Career Change.I was a lawyer w 5 yrs experience.Now applying for position as a Human Resources Manager.?

A few of my friends in the HR line advised me against it,telling me to stick to the legal line,the reason being that it was too late for a career change,and that the legal and HR fields are world apart.But the 5 yrs experience as a lawyer was gained in my own small size firm, where I was the jack of all trade,shuffling between business (managerial) and professional responsibilities which I believe, are skills transferable and relevant to the job I’m applying for.What say you?If you are my prospective employer,will you hire me?And if you are going to interview a person for the position of Human Resources Manager,what actually do you want from your prospective employee?Will appreciate answer from those in the position of hiring people.Thank you. as_sail@yahoo.com

Yes it is hard to change fields and yes it is tough to find a company to give you a chance when you are “changing direction” so to speak.

But it is not impossible. Your biggest obstacle may be the money. Until you get into the upper HR managment of Fortune 500 companies the pay is not astronomical and with only small company experience that would be a stretch.

In order to really help you I would need to see your resume and find out your requirements (pay, location, etc. etc) but from a broad point of view these things may get you in the door for your “real” hr experience. If I were in your shoes this is what I would do:

Take a hard look at your resume. Contrary to popular belief your resume should not be a clear concise overview of your major skills. The purpose of a resume is NOT to tell your work history. The purpose of a resume IS to get you an INTERVIEW. Period, that is its entire function. So immediately go through your resume and bring any and all skills directly related to HR and payroll to the top of your bullet points. I don’t care that those skills were not the most used, they ARE the most important if you want to be considered for HR.

Go to the Society of HR Managers (shrm.org) they have lots of great articles and even job openings. If I remember correctly they also offer course in employment law. Again, if I were you, I would take a course and list it on your resume.

Now to target an opening, I would do these things.

Make a list of the managing partners at every law firm you can think of (and then research to find more). Ideally of those firms with more than 20-25 employees. Target them. Research the heck out of each firm, create a killer cover letter and send it to a named managing partner. (make sure you give a time when you will follow up, and then follow up). Your best bet is to find employment that has an HR focus but in your current field. If you can do this it would be easier to find a non-law firm job in a couple years.

Try applying for open positions within the government. With your background in law, you may walk right into a great position. I can’t deal with the anti-paid what your actually worth crowd, but if you think you can deal with it, it may be worth a shot.

And finally, find a temp firm and tell them that you are willing to do temp jobs in HR. You may not find a permanent job, but you might find a large company that has an HR person who is spending a fortune on lawyers and they may be interested in trying you out. I do not have a lot of faith in the ability of a temp recruiter to help, but if you apply at enough different agencies, you could run into the one that might. And just like the lottery, you cannot win if you do not play.

good luck

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