Human resources
Human resources professionals (HR) are responsible for enabling their organisation to achieve its overall goals and objectives through their employees and people strategy. In practice this means recruiting the best people, retaining and developing the talent within the organisation and overseeing the whole of an employee’s ‘journey’: recruitment; induction; performance; development; and succession.
HR professionals are also often responsible for ensuring employment law is adhered to through processes such as; the management of absence, discipline, grievance, flexible working, and redundancy. Current issues within this profession include: equality, diversity and inclusion, health and wellbeing of employees, talent development, apprenticeships, the use of technology and artificial intelligence and its impact on work and employment.
Spotlight On: Human Resources
We invited five HR professionals to talk to you about a career in HR.
- Jess Stanley – HR Business Partner, Experian
- Fiona Vernon – Senior Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion-International Markets, Walgreen Boots Alliance
- Matt Burton – Head of Leadership and Talent, DFS Group
- Saadia Ahmad Khan – Senior Consultant, Executive/Leadership Search, Positive Moves Consulting
- Rochelle Livingston – Learning Consultant, Solvd Together
Login to SharePoint to watch a recording of this event
- Alumni: Email us to gain access to the webinar
Tips and guidance for finding a job
How do I get a job in HR?
Graduate training schemes in HR are available, but they often require previous HR experience. Where graduate schemes are not available, accessing roles in HR is usually done through entry-level roles such HR assistant or HR administrator or general administration roles.
Companies and organisations of all sizes may have this type of entry level role together with apprenticeships for school leavers who have opted to work and study as opposed to full-time higher education.
The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the professional body that sets standards for HR professionals and accredit HR related qualifications. Accessing roles above entry-level usually requires relevant experience as well as the CIPD or equivalent qualification.
How do I get work experience?
Any work experience in an HR setting is useful. Ask family and friends if they have links with companies where HR work shadowing could be offered. Or try contacting organisations directly.
It’s also a good idea to gain administration experience and this can be done through temporary work. You could register with Unitemps as they can have admin vacancies. Larger and medium-sized companies may offer a year in industry or summer placement within a HR department which may lead to a graduate role.
Check out sites such as:
MyCareer - internships targeted at Nottingham students
Prospects
Rate My Placement
UK Parliament - offers student sandwich placements in HR
The Nottingham Internship Scheme is also worth considering to gain general administrative and commercial work experience even though it may not necessarily be within human resources.
Recruitment agencies are a good source for temporary and permanent HR and administrative roles.
Where do I find job vacancies?
Industry information
What are the hot topics and future developments in HR?
What industries and sectors do HR professionals work in?
Job are available in all sectors. Typical employers include: small, medium and large private companies working in areas including engineering, finance and retail, the public sector in the NHS and national and local government and in voluntary organisations. It’s a good idea to source work experience in the sector(s) that appeals to you. The size and nature of the organisation will shape the work content.
For example, if an organisation is heavily unionised there will be agreements in place which mean that the union have to be consulted on matters such as significant changes to the organisation, pay reviews and policy change. Therefore the HR professional may spend time developing and maintaining positive industrial relations.
In a smaller company they may enjoy greater variety in their day to day work, but may be involved in such tasks as payroll. As the HR professional progresses in their career they will become more involved in the strategic planning aspect of their role.
What roles are available?
The role of a HR professional varies throughout organisations often depending on their size. In smaller organisations it’s likely that the role of a HR professional will be more generalised. These types of roles are termed HR generalist and encompasses the following job titles:
- HR assistant
- HR adviser
- HR officer
- HR manager
- HR business partner
In larger organisations it is likely that HR will be divided into the key areas listed below and there will be HR managers or HR business partners who work to ensure all of the key areas of HR are working to meet the needs of the business.
Key areas of HR:
- Recruitment and talent – responsible for the hiring and succession of people or ‘talent’ around the business. Communication skills and relationship building are essential in this role as you have to quickly understand what skills a manager is looking to recruit and then communicate this through relevant recruitment channels. Typical job title: recruitment manager; resourcing manager; talent manager.
- Learning and development – responsible for the learning and development of the workforce through programmes and interventions such as training, eLearning and coaching. Typical job titles: learning and development manager; training manager; E-learning specialist; performance coach.
- Employee relations – responsible for management of the employment relationship between employees and the organisation in line with employment law (managing policies and processes such as discipline, grievance, redundancy, absence and flexible working.) Typical job title: employee relations specialist, employee relations manager.
- Pay and reward – from how employees are paid through to the benefits they receive such as bonus, pensions, healthcare, company vehicles etc. (sometimes this area forms part of finance). Typical job title: reward analyst, reward manager
Also see the definition provided by the CIPD and the Prospects website.
What can I do at Nottingham?
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university's control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.