Anyone work in Human Resources?

If so, do you enjoy it? Give us an example of what you do at work day by day Any information is appreciated

I'm temping in HR for an oil services company on one of their contracts. The work is interesting and I enjoy it well enough but it has certainly confirmed for me that HR is not what I want as my career (I'm just not wired that way, the people I work with are all happy to stay in HR).

My role basically consists of arranging interviews for open positions, issuing contracts, arranging and conducting inductions for new starts, adding new people onto the company database and amending the entries for existing employees, processing resignations and conducting exit interviews, processing expenses, processing performance bonuses. I also deal with contract queries and any emails/phone calls that come my way and compile 2 personnel reports each week on the platforms related to the contract. It's basically administrative work and some days are busier than others but the work can be interesting

Interesting....did you receive any form of training to become adept at this role? I have never conducted any interviews, updated databases, processed these various bonuses and such. I purely wrote up letters, checked other letters for mistakes, answered the phones and that was pretty much it to be honest.

Do you think it would be a good job to do a MA in HRManagement?

I didn't receive any formal training for it, it's all been on the job training. There are other HR Admins on the contract and I was hired to help relieve their workload so they showed me how to do those things and I just ask them if I have issues. A lot of it is internal systems and processes.



To be honest I'd be tempted to say no, or at least not out of your own pocket. A trainee started at the same time as me and the company is putting her through her CIPD as part of her training. If you absolutely can't get on to a trainee scheme then it might be worth considering but I certainly wouldn't call it necessary.

I see, how did the trainee find the job? Job centre/websites?

I'm temping in HR for an oil services company on one of their contracts. The work is interesting and I enjoy it well enough but it has certainly confirmed for me that HR is not what I want as my career (I'm just not wired that way, the people I work with are all happy to stay in HR).

My role basically consists of arranging interviews for open positions, issuing contracts, arranging and conducting inductions for new starts, adding new people onto the company database and amending the entries for existing employees, processing resignations and conducting exit interviews, processing expenses, processing performance bonuses. I also deal with contract queries and any emails/phone calls that come my way and compile 2 personnel reports each week on the platforms related to the contract. It's basically administrative work and some days are busier than others but the work can be interesting

Sorry to hijack the thread however, I have a query. I am going into my second year of university in October and currently study politics and philosophy. I am interested in going into HR or social services after graduation however, I want to get some experience through my work placement this year (which lasts a year.) What is the best way to get this sort of work and where? I realise various companies will have HR departments however, I am a little lost as to how to get the work I need. I am willing to work for a year without pay.

Thanks

I'm not really sure how much I can help you to be totally honest as it was a total fluke me landing the job!

I'd suggest that you might get success by going in to local businesses and speaking to them about it, many companies will have filing and things like that which need done if nothing else. If you make it clear that you're willing to work for free for the experience then I think you should get in somewhere. Once you have your foot in the door then you should be able to get experience in various departments if you talk to your manager about it and say you're willing to even just cover people's holidays.

Good luck

Thanks for the reply, incredible that you got such a job by fluke.

What is your situation at the moment, are you still in education or have you graduated?

Perhaps you landed the job because you have a qualification/skill which your employer desired. Anyway, I am just looking online at the moment and doing some general research concerning HR, I will definitely be emailing/phoning companies about my hopes of working in HR volutarily for a year. What type of business do you think is best to try and get into and will strengthen my CV?

I've just submitted my PhD thesis and am awaiting my viva which will be at the beginning of September. Nope, not because of skills or anything - I know someone who is friends with the head of HR at the company I'm temping at and she mentioned my name when talking about summer projects with the HR head. Like I said, total fluke and a happy coincidence that both the company and I only wanted the work to be temporary.

If I were you, I'd just be trying everywhere. Smaller companies might be more willing to give you a chance but larger companies might have more of a need if they have lots of people going on holiday. Also, I'd recommend going in person to speak with them as much as possible - that'll give them an opportunity to really see you and think about how you might fit with the team.

Oh ok, what undergraduate degree did you do out of curiosity?

I will try finding work for September however, I don't think it will be easy. You stated that after working in HR that it is not for you, how come you did it in the first place, was it a potential career choice? What do you hope to do in the future?

My undergrad was in biotechnology and my PhD in molecular microbiology. I'm starting an accountancy grad scheme in September, hence only needing a temp job over the summer.

HR was never a career option for me - too much involved that I've always known wouldn't be a good fit for my personality - but working in it has certainly increased my respect for those who can handle it!

I am dubious after reading that last part.
Why would someone who can handle biotechnology and molecular microbiology not be able to handle HR?

Don't tell me you must be a genius to work in HR, because I am not one lol.

No, it's nothing like that. I just think it takes a certain type of person to deal with grievances, manage sickness and put up with complaints about employment terms and conditions and I'm definitely not wired that way. It can be rewarding when you manage to help someone out and most of the people I've dealt with on a day-to-day basis are very nice but I'm very aware of the fact that I've largely been sheltered from the more difficult aspects of the job because there's not any point in training me in them when I'm going to be leaving soon.