From Junior Officer to HR Boss: How a Civil Servant Nudged Me into a new Career

People often ask how I got into HR. I usually joke that I didn’t choose HR - HR chose me. The real story is that it involved one incredibly determined civil servant, a fair bit of process and rules navigation, and a night school enrolment that changed the course of my career.

Let’s rewind to when I was a junior officer in the Royal Navy. I was responsible for a mixed team of military personnel and civilian employees. That alone was a masterclass in management: two completely different workplace cultures, two completely different sets of rules, and, of course, two very different approaches to getting things done. The military has clear chains of command, defined expectations, and limited wriggle room (for obvious reasons). The civilian side? Well, let’s just say that for some and definitely not all, there was a bit more creative interpretation of how things work around here.

One particular civil servant I managed, who shall remain nameless, seemed to have made it their personal mission to test every possible angle of absence, disengagement, and general invisibility. When they weren’t avoiding coming in, they were finding new and interesting ways to leave again. On the rare occasions they were at their desk, their computer wasn't working or they were deep in a personal admin task. I was kind of losing my will to live. Desperate for help, I called the civilian HR team and their advice was polite but... vague. Helpful, in theory but not ideal for the front line of people management and it quickly became clear that if I wanted proper answers, I needed to understand the rules myself. So I did what any overachieving Naval officer might do: I signed up for a basic CIPD course at night school.

What started as my attempt to get clarity turned into a bit of a passion project. I discovered I liked HR and I was good at it. I had the discipline, the structure, and the people skills to make it work so I went on to complete further qualifications and eventually earned a Master’s degree in HR Management.

By the time I left the military in 2012, I was ready to take on a Head of HR role in the civilian world - this time, with a full appreciation for both sides of the people management fence. Since then, I’ve led HR functions across industries, continents, and chaos levels. From culture design and strategy to messy performance issues and board-level change, I’ve seen the lot.

So yes, I know my stuff. I’ve been the manager desperately looking for guidance. I’ve been the HR lead making the tough calls and now, through Two Heads HR, I help other businesses navigate people challenges with clarity, confidence, and just the right amount of humour. All thanks to one wonderfully difficult civil servant who taught me that sometimes the best way to get advice is to become the expert yourself.

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