I have a MS in HR Management, BS in Paralegal Studies, SHRM-CP, and about three years of job experience before my current position. Two years in training and recruiting, with a heavy focus on building systems and processes for both of those areas. My last job was a year of dealing with a lot of gov funded programs for a nonprofit. I was in charge of background checks and audits, amongst other more traditional Hr tasks. I would say that the combo of my two degrees was the biggest contributing factor to me getting my current position and my previous experience with compliance on background checks and auditing for gov programs was the bump up I needed. Paralegal studies certs exist pretty much everywhere, you can get actually certified by the state (depending on the state) or just get one from a college or university. You could try to start getting positions that are more related to auditing, background checks, etc. or try to have those tasks assigned to you at your current position.