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Develop your experience
Work experience can help when looking for a job in HR. But if you don't have any yet, there are lots of things you can do to show you have the right skills and personal qualities for a position.
Internships or shadowing someone already in the job would be an ideal way of getting experience. If you can get a placement in an HR department then you'll be in the ideal place to observe how the organisation relates to its employees. If you’re successful and have a placement in working in another department, ask to talk to a representative in HR during or at the end of your time there.
You may decide to apply for a graduate training scheme when you leave university. You can either join a generic graduate scheme where you’ll gain experience of a range of different departments that includes HR.
Professional study
You may want to consider developing your industry knowledge by embarking on professional study. Holding a CIPD qualification will give you real professional recognition and credibility, showing employers you have the knowledge and skills to add real value to your organisation.
CIPD-approved qualifications are nationally recognised as a benchmark for professionalism and are a requirement for many HR and development roles. Over 13,000 students join our study programmes each year to enhance their knowledge on the latest theory, case studies and insights into best practice HR.
CIPD qualifications are available at foundation, intermediate and advanced level through our network of educational centres.