Alexandra Finney ⋅ Bristol, RI Roger Williams University ⋅ 5 years experience

Here is a great free webinar for July 16th on: 8 Ways Veterans can Showcase Strengths to Employers.

http://try.careerhmo.com/webinar-veterans-strengths/

Kate Weiner ⋅ Wayzata, MN ⋅ 20 years experience

Working in a warehouse area can actually be very helpful in a HR position when you are perhaps supporting this type of job. I would not sell this as a negative, but gaining experience to be a well rounded HR Specialist. Does where you work now have an HR area? Have you explored working at the same place but in a different area? Again, you have the benefit of having experience and therefore credibility and the respect of the people you support.

Timothy Strickland ⋅ Frederick, MD Defense Health Agency ⋅ 10 years experience

I concur with Fouad. A certificate would make sense and help prove to potential employers that HR is where you want to go. Long term you might consider going for a college degree with an emphasis in general business or HR.

Fouad Malik ⋅ Los Angeles, CA ⋅ 7 years experience

It appears that your interest is in the field of human resources but you took up a job in logistics and supply chain related occupation because of lack of jobs in your geographical area. Further, it appears that you have been out of service for almost a decade and have not worked in HR occupation which may be problematic for some employers.

There are several ways to enter this occupation now. In my opinion, the fastest way is to retrain yourself for HR occupation by undergoing some GENERALIST training in the HR occupation leading to attainment of an industry-recognized GENERALIST credential such as PHR or SHRM-CP that demonstrates your relevance, competences, experience, credibility and dedication to the HR profession.

The HR training is likely to touch on various functional areas of HR discipline which is quite vast and include possibly hundreds of job titles. Once your attain the credential, construct a HR focused resume highlighting various HR related duties you performed in the positions you held in logistics and supply chain. For example, if you were a manager, you can touch on hiring, managing, training, motivation, performance management, disciplining, risk management, OSHA, employee relations etc. aspect of the past jobs in logistics.

Michael Davis ⋅ Montgomery, AL U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 4 years served

To help, I want to have a career in Human Resources. I only accepted the warehouse, logistical jobs because that is all that was offered in my area were I resided. I want to help improve employee relationships with employers. I want to have a more hands on role in the process of Human Resources as a opposed to being just a "paper pusher". Where is a good starting point to begin by path to a career in HR. Will I need to go back to school for further education?

Deb Miller ⋅ Bardstown, KY US Postal Service ⋅ 16 years experience

Thank you for your service. Timothy Strickland provided an AWESOME response. I would like to add researching jobs like Marketing. Logistics backgrounds are perfect links into Marketing - where you are constantly working with detailed solutions to external and internal corporate issues - focused on discovering new methods to capture new customers, retain the existing ones and all the while working to ensure everything flows smoothly communications and logistics wise within the organization for smooth transitions in a business environment that requires constant forecasted changes. debmiller2000@gmail.com if you would like me to review your resume. Another idea is to look into things you enjoy doing - research those jobs out on the various job sites and then revamp your experience into the "civilian lingo" from those postings. It will help you develop a resume that states all your AWESOME experience in civilian terms. Couple sites for job searches: www.usps.com, www.usajobs.gov, www.careerbuilder.com, www.monster.com, www.indeed.com to name a few.

Timothy Strickland ⋅ Frederick, MD Defense Health Agency ⋅ 10 years experience

Michael,
I think the bigger question is what do you want to do?

It looks like you have explored two different paths (HR & logistics) and have an interest in psychology. Where is your passion? At your stated age you still have plenty of time to reinvent yourself.

Just reading your post it sounds (from your HR background and psych interest) like you want to help people. I'd suggest you take time to really think about what you want to do and where you hope to be.

Good luck.