Career in human resources

[u0dcameron]

Just wondering how many HR professionals are on this board I wouldn't be surprised if not many because of all the crazy HR bashing on the RFD career forums.

Anyway I'm a recent human resources grad wondering how other hr grads are doing, I haven't had much luck getting calls back for anything but recruiting positions which seem to be a dime a dozen, I have applied for many hr assistant positions that I'm qualified for and I competed a full year co-op.

I'm currently unemployed it on parental leave and I'm not sure if it's worth it to volunteer in HR somewhere in hopes of landing an actual HR position or if I should simply go after these generally low paying recruiter positions :/ just lookng for feedback from HR professionals (if they haven't been scared off this board already) on how their career oath started.

[matt_b_19]

I graduated from my HR program quite a few years ago but then went back to school to get my BBA just to help it out. I finished school about a year and a half ago and I haven't had much luck at all. I'm in Ottawa where almost all the HR jobs are bilingual (which I am not) so that's adding to it, plus it's hard to find an entry level HR job. My advice is to get any kind of experience, even volunteer and if your around the Ottawa area, learn both languages. I've talked to a lot of my old classmates and it seems they're all having trouble though.

Good luck on the job hunt and be careful, there's quite a few companies that will say that it's an HR based position but it's really sales or anything else.

[frizzthewiz]

Ideally look for and apply to positions which include exposure to several different aspects of Human Rersources (benefits, payroll, employee relations, recruitment, disability management, compensation etc.).

I stumbled into my career in HR working for a company that acted as third party HR support to a bunch of companies (I think similar to Hewitt). The job duties were predominantly answering employee/manager phone/online questions about benefits, then payroll, then employee relations and so on. It was a good way to learn a lot and if there is a HR help desk type position then I'd say thats a good option as well, at least to start. But it wasn't until I went to a small HR operation where my career really got going. Its a big bank, but the Canadian operation is small so I was involved in everything and was fortunate to progress up the ranks. Often times bigger companies will silo off each group and makes it difficult to cross train and you want to avoid getting pigeon holed in to a specific HR track early on.

Ultimately you have to start somewhere...HR is not the type of field where you can walk straight into a big salary without pratical experience. Recruiting is only one part of HR and I realize its easier said then done but entry level HR Generalist/Adminstrator/Assistant are the types of positions you should focus on pursuing. It will help you figure out what you like and what you want to do in HR, or study further (certification such as CPP, CHRP, CEBS etc.)

Maybe consider part-time positions or contract? Don't get discouraged, keep looking and applying to positions that will help you grow, something will come up (well at least in the GTA they come up often).

[jm987]

My wife works in HR and took a 2 year course. I think what made it easier for her to find employment is she wrote the CHRP candidate exam right after she received her diploma. She found a term position and studied towards getting her CHRP (not an easy exam I've been told). It allowed her to find other full time employment. She eventually moved on to another organization for more pay and satisfying work but it gave her the additional experience she needed. I know one of her friends that went through the same program as her but did not pursue the CHRP route still hasn't found work in the HR field several years after completing the program as I believe she isn't willing to leave a higher paying job even if it's not enjoyable.

My advise would be make yourself more distinguishable over other potential candidates and the CHRP seemed to have helped my wife.

Good luck.


JM

[u0dcameron]

My wife works in HR and took a 2 year course. I think what made it easier for her to find employment is she wrote the CHRP candidate exam right after she received her diploma. She found a term position and studied towards getting her CHRP (not an easy exam I've been told). It allowed her to find other full time employment. She eventually moved on to another organization for more pay and satisfying work but it gave her the additional experience she needed. I know one of her friends that went through the same program as her but did not pursue the CHRP route still hasn't found work in the HR field several years after completing the program as I believe she isn't willing to leave a higher paying job even if it's not enjoyable.

My advise would be make yourself more distinguishable over other potential candidates and the CHRP seemed to have helped my wife.

Good luck.


JM

The problem is that the CHRP requires work experience before you can write the exam, no work experience no CHRP :\

They changed the CHRP requirements not too long ago while I was starting school you only needed a college diploma but now a university degree is required.

[jm987]

The problem is that the CHRP requires work experience before you can write the exam, no work experience no CHRP :\

They changed the CHRP requirements not too long ago while I was starting school you only needed a college diploma but now a university degree is required.


I might be mistaken but I don't believe you need a degree or have work experience to become a CHRP candidate. That being said, it's a lot of work for something that isn't achievable unless you are willing to port over some courses and get a degree.

[iEyeCaptain]

Sheridan College
George Brown
Seneca

Does anybody have an idea which one of these one year post-grad co-op HR programs is the best option?

[coriolis]

My sister graduated from Ryerson with an arts degree (Soc I think?), and then went to George Brown where she did the HR co-op program. She found a job right after graduation, but its contract right now so no benefits. She's working on getting her candidate exam(Don't know what its called), though she's been delaying to do the exam. She's a RFD'er too, so if she comes here and reads this, GO DO YOUR EXAM NOW! :lol:

[matt_b_19]

I might be mistaken but I don't believe you need a degree or have work experience to become a CHRP candidate. That being said, it's a lot of work for something that isn't achievable unless you are willing to port over some courses and get a degree.

You do now. They just changed the qualifications the past few years. Before you needed 11 specific courses (organizational Behaviour, labour relations...etc) but now your need those 11 courses, a university degree (any degree, doesn't need to be in business or HR) and...2 years experience I believe. But there are two different levels. Like you said, anyone can get their CHRP candidate designation (which requires you to write your National Knowledge Exam (NKE) I believe) and then when you have all the proper qualifications you can write the final exam and get your full CHRP. I could have got my CHRP right out of college but decided to wait and they changed the qualifications just months after my grad, bu urns :(.

[keano]

LOL, so true.

My gf started out as an HR clerk for a decent sized company where I am and she fortunately moved up quickly (by default, but she isnt complaining lol). Clerks here start at 35-38k.

[u0dcameron]

Didn't know what I wanted to do when I was 17 applying for school chose a general business administration program and decided to go with HR over boring accounting, over saturated marketing, and operations management.

A lot of people have a severe misunderstanding of how large of a scope Human Resources is there are many different paths and things you can do however everyone on RFD thinks hr does nothing but look at resumes all day and ignore theirs because they know nothing and are HR drones, however it is not the case

[JoeyMBA]

Worthwhile consideration, albeit ideally entering in at a much higher level (which, just like every other hierarchy within organizations, entering at the clerk level will not get you far - how many Senior HR Business Partners do you know that started out as entry level specialists? Tip: Not many.)

Why is a middle-manager / senior-level role in HR desirable? The hours and the pay are good in relation to the kind of work you'll be doing.

I have friends who do this. They travel around talking about change management and talent pipelines and training ... super awesome stuff. Some jump ship after a few years to consult.

[Abel4Life]

Didn't know what I wanted to do when I was 17 applying for school chose a general business administration program and decided to go with HR over boring accounting, over saturated marketing, and operations management.

A lot of people have a severe misunderstanding of how large of a scope Human Resources is there are many different paths and things you can do however everyone on RFD thinks hr does nothing but look at resumes all day and ignore theirs because they know nothing and are HR drones, however it is not the case

The people that assume this are clearly narrow-minded by thinking that Recruiting = HR and that is it. There are alot of these.

[Mark77]

The people that assume this are clearly narrow-minded by thinking that Recruiting = HR and that is it. There are alot of these.

There's clearly a ton of incompetence in other aspects of their "profession", that's for sure.

[u0dcameron]

Just to update this, I was giving up hope of finding an actual opportunity in Human Resources and thought I would get stuck in a recruiting role (which seemed to be the only thing available). I was able to land an entry level HR Generalist type position in a very big company on a 12 month contract and just got converted to full time. Loving my job, making good money, working from home life is good right now! :D

[ashgotti]

I accidentally fell into a permanent career at Crown in HR. It started with a 2 week contract that turned into 6 weeks, into two, one-year terms, into a permanent position. I left after 3 years for an actual career, but in my time there I saw that 2 or 3 people in the 12 member HR team were of any value. It is mostly a position for clerks and for people who don't actually like to produce or accomplish anything except reporting.

I can't complain to much as I got "experience" at a Crown, which looks great on a resume and made decent money. Coworkers were nice people and it wasn't hard work. As a younger person though, I needed to gain experience in a field where I felt like I was actually doing something, producing something, and with goals in mind.

[clseea]

There's clearly a ton of incompetence in other aspects of their "profession", that's for sure.

Wow, imagine that. Mark crying about HR again and blaming "them" because his social skills are so horrible. (yes I realize his post is old)

[Wilmega]

Wow, imagine that. Mark crying about HR again and blaming "them" because his social skills are so horrible. (yes I realize his post is old)

Anything government or HR related we can expect a post from Marky Mark

[Abel4Life]

I accidentally fell into a permanent career at Crown in HR. It started with a 2 week contract that turned into 6 weeks, into two, one-year terms, into a permanent position. I left after 3 years for an actual career, but in my time there I saw that 2 or 3 people in the 12 member HR team were of any value. It is mostly a position for clerks and for people who don't actually like to produce or accomplish anything except reporting.

I can't complain to much as I got "experience" at a Crown, which looks great on a resume and made decent money. Coworkers were nice people and it wasn't hard work. As a younger person though, I needed to gain experience in a field where I felt like I was actually doing something, producing something, and with goals in mind.

The HR at this 'Crown' is the problem not the entire professional itself.

[tylaw83]

The problem is that the CHRP requires work experience before you can write the exam, no work experience no CHRP :\

They changed the CHRP requirements not too long ago while I was starting school you only needed a college diploma but now a university degree is required.

Wait you graduated from an HR program and didn't know you could take one of the exams to become a CHRP candidate?
On top of that, didn't you know their last exam is scheduled for June 1, 2013 and you can still get your CHRP in provinces like BC without experience?

No wonder you're unemployed.

[u0dcameron]

Wait you graduated from an HR program and didn't know you could take one of the exams to become a CHRP candidate?
On top of that, didn't you know their last exam is scheduled for June 1, 2013 and you can still get your CHRP in provinces like BC without experience?

No wonder you're unemployed.

I don't understand why there are people like this just trolling RFD, maybe you should read about 5 posts up where I updated that I got a great job at a very large company in HR and I even get to work from home. Maybe you are the one unemployed?

They changed the CHRP requirements after I was in the middle of my program. By the time I graduated you needed 3 years work experience, pass the NKE, a university degree, and be a member of HRPA to obtain CHRP. There was no point in me writing the NKE if I wasn't sure I would go do another year of school to transfer my diploma to a degree, not to mention the yearly HRPA fees and the $250 to take the NKE.

[Immortal]

Just to update this, I was giving up hope of finding an actual opportunity in Human Resources and thought I would get stuck in a recruiting role (which seemed to be the only thing available). I was able to land an entry level HR Generalist type position in a very big company on a 12 month contract and just got converted to full time. Loving my job, making good money, working from home life is good right now! :D

Congrats!

[JK400]

I don't understand why there are people like this just trolling RFD, maybe you should read about 5 posts up where I updated that I got a great job at a very large company in HR and I even get to work from home. Maybe you are the one unemployed?

They changed the CHRP requirements after I was in the middle of my program. By the time I graduated you needed 3 years work experience, pass the NKE, a university degree, and be a member of HRPA to obtain CHRP. There was no point in me writing the NKE if I wasn't sure I would go do another year of school to transfer my diploma to a degree, not to mention the yearly HRPA fees and the $250 to take the NKE.

You'll never get a job with an attitude like that

[rocking23nf]

HR is the worst job at my company, dealing with 150 people day in and day out, we are a mostly female office, and when you stick 5 girls in a corner working together, theres always drama. I would never what that job at my company.

[kelbear]

Just to update this, I was giving up hope of finding an actual opportunity in Human Resources and thought I would get stuck in a recruiting role (which seemed to be the only thing available). I was able to land an entry level HR Generalist type position in a very big company on a 12 month contract and just got converted to full time. Loving my job, making good money, working from home life is good right now! :D

I will be graduating next month in the Management program specializing in Human Resources. I've been trying to land a job before I graduate, but so far no luck because most jobs require minimum experience--which I have none.. unfortunately I was not in co-op either and was unable to secure any sort of office experience :(. Just out of curiosity, did you have any sort of related experience to get that HR job? Do you have any tips for a fresh graduate like myself? :D

Congrats btw! Job searching is extremely depressing, but I'm glad everything worked out :)

[tylaw83]

I don't understand why there are people like this just trolling RFD, maybe you should read about 5 posts up where I updated that I got a great job at a very large company in HR and I even get to work from home. Maybe you are the one unemployed?

They changed the CHRP requirements after I was in the middle of my program. By the time I graduated you needed 3 years work experience, pass the NKE, a university degree, and be a member of HRPA to obtain CHRP. There was no point in me writing the NKE if I wasn't sure I would go do another year of school to transfer my diploma to a degree, not to mention the yearly HRPA fees and the $250 to take the NKE.

Yes it totally makes sense to not take an exam that could vastly improve your credentials in your field b/c there's annual membership fees.

Also, HR Manager at my office makes less than a 1st year financial analyst on my team. I'm sure you're in a great role and just raking in the cash.
Not only did you choose pretty much the lowest paying office career, but you also didn't get a degree? incredibly smart...

[u0dcameron]

You'll never get a job with an attitude like that

You clearly didn't even read thing posted.


Yes it totally makes sense to not take an exam that could vastly improve your credentials in your field b/c there's annual membership fees.

Also, HR Manager at my office makes less than a 1st year financial analyst on my team. I'm sure you're in a great role and just raking in the cash.
Not only did you choose pretty much the lowest paying office career, but you also didn't get a degree? incredibly smart...

You clearly can't read either as I said I wasn't writing it if I wasn't sure I would finish my degree.

Also everyone who doesn't get a degree must be an idiot... I don't care what your HR Manger is making, I'm 23 years old making over 50k in a job I really enjoy not to mention I have the benefit of working from home. I am just starting my career and feel I'm doing pretty damn good with what apparently you think is a useless college education. This is the last response you will get from me tylaw, you must not be very happy with your life to troll the career section on RFD so badly.

[u0dcameron]

I will be graduating next month in the Management program specializing in Human Resources. I've been trying to land a job before I graduate, but so far no luck because most jobs require minimum experience--which I have none.. unfortunately I was not in co-op either and was unable to secure any sort of office experience :(. Just out of curiosity, did you have any sort of related experience to get that HR job? Do you have any tips for a fresh graduate like myself? :D

Congrats btw! Job searching is extremely depressing, but I'm glad everything worked out :)

Don't listen to the crap people have said in this thread, like I said I feel I am making good money for just starting my career out and really enjoy my job, it's flexible not stressful and I enjoy the people I work with. My college (yea college for the people that think you are a joke without a degree) program offered a co-op placement in our last year however I didn't feel I had that great a placement and didn't feel I learned a whole lot. Overall I don't think my co-op helped me land a job, for the people that got a position from the place they did their co-op at it was great for them but there weren't many.

Other than that I did recruiting for 3 months and hated it however I felt this had more to do with the company I was at than anything.

My only advice would be to not stop trying, apply for everything use every resource you have and ask people constantly if they know of any positions available.

[clseea]

Yes it totally makes sense to not take an exam that could vastly improve your credentials in your field b/c there's annual membership fees.

Also, HR Manager at my office makes less than a 1st year financial analyst on my team. I'm sure you're in a great role and just raking in the cash.
Not only did you choose pretty much the lowest paying office career, but you also didn't get a degree? incredibly smart...

Wouldn't it be more helpful to provide some constructive advice instead of being a ***** ? You're the one that looks 'incredibly smart' with the jackass comments.

[underwriterman]

Don't listen to the crap people have said in this thread, like I said I feel I am making good money for just starting my career out and really enjoy my job, it's flexible not stressful and I enjoy the people I work with. My college (yea college for the people that think you are a joke without a degree) program offered a co-op placement in our last year however I didn't feel I had that great a placement and didn't feel I learned a whole lot. Overall I don't think my co-op helped me land a job, for the people that got a position from the place they did their co-op at it was great for them but there weren't many.

Other than that I did recruiting for 3 months and hated it however I felt this had more to do with the company I was at than anything.

My only advice would be to not stop trying, apply for everything use every resource you have and ask people constantly if they know of any positions available.

Co-op helped you land a job.

[Abel4Life]

Yes it totally makes sense to not take an exam that could vastly improve your credentials in your field b/c there's annual membership fees.

Also, HR Manager at my office makes less than a 1st year financial analyst on my team. I'm sure you're in a great role and just raking in the cash.
Not only did you choose pretty much the lowest paying office career, but you also didn't get a degree? incredibly smart...

You cannot use one situation to bash an industry and make another look better?

At the client I currently work for in financial services, I know two first year compensation analysts in HR making more than financial analysts with 3-5 years exp. Doesn't make it representative of the entire industry.

[noreason]

You cannot use one situation to bash an industry and make another look better?

At the client I currently work for in financial services, I know two first year compensation analysts in HR making more than financial analysts with 3-5 years exp. Doesn't make it representative of the entire industry.

Definitely not representative, at lower levels financial analysts tend to have larger salaries than a HR generalist but up top they are close. CFO approx same as Chief HR Officer, Finance VPs vs HR VPs approx the same too. Whether that is right is another total discussion but HR oversees compensation =)

[Rainne]

Tylaw and JK400 really need to find better things to do instead of boasting how great and mighty they are on a bargain bin deals forum. Like seriously, talking down to strangers? Work must be stressful with the ego using defense mechanisms despite having "amazing" careers.