I have been a medical recruiter for the Army for 10 years and I retire in Raleigh, NC in 10 months. All of the talent acquistion specialist or HR positions want or prefer degrees or certifications which Army recruiting hasn't provided time for. I have given my GI Bill to my children. Does anyone have any suggestions on ways I can solve the education shortfall in HR, I am sure experience alone won't be enough?
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What types of roles are you looking at? Without a degree, entry level recruiting roles should be in reach. Landing a management role without a degree will likely prove difficult, though.
Don't be too discouraged by the "requirements" on any job posting. Often, they describe the ideal candidate, but there is room for compromise. However, when you know you fall short, it becomes that much more important to use LinkedIn or other resources to find a friend of a friend with connections at the company that interests you. Use your contacts to get in front of someone, preferably the Hiring Manager, to be able to present yourself in person, rather than relying solely on your objective credentials.
Hi Patrick- Prior to saying that you want to have a career in HR, you need to investigate which area of HR truly interests you. For example, compensation and benefits is an entirely different area of HR, than recruitment, employee relations or HR Generalist roles. As you have 10+ years of medical recruiter experience, which is considered a specialized area. I recommend leveraging that experience and applying for recruiter jobs at hospitals or agencies who recruit medical professionals. You can search Indeed.com, Glassdoor.com or the Ladders.com for medical recruiter jobs.
Once you have your foot in the door, it's easier to grow your HR experience and transition into another role.
Good luck with your search!
Obtaining HR certification isn't that costly. The test is only $400 and while you can pay for expensive classes, you can also self study (that's what I did). The SHRM certifications are new and I don't know much about them, but you can learn about the HRCI PHR certification here: http://www.hrci.org/our-programs/our-hr-certifications/phr
Krystal has some really good ideas on certifications that will give you a leg up for the immediate. In respect to a comment about needing a degree to work into management one day, if you get with a company that is merit based, versus degree oriented, if you do well the cream will rise to the top. My two cents...
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