Struggling to Transition from Recruitment to Generalist HR: How Can I Make It Happen?

I am working as an HR in a Retail Organization and have 3+ years of total work experience, mostly in recruitment in IT companies, and the last 4 months in retail. I am very keen on General HR roles, but I am not able to transition into a Generalist HR position as most of my experience is in recruitment. Can anybody please tell me if it is possible for me to move into General HR and how should I prepare for the interview.

Dear [Recipient],

If you want to start your career in General HR, you should begin by learning the work of HR operations such as preparing headcounts, handling joining formalities, performance management, having proficiency in Excel, managing attendance, salary, and so on. After acquiring these skills, you can showcase them in your CV to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have experience in handling these tasks.

Thank you.

But recruitment experience candidates will not get a chance to brief their expertise in the given area because the corporate world now only looks for experienced candidates rather than startup candidates. So, how to approach and what will be the other alternatives to start hunting.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance or have any other questions.

Dear Shree,

Don't lose hope. While it's true that organizations would prefer to have candidates with relevant work experience instead of working with freshers, it is also true that a candidate should have expertise in a particular domain, along with operational knowledge of others. You could try to liaise with other fellow colleagues in your organization who deal with other aspects of HR, such as resource management, learning and development, HR scorecards, onboarding, etc. Try to gain some knowledge in these areas and ask your superior to allow you to work on them as a project. It's important to understand what other HR team members are doing, both for organizational awareness and personal development.

All the best!

Hi,

I think you can try to talk to your HR department and express interest in HR operations. Start taking initiative in case your organization supports internal transfers or changes in profiles; it could be helpful. Once you have at least 6 months to a year of experience in HR ops, it will be easier.

Good luck!

Dear coreshree,

First of all, breathe calm... Don't get tensed or nervous.

Again, you said that you are working in a retail firm. Were you handling recruitment alone? If you want to get into a generalist role, remember that you would be considered only as a fresher in that role. Then you have to update yourself in all core activities of a generalist HR.

As you are a member of this forum, you would easily get all the information on generalist activities of an HR. Do think widely and implement it in action. Try to frame a plan of action. Still with doubts, post a private message.

Anyway, all the best!

Dear Rahul,

I appreciate your company profile. However, the topic is different from what we are trying to explain - how a person should get into HR ops. I appreciate your valuable comments and suggestions in this regard.

I would like to ask all seniors if anybody is working with a manpower consultant where they deal only in recruitment, how can he/she approach the company if they have knowledge in HR ops?

Regards,
Ajit