Personnel & Recruitment

These are careers which involve the management and development of people. The area is quite diverse and the nature of the job can vary greatly between industries.

Personnel or HR functions are found within all organisations. There might be a whole department dedicated the hiring, firing, training and progression of employees within the business. For smaller companies, it could be the responsibility of a single HR manager or be the responsibly of a senior manager.

There are three general areas of employment within this sector:

Internal roles in HR focus on people management which could mean anything from the recruitment of new staff in the business to advising employees on the best way to develop within the company through courses and training.

Recruitment Consultancies operate as a service externally to organisations looking to recruit and can broadly be divided into three distinct types of business; executive search, contingency selection and temporary agencies.

Employment in Training and Development could be as a Training Consultant, with a consultancy firm or self employed, or as an internal Training and Development Manager.

Jobs in this area can be competitive and require graduates with high levels of confidence, drive and determination. Roles differ greatly in what employees look for in prospective employees - particular between HR and Recruitment that have similar job functions but tend to harbour totally different working cultures. Have a look around the job titles in this sector for more details on specific job responsibilities and what attributes you need to make it in the field!  

Personnel and HR

Recruitment Consultancy
Training and Development

Useful links:

Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)

The CIPD is the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people.