Five top tips to progress in your HR career

If you’re an ambitious, driven HR professional who’s keen to progress in their career – sometimes ambition alone is not enough. If you’re looking for a new HR job or are itching to move upwards within your current organisation, here are a few simple pointers to bear in mind.

This is particularly true if you’re looking to move roles externally. Take a proactive approach to building up an increased network of relevant contacts and look to instigate/build relationships with people in organisations that are of interest to you. LinkedIn can be a useful online resource for this.

The same applies if you’re looking to be considered for a new role internally. Make sure you increase your network within your current organisation; make contact with different teams and departments and see if there are particular projects/initiatives of interest you can get involved with. Be as sociable as possible by attending work-related social events where you can, as this can be a good way of getting to know other colleagues in a more informal setting.

You may already be managing people in your current role, such as delegating work to an HR assistant or a more inexperienced member of the HR team. Do you exude management potential? How do you interact with the people at every level of your organisation? Do you communicate your ideas effectively? Could your people skills do with some attention? Make sure all your daily interactions and activities demonstrate that you’re management material.

Don’t linger in the shadows hoping to get noticed because nobody else will do your PR for you. This is not to suggest that you embark on a mission of unashamed self-promotion, but do allow the right people to notice and appreciate your abilities. Whether it’s contributing more in meetings, organising an event or making an effort to interact with another team, there’s probably much more you can do to increase your visibility within the business.

Think about where you want to be in your career. Are you aiming for a particular role or organisation? Perhaps you’re keen to move into an HR manager role within your existing company or to eventually manage HR for a particular brand. Once you’ve outlined your goal, identify any particular skills that you may be lacking or any gaps in your knowledge that could hold you back from achieving it.

Make every effort to equip yourself with the expertise and experience needed for your ideal HR job. This could be through an additional training course, e-learning, industry seminar or simply through getting more exposure to certain projects in your existing role.

There’s a well-worn expression - if you don’t ask, you don’t get, and this certainly applies to your HR career. It may seem very obvious, but it’s important to make your internal aspirations clear to the relevant people in your company and express your interest in progressing.

Why not browse all of the HR jobs we’re currently handling to see if one could be a fit for you?