How do I begin a career in human resources?

Question

I have no degrees, but I have extensive secretarial and office-related experience. How could I get on the road to a career in human resources within minimal time? I hear there's a training course.

Answer 1

The training course you are hearing about is more than likely the study classes for passing the PHR (professional in human resources) exam offered by HRCI.

I am a recent graduate and I can tell you it is hard to break into HR without finding someone you know to assist you at the company. I wanted to get into HR and was even willing to take an entry level 8 dollar an hour job (not for long mind you) just to get my foot in the door. I can tell you there are tons of entry level jobs, but the pay is c**p. Soooo... I guess to sum it up you need to make a friend in HR at a decent size company (they will have more opportunities thana small company). I passed my PHR exam and have a bachelors in HR management, but knew no one in the area and could not get my foot in the door.

One thing you might want to try that I started getting some nibbles from was contacting your local SHRM chapter ( Society for Human Resource Management). They are everywhere in the United States and tend to be very helpful. It is just time consuming waiting for a position to come open at a place you start making contacts at, unless you get lucky.

Good Luck! (I still want to go into HR myself, but cannot afford the paycut now to go back to an 8 dollar an hour job)