job and what responsibilities I'm given. Iv'e read that some HR people will have certain titles with certain specific things to do while others may be doing duties in all areas of the feild. I guess it depends on the company and how it's run. I'm really nervous about taking this step. I really think it's something I want to try and being that dh knows me so well he really feels I would be great for this type of work but you can never quite tell till your actually there.

My dh said that if I end up not being happy doing this then with taking some extra courses I can go into some other area of business. He even metioned the marketing thing. The woman at the university also said I could change into a different major. This makes me feel a little better knowing that I'm not stuck doing the HRM in the end.

Thank you again.

If you're interested in doing some more research on HR, there's a free magazine you can subscribe to via www.humanresourcesmagazine.com

If you're interested, I could give you the name of an HR-specialist recruitment agency who the company I work for have used to hire people in more HR Consultant roles (i.e. far more of a business partner role than strictly personnel). Maybe worth a speculative call to discuss your career ambitions?

Yes, I would appreciate it Pat.

The company is Mavrix Search Partners (Libra Search & Selection)
0207 499 6602 (Julie Hamilton)
N.B. I have no personal experience, but I know they have supplied HR Professionals for interview where I work.

Hi threeangels - I have worked in Human Resources for the last goodness-knows how many years (more than 10), so I guess I'm in a good position to give you some advice.

Firstly, I would point out that some HR people are what we call 'generalists' i.e they get involved in the total spectrum of HR, whereas other HR people are 'specialists' who focus on specific areas of HR, for example compensation and benefits or recruitment. Generally speaking small and medium sized companies have generalists, whereas the really big organisations are large enough to have large HR departments (20+ at one ex-employer of mine), so there are enough people to enable specialists in different HR areas.

You mention that you are thinking about 'going into Human Resources Management'. Have you been offered the chance to do a CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) course ? Have you been offered a specific role ? Some people kind of 'fall into' HR, through an administrative role which broadens to encompass staff isues. Just in my experience, it's less common for someone to be given a black and white choice of going into HR or not, so I'd be interested to know more about your situation.

The other question is what level of HR you would like to go into. There's quite a difference between the role of HR Administrator and HR Manager for example. Do tell me more and I'll do what I can to advise (for what it's worth)

threeangels
Just to say that I agree that contacting the CIPD is a great step. They have a good website which includes career advice here
Good luck with the course.

(Marketing equivalent organisation is at www.cim.co.uk) - sorry, one link was as far as my tech skills could take me...!