HR professionals should look to build their careers across as many industries as possible rather than ride out the downturn in a recession-proof industry, according to HR recruiters.

Alison Hughes, director at Higher Talent, told Recruiter that candidates with a varied background would benefit from having broader options later on in their career.

“I think it is important for HR professionals to operate across more than one sector. It is more interesting and it gives you broader options later on in your career. I think the are more sectors you have exposure to, the better it will be to get that ultimate HRD (HR Development) job at the end.”

Hugo Tucker, director at Bullet Search, adds: “From our perspective, we would still value an HR professional to have as broad an experience as possible. It illustrates that they are able to survive and add value across different environments. You can get type cast. It is all about timing. Somebody in the first half of this year could have found it difficult to get out of the sector but now it is reverting and going the other way around.”