How to find your first Health & Safety job – a step by step guide by New Level Recruitment.
We’ve had several calls this week from people seeking their first full time Health and Safety job, so I thought that would make a good topic for today’s blog.
The thing about health and safety is that, unlike some professions, having a qualification isn’t enough if you don’t have relevant experience to back it up.
There are several things you need to do - The first thing you need to do might sound fairly obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t think of it – talk to somebody in the profession, find out more about it before you commit yourself. If you haven’t even spoken to someone who does the job, how can you possibly have an understanding of what the role entails, and whether or not it is for you?
The second thing is to get a recognised relevant qualification. The NEBOSH General Certificate is a great place to start. There are dozens and dozens of training providers offering this course, and you can do it externally on a part time basis or internally on a full time basis, over a couple of weeks or a few months, depending on what suits you best. If you have a look on the NEBOSH website (www.nebosh.org.uk) you’ll find a load more information about what the course involves and a list of accredited course providers.
After you have the general certificate you may well want to go on to do further qualifications, but first things first….!
The third thing might sound like a paradox, but it is to get some experience. “What??!!” I hear you roar, “that’s what I’m trying to do right now but no-one will give me a chance!” Quite, but let’s think a bit outside the box here – I’m not talking about the experience you’ll get once you have a dedicated, paying H&S position, but the sort of experience you can get before you reach that stage. If there is a health & safety person in the company where you’re currently working, then ask if you can shadow him or her for a bit; ask your current employer for the chance to take on some H&S responsibilities as part of your current role (or even as a new role for you). If there is no chance at all for you to get experience with your current employer, then why not contact any larger local companies and ask to speak to the Health & Safety manager or advisor? Explain your situation and ask if they’d let you shadow them for a while, to get a bit of experience that way.
Once you start contacting existing health & safety professionals, talking to them and generally chewing the fat, you’ll find that what you’ve been doing is called networking! A lot of people hear that word and panic – they envisage some sort of artificial, formal, difficult situation where they have to introduce themselves to a room full of strangers or something equally scary. Actually, networking is a great way of getting to know people and expanding your knowledge base, thereby greatly increasing your chances of finding a suitable position. After all, if no one knows you’re out there, they can’t offer you a job, can they?
There are lots of good networking opportunities in the health and safety industry, face to face or online. IOSH, for example, have a good discussion forum on their website (www.iosh.co.uk) where a lot of people in your position post their details in order to connect with H&S professionals who might be able to help them or offer advice. Another good one is www.safetynetworking.co.uk . IOSH also has regular regional meetings that you could attend to meet people and expand your knowledge base. In my experience, health & safety professionals are very good networkers, and usually happy to help any newcomers if they can. Both the IIRSM and IOSH offer an entry level membership for newbies, and it is worth joining one (or both, if you want!) in order to benefit from their advice services and the very useful information found in their respective magazines, HSW and the SHP. Being a member of a professional body will also enhance your standing in the eyes of any potential employers, which can only be a good thing!
So there you go, an (almost!) step by step guide to finding your first health & safety job. Just two last pieces of advice – be patient, it could take some time, and be realistic in your salary expectations. Entry level H&S positions are not well paid, so to expect a starting salary commensurate with what you were earning in your previous career would be pretty unrealistic.
Best of luck!
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