Human Resource Management
In the main, HR professionals are responsible for recruiting, training and paying employees, and they also deal with legal aspects and incentives. HR reaches into all aspects of any business or organisations. Typically, larger employers have graduate and internship schemes directly into the HR function. Smaller organisations tend to outsource their recruitment and training. To get in, like with any other career, being clear about what’s involved is crucial and use the resources below.Consider initial job-shadowing, networking via LinkedIn or other social media and attending CIPD events to become a well-informed applicant. To find out more about the different roles and what’s involved in a career in HR, use the key resources below.
Click here for careers profile for Human Resources Manager
Click on the above heading to investigate what’s involved in a career as HR manager and how to get in.
CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) This is the professional body for HR work and a great starting point for exploring different careers within Human Resources. Click here to access their dedicated careers web pages for students.
Resources and profiles
Day in the Life of …. HR (Total Jobs) – find out what a typical day looks like for this Managing Director at an HR and Business Solutions consultancy – with tips for anyone interested in a career in HR.
Job vacancies
Jobs in HR can be found in the private sector (mostly larger organisations, e.g. Unilever, Shell etc.), in the public sector (e.g. local government, the National Health Service – i.e. hospital trusts, universities, the BBC, etc.) and in the not-for-profit sector (sometimes called the Third Sector, e.g. large charities like Oxfam, WHO, United Nations, etc.). Graduate entry-level jobs for HR positions are advertised via graduate job boards. A list with suggestions is provided in this blog. Click here for details of HR jobs for graduates. If you are an international student, then you might also find the information about sponsorship for international students of use. Click here for international student information. Below is a list with further suggestions from Dr. Maddy Wyatt, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at KBS:
- People management – links to CIPD roles http://hr-jobs.peoplemanagement.co.uk
- Personnel Today http://jobs.personneltoday.com
- Simply HR http://www.simplyhrjobs.co.uk
- HR jobs in charity organisations http://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/human+resources
- Civil Service job gateway – look for EO (Executive Officer) or HEO (Higher Executive Officer) roles https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi
- Civil Service Fast Stream – the Civil Service have a specific HR stream which is fantastic. It gives you experience around the various functions of the Civil Service and after three years you will be ready to take on a Grade 7 position (middle/senior management). Be prepared for the call – last year it was only open for a month from September to October. It is VERY competitive and requires a huge selection process with competency based assessment and psychometrics, but I think it’s worth applying as you might be the person they’re looking for (if you want to apply make sure you get in some practice on the psychometric tests). You will also be competing against other graduates, but if you have an MSc, this will give you the edge http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/the-different-streams/human-resources/
- Professional services and administration jobs at universities are advertised here http://www.jobs.ac.uk
- The Guardian and The Times have good online jobs pages http://jobs.theguardian.com and http://jobs.thetimes.co.uk
- NHS – the National Health Service is the biggest employer in the UK and will often have HR roles available https://www.jobs.nhs.uk
- Final words of advice from Maddy about using recruitment consultancies: if you go through recruitment consultancies then aim to meet them in person, not just send in your CV as they are likely to be more committed to finding you a job. Don’t rely only on online recruitment pages such as Monster, as you are unlikely to succeed with these as they often use word-searches for CVs to select, and if you don’t meet the criteria exactly you may not pass the sift. If you do use a recruitment agency then preferably find one that is tailored to HR roles and arrange to meet them in person. Examples are: http://www.oakleafpartnership.com; http://www.frazerjones.com; http://www.digby-morgan.com