Dear Natalie,
Please could you help me. I have begun a career in law and I am now coming to the end of my training contract. I will qualify as a solicitor in August 2007.
After two years I have realised that criminal law is not for me. I am more interested in managing the office and I would like to begin a career in human resources.
As part of my legal practise course I completed a module in employment law and practise. During my training contract I also completed a professional skills course, where one of the modules was also employment law.
I recognise that prospective employers will require a level of qualification in HR or a specific area of HR. Would the courses I have undertaken be sufficient in their own right, or would they need to be supplemented with further qualifications or would I be required to complete a full HR course to secure a job in this field?
Louise Artley
John Lees, career strategist and author of How To Get A Job You’ll Love:
How sure are you that human resources is the right field? You say that criminal law is not for you, but that still leaves a huge range of occupations where a background in law is useful.Your interest in employment law suggests that you should explore a range of avenues before committing to a wholesale career shift. Your statement: “I am more interested in managing the office and I would like to begin a career in human resources” reveals the problem area.
Human resources is not an automatic route into management, particularly if you’re thinking of practice management in the legal field.
It’s very common for people to think that they can solve career problems by retraining, but you have to consider two factors. One, you will always have some serious explaining to do regarding your CV, and two, you’re effectively restarting your career from scratch, whereas if you try to build upon your work experience to date you may move forward much more quickly. Before you commit to retraining, spend some time researching the range of alternative occupations trained lawyers go into.
A background in employment law is of course very useful for anyone thinking of a career in human resources, and post-graduate qualifications should gain you some exemptions from HR courses – it’s worth asking any teaching institution about accreditation of prior learning. Also check out the CIPD exemptions . The CIPD is happy to consider relevant postgraduate-level qualifications gained within the last ten years and assesses them against its professional standards.
If successful, you'll be accredited with exemptions from the Professional Development Scheme (PDS), and you can in fact gain exemptions from a maximum of six PDS modules based upon a single post-graduate-level qualification. You'll need to apply directly through www.cipd.co.uk/mandq/routes/educate/apcl/.
For more information:
How to enter into the profession of human resources
Comments (3)
Posted by Steve Miller | July 17, 2007 3:12 PM
Louise, in my opinion you do not need to have IPD recognition to be a top HR practitioner. Pieces of paper are no guarantee to being great in the profession. Get some experience in business at the front line and climb the ladder is my advice. HR people who have a business pedigree are far more respected than those who have a piece of paper.
The main area you need to develop is commercial awareness and strong business acumen. HR is not just about employment law. Too many HR people shield themselves with employment law knowledge when in fact they should be driving the competitive edge of their organisation.
As an ex head of HR I was more interested in peoples ability to use practical common sense and business focus. Yes I am IPD qualified but looking back on my career I do not think it made one bit of difference.
For now I would start picking up the phone and speak to as many HR Directors as possible. Let them know your ambition is to be a HR Business Partner and you are prepared to come in and start at the bottom, learn about the business, build relationships with line managers and add value.
Posted on July 17, 2007 15:12
Posted by Satnam Kaur | July 28, 2008 9:49 AM
no comment
Posted on July 28, 2008 09:49
Posted by Ramanandam.Narla | August 13, 2008 5:04 AM
Dear Frineds,
I finished my MBA with specialization in Human resources and marketing .Now i am working for insurance company. I am interested to work in HR domain. But i am unable to take any decision what to do which domain would is choose.
Thanks & Regards
Ramanandam.Narla
Posted on August 13, 2008 05:04