How to transition from payroll into general HR
Payroll professionals get typecast in specialized administrative roles and siloed at big companies, making it difficult to even secure interviews for other human resources functions. Taking another payroll-focused job risks making your experience even more specialized rather than opening doors to broader HR roles.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1taking another payroll-focused role and networking heavily internallyDid this help you?
- 2letting the compensation team know of interest and taking on stretch projectsDid this help you?
- 3looking for a job separately at another company while working in payrollDid this help you?
- 4Staying in the generalist role for several years to gain broad experience before making a jumpDid this help you?
- 5Asking experienced peers for tips, favorite questions, lessons learned, and personal boundariesDid this help you?
- 6Seeking internal transfers to leverage long tenure and existing company relationships.Did this help you?
- 7Applying to Comp/Payroll positions to capitalize on existing HRIS experience.Did this help you?
- 8Targeting HRM roles or associate HRBP roles at companies with many layers.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“At big companies, your work is pretty siloed and you might not have the chance.”source ↗
“I've also worked on projects that affected high-level people strategy, but I've never done any ER work; alas, I'm transitioning into an HRBP role.”source ↗
“Wish me luck I'm a bit nervous”source ↗
“While I enjoy aspects of the role, it leans heavily toward sales, and I’m interested in transitioning back to the HR side of the business.”source ↗
“For those with experience in HR, how realistic would it be for me to transition back into the field?”source ↗
“Would I be a credible candidate for an HR Business Partner role, or would it make more sense to target HR Generalist positions first and work my way up?”source ↗
“Stayed as a generalist for about 4 years before I jumped to a specialist role, felt like the right amount of time to touch everything enough to know what I didn't want to do anymore”source ↗
“I've been struggling to even get interviews for roles outside of payroll. Most of the callbacks I get is still payroll related.”source ↗
“Would having the Big 4 name on my CV have made it easier to transition into other HR functions later, either internally or externally? Or would taking another payroll-focused role have just made me even more specialised in payroll?”source ↗
“I'd like to move toward HR Operations or Payroll & Compliance roles, keen to stay away from full-time recruitment going forward.”source ↗
“For those who've made a similar move what titles/pathways did you target, and was there anything (certifications, specific skills, etc.) that actually made a real difference in landing the next role?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Switching payroll and benefits providers without HR experience
- 2What skills do you need to move into HR leadership?
- 2How to transition to HR roles without direct experience
- 2Why is it so hard to hire an HR business partner?
- 14How to transition from technical work to management with no background
- 2Can you pivot from fund accounting to corporate staff accounting?