HRGuru

A place to give and get advice on how to break into HR and share resources and stories with each other.

Hi Jen,

Breaking into HR seems to be the hardest part. Make sure your resume highlights your HR experience and I would suggest looking around at local schools to see if they hr certificate programs to give you the basic knowledge to understand HR. What were your undergrad studies in because a lot of different majors can be applicable to the HR career. I would also suggest joining a local HR group to network and learn from other professionals.

Hope this helps!

-Robert

I am in the same boat too. I graduated 7 months ago with a BS in Management with a concentraion in HR and I was getting interveiws for the first few months and  then getting the sorry but we went with some one with more experiance. now nothing just the standard e-mail saying thanks for applying but we do think you are qualified. I have tryed cold call letters, staffing agencies, etc. Other then networking what are ways to help you break into HR? Does getting your PHR help at all?

Certification can help but you need a certain amount of experience to be qualified to sit for certification.  Yet another catch 22.   See if you can get in with HR consulting firms who might be willing to train you.  Create a need for an internship with one of your professors and see if that can at least get you in the door.   Apply for the appropriate level of position.  Education is important, but often for middle to senior jobs experience, even extensive experience is more important.  Times have been bad and a lot of experienced HR people have been let go because of their high salaries.  You have to compete against them and that can be difficult.   Also, think of getting into management jobs where you can "practice" your HR skills in the business environment and then bring both business and HR experience into your next application in a year or two.  Be patient and never, never, ever give up.  Send your resume in a pretty box, decorated like a present.  Have your resume crumpled up with a little tag saying" Hey, since you'll probably do this to it anyway because I dont' have experience, I've saved you some work and if by chance you value creativity, who else has been this creative in getting you to look at their resume!"

Good luck.

I agree networking is sooo important. This is a great start but see if you can find a chapter of ASTD or SHRM in your area. That is another great way to meet people who can potential hire you. Another great way is maybe contacting one of your old teachers from college and see if they have any recommendations. Hope this helps!

SirFrey says ...

For those local in Southern California there is "Professionals In Human Resources" (PIHRA), which is a SHRM affiliate.   It's in the top 3 largest HR associations in California.

Another couple great ideas:  Contact some law firms and see if they will let you attend some of their regional meetings or seminars they put on for clients.  Often you can circulate a resume there and learn some up-to-the-minute legal news.

Also, don't forget the Chamber of Commerce.  Many small businesses need people with an HR background but aren't big enough to have an HR Dept.  You can do two jobs at once and maybe build an HR department as the business grows.  If not, you can get your feet wet handling HR related items and use that on your resume for getting into an HR dept in a bigger company.

Great advice! I think joining your local chapter of SHRM and developing transferable HR skills in other roles is a great way to break in and learn more about what HR does.