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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
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I am a student (2L) at a top-20 law school. My job experience includes consulting a CEO/President of a privately held real estate investment group with 400 employees. Currently, I am in my law program
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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
posted at 1/28/2007 9:04 PM EST
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Posts: 5
First: 1/28/2007 Last: 2/11/2007 |
I am a student (2L) at a top-20 law school. My job experience includes consulting a CEO/President of a privately held real estate investment group with 400 employees. Currently, I am in my law program's Employer Legal Advice Clinic. I find the work very stimulating, and have decided that I would like to pursue my career in business by exploring positions in HR management. Eventually, I would like to attend a top-five grad school to obtain my mba in management. Would making this career choice be illogical? Should I practice employement law in lieu of working for a consulting firm before an mba? What is the best career path I can pursue to become an HR Executive and eventual CEO?
NOTE: with emerging developments in workforce management, including quantitive analyses of the workforce, I see the HR Executive position growing in strength and popularity; furthermore, a position that will segway into a CEO as the levels of sophisticated candidates continue to grow. |
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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
posted at 1/29/2007 12:31 PM EST
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Posts: 80
First: 12/4/2006 Last: 3/12/2007 |
I think your goals and plan are commendable. As you may expect your challenge will be to convince the less enlightened HR Executives who will hire you first on your path to success.
Your plan is logical and I see some value but not significant value in entering the practice of employment law. Absent the value of networking assuming you will not be a plaintiff's counsel. I'd shoot for progressive companies with enlightened leadership both in HR and in the top seat. |
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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
posted at 1/29/2007 1:41 PM EST
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Posts: 5
First: 1/28/2007 Last: 2/11/2007 |
Thank you for your reply HRPro. As you may suspect, I am rather confused as to my initial career path, and I am in the dark as to how to get the train on the right track. Often, when I attempt to rationalize my career goals to my colleagues, they do not seem to grasp the importance of a formal education in law. My boss is particularly skeptical of the value in deciding to pursue a career in HR, given my educational background.
To give you a better idea of where I am coming from, it is worthy to note that I studied philosophy with an emphasis in game theory and ethics in undergrad. As a person, I love to strategize and solve problems. I decided to enter law school in lieu of business school because I wanted to expound upon my analytic and critical skills while continuing to develop a level of professionalism. At the very least, I reasoned that a law degree would give me a competitive edge when ascending the ranks. Now, I am not so certain that I made the best decision. I am nonetheless certain that getting my law degree has made me a more intelligent worker. The problem that I currently have to solve is how do I market myself to employers? Although my path is crystal to myself, it may seem transparent to an employer--is an employer going to find much merit in my preparation? More important, how should I approach interviews for HR positions? Last, what positions should I interview for? |
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Workforce Management Executive Career Advice
posted at 1/30/2007 12:48 AM EST
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Posts: 38
First: 9/29/2006 Last: 3/10/2008 |
If you really want to be the CEO eventually, you will probably need a broader path than a straight-line HR career. At some point, you will need some line experience with profit and loss responsibility, not that you need to worry about that now. But it is definitely something you need to keep in the back of your mind.
Ive met quite a few heads of HR in relatively large companies who had a legal background. The ones Im thinking of practiced law for a while in a law firm, and then went to the corporate side. They were definitely valued for their law experience. But simply having a law degree is a plus since so much of the HR job is affected by changes in the law, such as Sarbanes Oxley, the recent 409a, which affects executive compensation, and the new law requiring companies to disclose the compensation packages of senior executives. Our most highly attended HR events are those where we address legal issues that affect HR. Being able to understand law is a real plus. Having a philosophy undergrad is also an excellent background because it teaches you how to think. It will serve you well the rest of your life. In fact, both of my sons studied philosophy in undergrad (at my urging). One wants to be a physician, and the other wants to be a high-school principal. So I think that was another good choice you made. Its a toss-up between whether you practice employment law or spend a stint at a consulting firm as your next step. Since you want the CEO position, Id go for the consulting firm route first. I would not go into HR as my first step, given your long-term goal. Finally, I think youre right that the HR executive position will become increasingly important in the running of companies. After all, HR is in charge of LABOR, and labor is everything. HRs span of control and influence is increasing and management consulting will give you the metrics discipline needed by todays top HR executives. Thats my two cents. But readers of this site can tell you about their career paths to top positions. Kate Wendleton President, The Five OClock A national career coaching and outplacement organization www.fiveoclockclub.com |
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