Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

I am responsible for providing general HR advice to Trust Managers and employees on routine HR issues, HR policy and procedures, and terms and conditions of service. I support managers at attendance management meetings and advise/support on conduct matters. I also provide and analyse information, compile and report on statistics, and keep accurate HR records.

A typical day would comprise of a variety of meetings, including presenting HR data at performance reviews and providing HR advice at attendance management meetings. This would normally be followed by relevant administrative procedures (e.g. writing outcome letters), and then catching up with my direct report on how her day is going. I am the first point of contact for HR queries so also have to keep on top of emails and phone calls as required.

I enjoy how varied my role is, and how new challenges/scenarios are constantly presenting themselves. I feel like I am constantly learning new things.

The workload pressure in the NHS is high, and maintaining a work-life balance is sometimes challenging. I am also often involved in distressing situations, which can be difficult to manage.

I love working with people, and enjoy the challenging nature of the 'employee relations' side of my job. I like that I can combine strategic and logical thinking with the emotional intelligence that is required when working with people in difficult situations.

For my role, I require to be educated to degree level, and hold a CIPD qualification (which I am currently working towards). I also require very good communication skills, both verbal and written, and organisational/time keeping skills.

Directly after leaving university, I worked in a bar for a few months whilst waiting for an operation (which I underwent in August 2016). Following recovery from this, I started a permanent full time position as a HR administrator in October 2016. After a year I was offered the opportunity to become an Assistant HRBP in training (October 2017), and after 6 months was interviewed and successfully appointed to the permanent role (April 2018). Following this appointment I have started studying towards my CIPD level 5 qualification, which I am currently a third of the way through.

In the future I would like to work my way up to be a HR Business Partner, which will most likely include the completion of the CIPD level 7 qualification.

Experience as much as possible - the best way to know whether a career path is for you or not, is to actually try it!