Here’s one from the mailbag:
Hi, I went to a pretty good university and graduated with a degree in human resources. The problem, I took some time off after I graduated to travel and work at places that offered flexible hours (i.e. waitressing, part-time marketing). I’ve tried talking to the career center at my school and looking up places to apply to. I have a lot of experience in marketing but I’d really like to break into HR as an internal recruiter. I was hoping you had some suggestions on what companies I should apply to. I’d appreciate any help you can offer.
Great question though I don’t know if I can help you with specific companies to target. The problematic thing is obviously the work record after college. And while it is problematic, it isn’t something you can’t overcome.
The biggest issue I see right off the bat is that getting into internal recruiting is not easy for newcomers. If you want to stay on the internal side, you might have to opt for an assistant/intern type program typically reserved for new grads (which you essentially are at this point).
If you really want to get into recruiting though, third-party recruiting may be a good start. If you have experience in marketing, a human resources degree and are relatively green to the industry, third-party recruiters are often looking for motivated people. And if you want to position yourself for internal recruiting, I’d say this would be a better bet rather than going for an assistant type position (unless it is a recruiting specific assistant).