After 12+ years in sales/development leadership, I am strongly considering making a career shift into HR and was hoping to seek some advice.

Sheri Trice

July 26,2023 at 7:18PM UTC

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After 12+ years in sales/development leadership, I am strongly considering making a career shift into HR and was hoping to seek some advice.

For context, HR, operations and “People” Management has always been a passion of mine, and something that even without formal HR titles, has been a significant part of my career as a departmental lead, hiring manager and a former franchise owner. For example, I had the opportunity to learn and manage many of the basic HR functions (payroll, hiring, workforce planning, training, employee engagement, compensation, etc) as a business owner despite never having formally sought out or held an HR specific role.

With that said, I’d love any advice on how best to make this transition. For example, I expect to complete my SHRM-CP certification the first week of December but are there other ways that an individual with a non traditional background can make themselves and their resume more marketable for HR roles?

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AnonymousJuly 26,2023 at 7:29PM UTC
I would seek any position you can in HR to build on that experience. As you're learning it's so much more than what your background speaks to. Your background is a great foundation but not experience for a Business Partner, You may feel like it's a step back but it will be necessary. I have never hired someone just on certification alone. Experience in that area really matters. Perhaps see if an entry level HR Generalist or Assistant to a HR Generalist may bring clarity to a true role for a Business Partner for you. It will allow growth with the business acumen and heart of the whys in the business.
AnonymousJuly 31,2023 at 12:19PM UTC
I don’t like this notion of someone having to start completely over from entry level when they make a career pivot. Often it just ain’t necessary. Here, there seems to be many transferable skills for an HRBP role.
I like the idea of the certification for you. Also some companies have HR rotation programs that culminate in an HRBP role and that sounds like a great way to learn much quickly. The issue with many of these rotation programs is that they target recent undergrad/MA/MBA students. But some companies are aiming for skills based hiring so maybe they would consider non-traditional. Or consider a career re-entry program if you qualify.
I find the best HR folks are smart, not just a mouthpiece for management, fair, business oriented and innovative. Experience is crucial in HR but you can get that on the job because the nature of HR is the organizing, optimizing and the conflicts that happen around people.