Need some independent advice/opinions

[intheskywithdiamonds]

I am 23 and working for a market research company. Have been in my current role for a year at the end of the month.

Just thinking about going back on Monday is making me feel depressed. I am routinely expected to work overtime (and real overtime, talking about working till midnight couple of times a week, everyweek) and get no extra pay or time off in lieu for doing so.

My boss is prone to terrible mood swings and regularly makes me feel like I am stupid and have let her down (even though I work very hard all day). Just the thought of handing my notice in to her makes me feel physically sick and I am worried she will give me a very basic reference (I overheard her talking about the reference for the girl who had my job before me and she saw it as not worthy of her time to bother giving a full reference esp. as the girl was going into a role she thought 'wasn't very good').

My notice period is 4 weeks, if I handed my notice in do I have to work that or do I have any grounds for resigning because of long hours and no extra pay?

Also, does anyone have any advice on a career in HR as I think that is what I would like to move into.

Thank you so much x

Long hours and no extra pay doesn't mean you don't have to work your notice period.

Having said that, there's little your employer can realistically do if you don't work it. It is likely to jeopardise your reference though. Even if it will only be basic anyway, refusing to work your notice period is a tangible negative she could put on it indicating your lack of reliability. I would work it. 4 weeks seems like ages when you're miserable but it's not that long.

In terms of going into HR you'd be looking for an HR Assistant post or similar presumably. It's one of those where previous experience in HR is always a bonus so it can be hard to break in. Good administrative experience is valuable, so if you haven't got that, getting some might be an idea.

I would strongly advise you do your CIPD qualification at some point, although it's better to do it while on the job imo, you'll get more out of it. I did mine while I was a Personnel Assistant and was lucky enough to get sponsorship from the company I was working for at the time.

It's not strictly necessary for a career in HR, but it will give you a very broad base of knowledge that you won't get just from working in HR, will make you more employable, will mean you will probably be promoted quicker, will be paid more and will find it easier to transfer between companies/sectors as well. Definitely worth the investment of a couple of years part time study and even the fees if you can't get sponsorship.

Applying for HR jobs in the same sector you are working in might give you an advantage, you at least know about the business even if your HR knowledge is currently limited.

Thank you so much. Working such long hours when I have DD to think about too has just been so draining and I already feel like I have missed out on so much already.

I will look into the HR advice you've given. Many thanks again.

I agree with everything flowery said about HR.

I would strongly recommend studying for the CIPD while working in a HR role. I've interviewed lots of CIPD graduates (many with masters qualifications in HR) who want to skip the lower graded posts and move straight into strategic roles even though they've never worked in HR or in some cases, anywhere!

Why do you think you want to work in HR? Some people think it is because they like working with people, and are disappointed when they actually get a job in HR because it isn't what they thought it would be.

Hello llareggub.

I am 23 (one DD of 12months) and have a BA in a totally unrelated subject. I have a year's experience in this current role which has required a great deal of administration and organising/cataloging of data. I have also had to interview people and run focus groups and enjoyed listening to what people say (and in many cases, what they don't say is equally as interesting).

I've never been one of those lucky people that have had a career plan mapped out and can follow a journey to an end point. llareggub, do you work in HR yourself? Anything you can enlighten me on would be great.

Yes, I do.

My advice would be similar to flowery's, really. I started out in a large organisation in a graduate trainee role, which was designed specifically to develop the organisation's HR Managers of the future. I studied the CIPD while I worked in a variety of roles, shadowed experienced HR bods and generally learned all I could.

My degree is also in an unrelated subject, which hasn't proved to be a problem.

My degree is unhelpfully in history and has had no bearing on anything I've done. It occupied me for three years and is a tick box that I am apparently reasonably intelligent, but that's it.

Your admin experience sounds great and interviewing might also be helpful although tbh if I were recruiting an HR Assistant I wouldn't be looking for interviewing skills. Good to have though.

Would also like to add that HR can be massively different depending on the type of organisation you work in and what kind of HR you are doing. Finding out where you 'fit' and thrive the best is part of the journey, bit of luck and process of elimination really. But the CIPD is also helpful for that.

You might find you have a passion for reward systems, for example, or that you become keen to find out more about psychometric testing. Finding out what interests you will help you work out what career path you want to take and what type of organisations you might thrive in.

Be prepared to have to be more robust and ruthless than you might think you need to be, and to absorb everyone else's problems without having anywhere to soak up your own. It can be a lonely business, especially towards the top, but if you can achieve it, (which could depend on the kinds of places you work as well as obviously your own skills and capabilities), absolutely nothing beats the knowledge that you are changing the way an organisation thinks and acts.

thanks so much both of you. Have been feeling very sorry for myself lately but realise that now more than ever, you really have to put yourself out there and work hard for opportunities.

I'm off to do some investigation!

Happy new year