Graduate careers advice: you and your human resource management degree

Graduate careers advice on what you can do with your human resource management degree.

Related jobs include:

• Employee relations officer
• Ergonomist
• Health and safety adviser
• Human resources manager
• Occupational hygienist
• Occupational psychologist
• Recruitment consultant
• Training and development officer/manager

Work experience

Any work experience that involves dealing with people in a professional setting will boost your prospects of a career in human resources (HR).

Seek out positions that require a level of responsibility and that will enhance your interpersonal skills. Management or supervising opportunities should be embraced as they will give you an insight into HR processes such as dealing with grievance issues and disciplinary procedures.

Any role in an office or administrative environment will allow you to see how organisations deal with their employees.

Details of work experience opportunities can be found here .

What sectors?

Every major organisation has a HR department, meaning opportunities for HRM graduates are plentiful across numerous industries as diverse as health, education, tourism, local authorities, banking, finance, engineering and media.

Your human resources management CV

The transferable skills you will obtain from a HRM degree include:

• communication, both oral and written
• research and analytical skills
• problem solving
• time management
• interpersonal skills
• negotiating
• IT skills

Postgraduate study

Many HRM graduates will pursue a postgraduate diploma in the field. It is recommended to choose a course approved by the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD), which will enable you to apply for professional membership of the CIPD.

From this point you can undertake research through a Masters degree and then pursue a Doctorate. Relevant areas of research include employment law, human resource management, sociology of work and organisational behaviour.

More information can be found in our Further Study section.