I Want to Work in ...... HR (Personnel Management)

 

Human Resource Management (HRM), also known as Personnel Management, is not social work!

There are three main routes for graduates into HRM:

 

Employers: any employer with a sufficient number of employees to justify a specialist personnel section may employ HR managers: e.g. manufacturing or service industries; local government; health authorities; universities and colleges; commercial organisations.

Experience relevant to personnel work can also be gained in other related fields, particularly retail management and recruitment consultancy.

Qualities required include good communication and negotiating skills; persistence, tact, self-reliance and patience, some analytical and numerical ability and commercial awareness.

Competition for vacancies in HRM is invariably keen and applicants therefore need to be strongly motivated towards this work; to demonstrate that they have considered what the work is likely to involve and whether they are personally suited. Try to shadow a personnel manager, get office experience.

PROFILE: Personnel Manager

INVOLVES: organisation & manpower planning, recruitment & selection, disciplinary grievance & appeals, termination of employment, training, management development, Industrial relations, contracts of employment & job descriptions/evaluations, payroll/database management, employee services administration, welfare/sickness absence management/ maternity/special leave.
EMPLOYERS: Any employer with a sufficient number of employees to justify a specialist personnel section: e.g. manufacturing or service industries; local government; health authorities; universities & colleges; commercial organisations. Experience relevant to personnel work can also be gained in other related fields, particularly retail management & banking.
RELATED JOBS: human resource management; industrial relations officer; training officer.
SATISFACTIONS: High people contact; variety; seeing the human resource used effectively.
NEGATIVES: Administration & paperwork. Not always valued at corporate level. Outcomes can be difficult to measure i.e. employee effectiveness.
SKILLS: written communication, negotiating, cooperating, listening, persistence, tact, self-reliance & patience. Analytical & numerical ability.
ADVANCEMENT: Trainee Personnel Officer, Personnel Officer, Personnel Manager, Deputy Director of Personnel, Director of Personnel. Mobility will ease your career path.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: Any degree subject is acceptable. Law, psychology, business studies, industrial relations & related degrees may be helpful.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development qualifications may be obtained through part-time study or through a one-year postgraduate diploma course which gives exemption from the first two stages of the Institute's exams.
VACANCY SOURCES: Personnel Management Magazine
TIPS: Contact company personnel departments, offer to do vacation work, don't be afraid to take a low paid first job. Competition for jobs in personnel is invariably keen & applicants must be strongly motivated towards this work; to demonstrate that they have considered what the work is likely to involve & whether they are personally suited.

 

PROFILE: Equal Opportunities Officer

INVOLVES: Assessing & implementing the equal opportunities policy of the employing organisation. Conducting case work, chairing & attending meetings, providing guidance to groups or individuals.
EMPLOYERS: Very large organisations, especially, but not exclusively, within the public sector. For example, local government, the BBC, universities.
RELATED JOBS: personnel officer, training & development officer, recruitment consultant, occupational psychologist.
SATISFACTIONS: Involvement in senior policy implementation. At cutting edge of employer/institutional change. Working with a wide range of other staff.
NEGATIVES: Negative attitude from other employees, Difficulties & challenges met when effecting change.
SKILLS: organising, leading, negotiating, persuading.
ADVANCEMENT: From Personnel Assistant/Trainee to Equal Opportunities Officer to Personnel/HR Manager.
DEGREE: Any degree - Industrial Relations/Human Resources Management & Psychology in particular.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: CIPD qualification recommended.
VACANCY SOURCES: Personnel Today, Times Higher Education Supplement, Guardian (Tues, Wed.)
TIPS: Entry advisable either with exemption from all/part of CIPD qualification or into junior Personnel position. Graduate management training schemes in Personnel are hard to get, but a very good route in.

 

PROFILE: Training Manager

INVOLVES: Training in people management skills at all levels, training, planning & designing training courses & programmes. Developing trainees.
EMPLOYERS: Usually larger organisations in all areas - manufacturing, commerce, finance, retail & the public sector.
RELATED JOBS: teaching, personnel management.
SATISFACTIONS: Watching people develop; being able to use your own creativity
NEGATIVES: Fighting the perception of training - a ‘nice to have not need to have’ mentality - totally erroneous.
SKILLS: planning & organising, cooperating, verbal communication.
ADVANCEMENT: May need to move into personnel at some stage otherwise may have limited career options. Possible to become a freelance training consultant after building up sufficient experience.
DEGREE: Any degree subject but business studies, psychology & education especially relevant.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: None required but personnel, training or teaching qualification useful.
VACANCY SOURCES: IPD Magazine - People Management, Personnel Today
TIPS: Apply as a generalist for personnel. Common sense & lack of arrogance a must!

 

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Last fully revised 2011