Hi All

I can see this has been done before in different ways and have been through the previous getting into HR threads but I have no HR experience nor HR qualifications I have over 5 years of administative and customer service experience and although I do not have a degree I am very keen to learn and start from the bottom.  I have been looking at the HR jobs around and am thinking of studying for a CPP starting in September.  If you can you give me any advice at all I would be very very grateful.

Best Regards

Hi Vicky

Well you certainly have the enthusiasm!  Depending on your location, HR is certainly a hard field to get into, but if you are willing to start at the bottom, then completing your Certificate in Personnel Practice is a good start.  This will give you a good insight in to the wonderful world of HR and develop some of the skills that you have already learnt.

Looking for jobs from there or whilst studying, you have a couple of options, such as HR Administrator, HR Assistant - although, like I said before, depending on your location (if you are near a University for example) the competition is fierce!  However, the other option that you could follow by using your customer service / administration experience, is finding a site with no or little HR department (such as a small / medium business, or site such as a Warehouse or manufacturing).  This way, you can develop you HR administration skills by 'helping out' the HR Manager (who, if working in a standalone role will appreciate someone with HR knowledge, which you will gain from your CPP).  The distribution centre that I look after (from a distance) has a fantastic all-round administrator who reports to the management team there, but she also completes the general HR administration such as absence reporting, turnover, exit interviews, interview coordinating etc.  She is also studying her CPP and just gaining a bit of HR experience whilst being coached by me. Anything she can't deal with or knows is out of her league, she lets me know - this seems to work both ways.

Hope this helps, good luck

Lynsey (Regional HR Advisor)

Thank you for your reply Lynsey.  I am living in Stoke-on-Trent, near to a University and there doesn't seem to be as many HR jobs here as Birmingham or Manchester for example.  I have now signed up for the CPP and am doing my best to look for another job, I have learnt so much in the last week.  Everyone I have spoken to has been so nice.

How strange - I'm in Stoke too!  You can email me directly if you like if you need some assistance in the future lynzi_b_uk@yahoo.co.uk

Good luck

Hi Lynsey

Your email address doesn't seem to work.  I was just wondering if you could let me know what route you would take when trying to recruit an administrator so that I know I am looking in the right places.  It seems even jobs that say experience and qualifications are advantegous then reply saying I don't have enough experience.  I have been trying to really look at my CV and am trying to find voluntary work so that I gain experience but even that's leaving me at a dead end as these kind of voluntary positions have lots of applicants!

Thank you for any help you can give me.
Vicky

Hi Vicky,

I am from london, in the same situation with little administraion experience  and wanted to join Hr field.
I have applied several websites and different ways to get into  the voluntry job to gain experience, but no luck.

Recently  I have noticed reed traing centre  which has the course for "Hr administration ", that is for one day  which covers quite many things.

If once I get a chance to join Hr administation I am looking forward to join CIPD studies....

Please   let me know if  you have any luck........

All the best!!!!!!

Nazia

Hi Nazia

I work in HR for a charity based in London.  If you're interested, I could look into arranging some voluntary work for you in our department.  It would be a great way for you to build up some experience and get an idea if it's the profession for you as well - no better way to find out than to do it!  If you're interested reply to this post and we'll take it from there.

This is a route I'd recommend to anyone looking to take their first step in HR if they can do it (I appreciate financial commitments mean it's not possible for everyone).  We are always looking for an extra pair of hands - all we need is enthusiasm and the ability to commit to an agreed number of hours per week (it can be as little as half a day).  If anyone's interested please post here and I'll get back to you.

Good luck!

Hi Laura,

I would love to avail this wonderful oppurtunity. Please advice my how to move a step ..

I will be checking for your reply..

Thanks

nazia

hi Nazia

Okay, no problem, drop me an email at lmacarthur@macmillan.org.uk and we'll take it from there.

Laura

Hi Laura,

Hope you are doing well.

Laura, I have dropped you an email few ago regarding the traineeship.Just wondering have you received or not.

I am giving my email id maliha30@hotmail.com, if anything comes up, please let me know.

Many thanks

Nazia

Hi Laura,

Hope you are doing well.

Laura, I have dropped you an email few ago regarding the traineeship.Just wondering have you received or not.

I am giving my email id maliha30@hotmail.com, if anything comes up, please let me know.

Many thanks

Nazia

Hi there Laura!

I read your comment in the thread-  and was wondering if you could give some advice?...

 I desperately want to get into HR, at admin/assistant level. I have just graduated with a 2:1 in Psychology; I have no HR experience, but I have three months of admin experience, and am currently working as sales support/admin assistant with a big company (not my chosen career path!..only been in this job for 3 weeks!!)

I tried to get into HR with no success, before my admin and sales support experience. Do you think I am employable in HR with my current qualifications and experience? Its so frustrating that I cant get a HR admin job!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks v much for your time!

Leanne

Hi Leanne

I've been working in HR for a while now having graduated in Psychology/Business Management (so similar to your degree).  My way to get into HR was to join a graduate management training scheme in retail and I then specialised in HR.  I started the CIPD only after a couple of years experience in HR (although my degree meant I was exempt from some of it). 

T

Hi,

I was just reading all the comments for the first time, and I have been having a problem to gain work experience. I am currently in my last year of my HR program, completing end of January.

If it is possible could you knidly give me more information on how I go about  doing voluntary work at your organisation.

Thanking you.

Tondo

 I read you are offering some HR work experience which i have been hoping to do. i really would love to help out, i am a post grad but let me know if there is an oppotunity. i have done lots of work for charities and think this would be an amazing oppotunity that i would hate to miss.

Annbelle whipp

Hi all

Thanks for the interest in volunteering - I've had lots of emails and replies!

Thinga have changed within my department quite a bit since I originally posted last year, and right now we don't have any new opportunities for volunteers.  I'm also not the best person to contact any more because my role has changed.  If you're interested in volunteering in the future, you should check out our website, www.macmillan.org.uk, and look at the section on Volunteering for more information.

Thanks again for all the interest, it's been amazing how many people want to help out!  Best of luck to you all in your careers - I know it's hard getting started but you'll get there!

Laura  

Certificate of Personnel Practice: Difference between providers