I stumbled into the world of HR on a whim. I had been managing some of our outpatient clinics for the past couple of years, and was becoming disillusioned with the career path I thought I wanted. I had worked my way up from front line healthcare positions with a goal of moving into a management role, and was happy when I was given my first opportunity to lead a clinic. While it was rewarding in the beginning (I had a great staff that was team oriented and worked well together), I realized after the first year that there were things about the role that I did not anticipate or particularly like. This is not to say that many people do not love the role and excel - it just was not my particular cup of tea. I liked to refer to myself as a firefighter because all I seemed to do every day was put out some sort of "fire." Whether that was an angry patient, upset staff, or angry provider, I could not seem to get to my regular managerial duties because of all the chaos.
Fast forward another year, and I was sitting in a meeting listening to one of the HR managers present on some new policies that were soon to be implemented. Something about her enthusiasm and passion gave me pause, and I left the meeting thinking, "THAT is someone I would love to work with." When I got back to my office, before I could think too much and talk myself out of it, I emailed her and told her that if she ever had an opening in her department to let me know as I would be interested in speaking with her about a possible career move. I got a phone call from her the next day, and within two weeks I was interviewing for a new position that had just been created in HR. I was offered the job the day after the interview, and almost 3 years later I am the happiest I've ever been professionally. I took a huge leap of faith, and it has paid off exponentially.
People tend to look at HR through a negative lens. We are the ones people associate with disciplinary actions, terminations, and policy changes - all things that make employees scared to even talk to us sometimes (thanks, Catbert!). This could not be farther from the truth (at least in my own workplace). Yes, we are present for those not-so-pleasant employee relations issues, but we are also here to help develop our employees and really do want them to grow within our organization. We love seeing people move up through the ranks, and also love the many fun events we host that let our employees let loose and have fun. I've even heard employees come into our HR office and talk about how positive of an environment we have created as opposed to the "scary" HR offices of their past employers.
I encourage anyone looking for a career change to check out entry-level positions in HR. There is so much more to it than being the "bad guy" and delivering bad news and disciplines. We are instrumental in coming up with new, inventive ways to attract and retain employees, as well as offer curriculum to enrich and grow our people from within. We hate terminations and disciplines just as much as anyone else, and truly work hard to keep them from happening. We want our employees to be successful, and celebrate that success whenever possible. Working in HR will give you the opportunity to help the company grow through its people, and it has been an incredibly rewarding journey for me to see those efforts pay off.
Image Sources:
https://creativeconflictwisdom.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/dilbert-and-hr-top-tips-from-their-interaction/
https://www.redbubble.com/people/adma101/works/12001074-love-hr?p=tote-bag
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/522136150527988955/
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