Elena Prokopets
Claire Briggs Webber, CPRW
As an HR professional, you may have reviewed dozens of resumes. Despite this, it’s still challenging to write your own: you can see a great resume a mile ahead, but you have no idea how to style your own. Worse, the pressure is on to create a flawless document.
We’ve got help! In this post, we lined up the essential resume writing and formatting tips for HR pros, followed by a detailed human resources resume sample. Let’s dig in!
Start With a Great Headline
A resume that leads off with a somewhat rusty ‘resume objective’ or ‘career objective’ isn’t going to grab attention. So opt for a succinct professional summary, styled as a headline instead. Pack that one-liner with your best attributes and key skills. Adding a descriptive headline to your resume will encourage the decision-maker to read further.
Here are several winning resume headlines for human resources pros:
- Licensed employee training coordinator (CPTM)
- Payroll specialist with 5+ years experience | Gusto, Wave, OnPay | CPA
- Diversity compliance professional — improved employee retention by 25%.
Describe The Companies You’ve Worked For in Detail
Human resources can operate quite a bit differently depending on the makeup of a particular company. You may have to comply with different requirements and contend with different issues accordingly.
For example, your experience as an HR professional at a government agency that employs thousands of people across multiple states will be much different from your experience at a small, single location business employing less than 100 people.
So always provide additional insights in your work experience. Mention the following when listing every work experience:
- Industry
- Number of employees
- Revenue (if publicly available)
- Multistate or international
- Public or private sector
Use HR Relevant Keywords
As you know, applicant tracking software (ATS) does a lot of the legwork before anyone ever sees your resume. Make sure yours lands in the right hands, by peppering it with relevant keywords. You can mine most of these from the job listing, but be sure to include others as they relate to your expertise, including:
- Payroll
- Training
- Administer
- Mentor
- Hire
- Compliance
- Benefits
- Contracts
- Compensation
- Negotiation
- Onboarding
- Diversity and Inclusion
Pro tip: When optimizing your LinkedIn profile, spend extra browsing their Skills database for extra keyword suggestions.
Highlight Your Achievements, Not Your Duties
Sometimes, a simple change in phrasing can make all the difference. When you list your daily tasks, it can seem as if your job simply involves following directions or checking items off of a to do list. On the other hand, if you frame your experience in terms of accomplishments, and the results of your work, you’ll be seen as an empowered, experienced professional.
Compare this:
Before: Ran weekly payroll processing, and fixed payroll related errors promptly.
After: Ensured that employees were paid promptly and correctly. Took ownership of any payroll related concerns, and acted quickly to resolve them.
Keep Your Resume Streamlined
Long resumes are frustrating. They took too much time to read, and usually have information that just isn’t very relevant. Edit yours ruthlessly so that it fits on one page. Avoid flowery or ‘fluffy’ adjectives. Cut out employment experience that’s from before your attending college if you have more than a couple of years of experience. Trim down any sections on hobbies or interests, or eliminate them. Leave out tasks and achievements that aren’t relevant to the position you’re seeking.
Human Resources Resume Example (Word version)
Here is a brief, HR resume sample. Feel free to use it as a bit of a template, or as inspiration.
Download resume example (.docx)
Human Resources Resume Example (text version)
Experienced Recruiting Hiring and Training Professional
HR Specialist with 10+ years of experience, helping SMBs meet their manpower needs. Expertise includes recruiting, including C-level recruiting, navigating complex hiring processes, onboarding new employees, and providing access to training opportunities for corporate talent.
Skills and Qualifications
- Employee Development
- Executive Recruiting
- Onboarding
- EEOC Compliance
- Online and In-Person Training
- Mentoring
- Organizational Development
- Employee Assessment and Training
- Coaching
- Change Management
- Requirements Gathering
- Employee Evaluation
Professional Experience
Davis Healthcare (March 2015 – Present)
Human Resources Recruiting and Training Coordinator
Was initially hired to lead cross-state recruiting, hiring, and training efforts for a multi-national healthcare administration firm. Ensured that staffing needs were met in an organization exceeding 5 billion dollars in annual revenue with more than 50K employees. This includes:
- Writing job descriptions to recruit global talent
- Successfully recruiting experienced professionals into executive positions
- Designing an employee onboarding program
- Selecting online and classroom based training programs
- Providing one on one counseling to struggling employees
- Administering an employee mentorship program
- Working with colleges and universities to create one of the most desirable, paid internship programs in the United States
- Working with corporate leadership to reduce employee turnover by 15% over two years.
The Miller Group, LLC (January 2007 – March 2015)
Human Resources Recruiting Specialist
Worked with department heads and supervisors to recruit, hire, and onboard IT professionals, administrative staff, and executives at a mid-sized software development firm. Ensured that all recruiting and hiring regulations were met for a company exceeding 100 employees and 5 million dollars in revenue. My accomplishments included:
- Building successful relationships with local staffing agencies.
- Leading new hires through the onboarding process.
- Writing job listings to successfully recruit technical talent.
- Gathering job requirements from department heads.
- Ensuring EEOC compliance in recruiting and hiring.
Education
University of South Florida
BA in Organizational Development (Dec. 2014)
Minor in Corporate Communication
3.8 GPA
Dean’s List
President of The Organization of HR And Training Students
Final Tip: Format For Readability
Finally, have a bit of professional sympathy for your fellow HR professionals. Make your resume as readable as possible. Use a serif free font, add plenty of white space, and use bullet points to make your resume easy to scan. The hiring manager will appreciate your attractive resume that’s easy on the eyes!
And if you are struggling with the design part, check our professional resume templates — designed by pros and optimized for readability.
