HR is an excellent field to work in and an integral part of business success, but you will also find that it can be both challenging and competitive. This means that HR graduates need to know how to succeed in this field and find a way to stand out from the crowd. Read on to discover a few tips for HR graduates which should help them to find work and take the first step on a rewarding career path.
Gain HR Work Experience
Like many areas of business, it can be incredibly hard to get your foot in the door and start building a career path when you have no experience. Working in HR is not quite like any other department, so while experience in an office-based environment is useful, you really need to gain some HR experience if possible. This might involve volunteering, an apprenticeship or temporary work. This will help you to stand out from the crowd, appeal to HR employers and allow you to develop skills and experience which will help you to succeed.
Develop Skills
You need to have a wide range of skills to work in HR so it is a good idea to brush up on any of these if they are currently not strengths. A few of the key skills needed to succeed in HR include:
- Adaptability, flexibility and patience
- Business acumen
- Emotional intelligence
- Interpersonal skills
- Organisational skills
- Time management
- Ability to work as part of a team
Decide What Area of HR
It is important to realise that HR is a large field and there are numerous positions that can be filled. HR specialists focus their efforts in single areas whereas an HR generalist is less focused and will handle a number of tasks simultaneously, so you need to consider which approach is best-suited to you. There are several rewarding jobs in HR to consider, such as:
- Human Resources clerk
- HR assistant
- Recruiter
- Training and development coordinator
- Payroll specialist
- HR generalist
Once you have decided which role is best for you, you should then be able to map out your career and find out what you need to do to find work in this area and stand out to employers.
Hopefully, these tips will help HR graduates to start a rewarding career path. HR is a great department to work in and it can be both a lucrative and enjoyable department, but it is also very competitive and hard to get your foot in the door as a graduate. Obtaining as much experience as possible while developing your skills will go a long way and should help you to secure your first role while developing the confidence and knowledge needed to succeed.
