Career Shift from Corporate to Consultancy: Will It Impact My Future in HR?

I was working in a corporate company in a generalist role. Now, I am in a consultancy doing recruitment. Is it okay, and will it affect my career?

If you are serious about making a career in HR, I am of the view that the recruiter's job does not offer you anything in terms of the skills and knowledge required for core HR. If you want to continue and specialize in recruitment, then you can go ahead. It all depends on how you want to take your career ahead.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

I understand from your message that it is HR-oriented. Please appreciate that working in recruitment with a corporate HR department is different from working with a placement consultancy agency. Your career prospects may be impacted if you decide to transition from a placement consultancy to an industry HR role later on. By sticking solely to recruitment, you are limiting your exposure in the vast field of HR, which encompasses various aspects. HR is like an ocean, and if you only focus on recruitment, you will miss out on a significant portion of it.

Blessings,
Dr. Ram

I was working in a corporate company in a generalist role. Now I am in a consultancy doing recruitment; is it okay, and will it affect my career?

Why Did You Switch to a Consultancy?

Was it because you wanted to switch profiles from a generalist to a recruiter? If so, you can continue in consultancy for a few months, get a grip on recruitment, and learn all the do's and don'ts of recruitment. Then, you can move back to corporate as a recruitment specialist or core recruiter.

Exploring Different HR Aspects

If, however, you wish to explore different HR aspects (which are not just recruitment/onboarding—there are things like policy making, implementing, maintaining attendance and leave, conducting performance management and appraisals, employee grievance handling, etc.), you need to switch back to corporate ASAP.

People usually start with consultancy when they fail to get a corporate job, so at least they get an experience letter for a switch. You've actually done it the other way around, the reason for which is not understood by me. But I have given you clarity on both things... Hope it helped. All the best 

Recruitment Experience in Consultancy vs. Corporate HR

Recruitment jobs in a consultancy firm do offer you the experience to interact with HR departments of your clients, but they are no substitute for an HR generalist role in corporate HR. The reason you quit the corporate HR environment is best known to you, but I wouldn't call it a thoughtful gesture.

Never mind, now focus on your current job, learn all aspects of recruitment for a couple of years, establish contacts, and plan to switch back to the corporate sector.

Career Growth in HR

Any job, in my opinion, can contribute to your profile for career growth in the HR domain, provided you take it seriously. It may be wrong to say that experience in an HR consultancy firm will not be useful in the long run. You must learn what 'Talent Search' means in totality and how a recruitment consultancy firm adds value to this process. If your clients are able to find the type of people they need through your consultancy, you would have acquired some competency in this area. Therefore, focus on your job and avoid restlessness caused by this state of confusion.

Talent Search as a Foundation

Remember, Talent Search is the starting point of Talent Management. And today, you are part of that Talent Search process, not just for one but multiple organizations. Good luck and do well!

Regards

I agree with the last post. Anyhow, I think that expert experience is always very important. Unfortunately, I have not had that experience for a while to know deeply how to recruit without focusing on the importance of gaining experience in other areas. Good luck, and don't forget that it is very important to study and stay up to date.