There is a growing interest in applying social capital theory to HRM as HR professionals are increasingly required to focus on strategic business issues and relationships are increasingly important (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 2006). The majority of studies focus on HR practices rather than on HR professionals. Therefore this study focuses on the process and influence of social capital on access to network benefits and career and participation in developmental outcomes for individual HR professionals. The results emphasise that weak ties facilitate access to those in a similar field but not necessarily in the same organisation while strong ties facilitate access to those in different functions. HR professionals need to maintain relationships with contacts of the same function as these contacts provide career sponsorship, which is in turn predictive of career satisfaction and participation in developmental activities. The results highlight how contacts in higher positions and in other organisations predict more influential network benefits for HR professionals. These contacts may be a key factor in HR professional’s efforts to engage in business partnering. This study highlights the need for HR professionals to be aware of how the characteristics of their social capital impact career and development outcomes.