The sharing of HR talent between the public and private sectors needs to be more fluid, writes anonymous HR professional ‘Angie’
In this age of social collaboration, the two ‘sides’ of the HR and L&D profession – the public and private – should be more closely interlinked than ever. But making the transition from the public to the private sector is still difficult: I’ve been trying for more than a year to make the move, with little success to date – and I can’t understand why.
When I decided it was time for me to make the move back to the private sector – I currently work in public healthcare – I specifically targeted recruitment agencies that specialised in HR. But from the start I was told that I would be extraordinarily lucky to succeed, or even be considered by recruiters given their clients' strict requirements. I gained just two interviews through this route.
The other few interviews I secured were the result of direct applications, which I was told by agencies was the easiest way to finding recruiters that are less averse to applicants who have public sector backgrounds. But even then, I found that I was told repeatedly that I hadn’t made the interview stage because high application volumes 'compelled' recruiters to only select those with the ‘right’ background and culture.
'Culture' has cropped up time and time again in my rejections. But I have seen so many similarities between working for a top-tier bank or law firm and a public sector healthcare organisation: employees are intelligent, highly qualified and have a tendency towards egotism. Customers, whether they are banking clients or medical scientists, are equally demanding of high-quality service.
So perhaps my perceived suitability is more of a personality and resilience thing; either you can cope with fast-paced work and challenging customers, or you can’t, regardless of the sector you’re operating in.
Discrimination against the public sector is still very real. We are constantly reminded to have transferable skills and be adaptable, yet industries such as financial services still fiercely favour candidates with the ‘right’ background, which can seem formidably unattainable to outsiders.
People from both sides of the profession need to engage with each other more openly to understand the challenges we are all facing, the attributes we share and the particular skills we can bring to a new role. How can we move forward as a profession if we remain a house divided?