How To Start Your Career In Human Resource

I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts: Theatre and set out to begin a career as a stage actor. I moved around the country trying to find acting gigs and sometimes picked random supplemental jobs to pay my bills.

I did do some professional theatre! But it never became a full-time job. I directly supported the move and reopening of the brand new facility, managed the largest front-line team of a certain company; hired & developed some amazing people, working in a highly collaborative environment.

I slowly discovered that the parts of this “management” job that I liked the most were the “people parts”. I loved hiring, onboarding, training, motivating, developing, and seeing my team members succeed.

We only had one HR person who worked mostly at the Executive level, so front-line managers like myself did a lot of the day-to-day HR duties.

I spoke to my boss & mentor who encouraged me to dig deeper into the elements of my role that I found most rewarding. I ended up deciding to take an HR Management Certificate program which resulted in a new career path.

I’m in HR now, about to start a new position as an HR Manager with another like-minded organization. It was all about timing, taking initiative, and being willing to accept new realities and new possibilities.

 It required a realistic understanding of my skills, abilities, and interests – as well as patience, persistence, flexibility, continuous drive with an ever-changing set of goals, and a willingness to learn, change, and adapt.

Here are more tips on how I started my career in Human resource.

1. Get Certified

Certain certifications are highly valued and respected among human resources professionals. HR Management Certificate that I achieved showed my professional achievements, as well as demonstrated my proficiency in a specific area of human resources.

2. Build a Network

HR people are good networkers and they like to help people succeed, so take advantage of their nature.

Working in HR involves working directly with people, so building a strong network has proved to be helpful in my efforts to find a job in the field.

I also used professional social media platforms, joined various HR organizations and associations, and look for others in the human resources field to form and nurture my network.

3. Look for internships

Before you complete your degree, look for internship opportunities offered through your school to gain hands-on experience. An internship may be unpaid or paid but will provide you with valuable experience that can help you better understand the field of HR and form connections in the industry.

4. Become an HR Expert

With a skills gap and a deficit of talent plaguing today’s businesses, employers get creative about filling HR positions. While you may not currently have exactly what a hiring manager is looking for, you may have the potential to grow into a position under the right circumstances.

Show employers that you’re worth the investment by becoming a student all over again. Read blogs, attend conferences, and harness every available bit of information into a learning opportunity. The more initiative you take, the more likely you are to attract the attention of employers regardless of your job history.

Bottom Line…

The experience has taught me to learn from my failures and experiences, to make the most of any situation, and to follow through. It has affected my personal life, my career path, and my professional approach – as I now look ahead at my new HR Manager role, I will have the ability to implement change and make things better for my organization, using the skills I’ve learned throughout my career journey.

Sign up for this Human resource certification course and watch your career grow to the next level.