After a few years in sales, teaching, hospitality, the armed forces or accounting, many people turn to human resources. The motivation is often the same: working closely with people and organisations. So is the difficulty: you do not become an HRBP or an HR manager overnight, and recruiters in the function are wary of applications that aim too high without experience. The key to a successful career change is choosing the right way in, the qualification that makes it credible and the way you tell the story of your first career. This article presents the accessible roles, the useful professional qualifications, the funding options and how to build your CV.
HR roles open to career changers
HR assistant
This is the most common way in. The HR assistant handles employee files, contracts, absences, preparing payroll items, organising reviews and training. The role requires rigour, discretion and ease with tools, qualities that many career changers have already developed in an administrative or service job. Onisep describes the job in its profile of the HR assistant 🔗.
Payroll administrator
People coming from accounting, management or administration do well here. The job is very technical, but it hires regularly, and targeted training lets you get in within a few months. Our article on becoming a payroll administrator describes its daily work.
Recruiter in a staffing agency
Temporary staffing agencies readily hire sales or field profiles: former salespeople, store managers, technicians. Their knowledge of jobs and their interpersonal ease count as much as an HR degree. The staffing agency consultant CV example shows this type of role, and our article on moving into recruitment from another career details this path.
Training officer or trainer
Teachers, technical trainers and managers who have done a lot of teaching can aim for training: organising programmes, working with providers, instructional design. The article on moving into training from another career presents the steps.
What is better not to aim for straight away
HRBP, HR manager or employee relations manager roles require experience of the function and a command of employment law that a career change does not provide immediately. They remain accessible a few years later, and a first career as a manager is then a real asset.
Training and professional qualifications
Ministry of Labour professional qualifications
Two qualifications are particularly suited to a career change:
- the titre professionnel assistant ressources humaines (HR assistant), at two-years-after-high-school level, registered in the national directory as RNCP 41366 🔗;
- the titre professionnel gestionnaire de paie (payroll administrator), also at two-years-after-high-school level, RNCP 37948 🔗.
They are prepared through continuing education, often in a few months, and are organised in skill blocks: you can complete them gradually.
Professional bachelor’s and master’s degrees
If you already have a three-year degree, a professional bachelor’s in HR or a master’s in HR management through continuing education opens broader roles. Several universities and IAE schools offer schedules suited to working adults.
Accreditation of prior experience
If you have already carried out HR tasks in your current job (recruiting a team, managing schedules, personnel administration in a small organisation), VAE (validation des acquis de l’expérience) can let you obtain all or part of a qualification without taking a full course.
Choosing a recognised programme
Check that the programme leads to a qualification registered in the national directory and that the provider is Qualiopi-certified if you want to fund it with public or pooled funds. Also ask about outcomes for previous cohorts.
Making the most of your first career
What HR recruiters appreciate
A career changer often brings what a young graduate lacks: knowledge of a trade, management experience, handling difficult situations, maturity in relationships. Provided you show it in HR terms.
Finding the hidden HR tasks
In almost every career, there are tasks close to HR: recruiting or onboarding colleagues, organising schedules, training newcomers, handling conflicts, tracking absences, taking part in annual reviews. List them, with precise examples.
Translating them without exaggerating
Before
Store manager for six years.
After
Store manager for six years, team of twelve: recruited seasonal sales staff with the staffing agency, onboarding and on-the-job training, weekly schedules, annual reviews and absence tracking.
The second version does not claim you were in HR. It shows that you have already practised part of the job, from the manager’s side.
Explaining the transition
Your summary must state your plan clearly: your background, your current or completed training, the role you are targeting. A recruiter accepts a career change they understand; they are wary of one they have to guess.
Funding the change (CPF, career transition project)
The personal training account
The CPF 🔗 (compte personnel de formation) can fund a certifying course, such as a professional qualification. You check your entitlements and enrol on the Mon Compte Formation 🔗 platform. If your entitlements are not enough, top-ups are possible, from your employer or other funders.
The career transition project
If you are an employee and your training is long, the projet de transition professionnelle 🔗 (career transition project) lets you follow a certifying course with a view to changing jobs, keeping your pay under certain conditions. The application is reviewed by your region’s career transition association, and it needs to be prepared several months in advance.
Career development advice
Before you start, the free career development advice service (conseil en évolution professionnelle) can help you test your plan, choose the course and put together your funding application.
Jobseekers
If you are registered with France Travail, your adviser can direct you towards funded courses and suitable schemes. Tell them about your plan to move into HR early on.
Building a career-change CV for HR
The structure that works
- A title announcing the target job: “HR assistant, professional qualification in progress”.
- A three-line summary: your background, your training, the role you are looking for.
- HR training at the top, even if recent or in progress, with any work placement.
- Experience, rewritten to bring out tasks close to HR.
- Skills and tools: spreadsheet, software used, languages, and the HR knowledge acquired in training.
The training placement
Many professional qualifications include a period in a company. It is your first HR experience: describe it as precisely as a job.
A starting model
The HR assistant CV example shows the structure of a first HR role; adapt it by placing your training and your transition summary at the top. When your content is ready, create your CV for free: the layout is done for you, and the file is read correctly by screening software, which prevents your unusual path from being badly split up by the ATS and filed in the wrong section.
Sources
- France compétences, titre professionnel assistant ressources humaines (RNCP 41366) 🔗 and titre professionnel gestionnaire de paie (RNCP 37948) 🔗.
- Service-Public.fr, Personal training account 🔗 and Career transition project 🔗.
- Onisep, HR assistant job profile 🔗.
Frequently asked questions
Can you move into HR without an HR degree?
For some roles, yes, notably in staffing agencies. For most assistant or payroll administrator roles, a targeted qualification greatly reassures recruiters and makes the first hire easier.
How long does a career change into HR take?
It depends on the target role and the training chosen: a few months for a professional qualification, longer for a master’s through continuing education. Add the time needed to find the first job.
Is my age an obstacle?
The law prohibits age discrimination. In practice, a first career is often an asset in HR, provided you show you are willing to start in a role suited to your experience of the function.
Should you accept a role below your previous level?
Often, yes, at first. An assistant or administrator role lets you learn HR techniques. Progress can then be fast, especially if you have management experience.