Graduate looking for advice on how to begin

[tramothy]

Hey everyone,

Just signed up on here looking for advice on how to begin my HR career. I have a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics/Marketing) and am in my final semester of my Master of Human Resources. I started my Masters pretty much straight after my Bachelors so I do not have any experience in HR (besides a month or two of work experience at a very small recruitment agency). I have a lot of customer service experience and am currently working casual as a salesperson.

Anyway, I am beginning to look for work in the HR field but I am not sure how I should go about doing so. To be honest I am unsure of what particular field in HR I would like to pursue so I guess my best option would be to begin in a general HR role. Would it be advisable to try and apply as a recruitment consultant? I have looked on Seek and many HR roles require previous HR experience however a lot of recruitment consultant positions require sales experience which I have. The other option I thought would be to apply for HR administrative positions first and work my way up?

Any help would be appreciated. I am in Perth if that is of any importance.

Thanks

[Job Media]

Hi tramothy,

Given that you are unsure about what stream of HR you want to specialise in, getting a junior generalist HR role which will expose you to many aspects of HR is really essential.

It's tough to get your first gig in HR, it's no different to starting from scratch in most industries in that respect. Everyone seems to want experience. However, they can't always find experienced people, so use your sales skills to at least get in front of people and try to make a good (but professional) impression. Just getting in front of the decision maker is half the battle!

It may also be worth considering relocating. By far the most HR jobs in Australia are in Sydney and Melbourne, followed at some distance by Brisbane, so you are more likely to find entry level positions in Sydney and Melbourne. You could always move back to Perth once you have some experience under your belt.