(HR) Human Resources Resume Sample

A company’s Human Resources department is responsible for recruiting and retention, allocating compensation budgets, facilitating employee engagement, maintaining company compliance with Federal and State employment policies, and much more.

In a sense, HR is a company’s lifeblood and will always be in demand.

If you’re interested in a career in HR, getting your foot in the door is only a matter of persistence and relevant work experience. A degree in Human Resources Studies, while advisable, is certainly not necessary, although it could bolster your credentials in the future should you aspire to an upper-level position in HR.

To assist you in your pursuit of becoming an HR professional, we’ve provided an excellent HR resume sample along with our supplemental writing guide to show you what to include in your own resume.

1. Write a Strong Human Resources Resume Objective

The resume objective acts as your opening statement; it’s your best opportunity to sell yourself and catch a hiring manager’s attention. Our resume sample starts off with a strong resume objective that shows the applicant’s experience in the field. Let’s take a look:

• “Human Resources Specialist with 5 years of experience in recruiting and staffing, monitoring turnover and retention, and company compliance.”

Our applicant begins on a strong note by highlighting their time in the industry and areas of expertise. This immediately gives employers an idea of what kind of candidate you are. Next, the candidate expresses their interest in the company:

• “Desire to apply knowledge of the industry to assist your company in all HR related needs and strategic goals.”

Here, the applicant clearly states their intent. Being explicit is crucial because it tells the employer what you want. Lastly, we see their level of education and an important certification:

• “Possess a BA in Human Resources and a Professional in Human Resources (PHS) certification.”

For HR employees, certifications demonstrate that you are genuinely invested in the field. Like degrees, they are not a must, but they certainly help. The Professional in Human Resources certification in particular ensures that you are well-versed in the finer points of HR management, including laws and regulations and technical and operational protocols.

If you’re serious about a career in HR, consider obtaining your PHR certification as soon as possible.

2. Outline Your Accomplishments In Your Professional Experience Section

Professional experience should demonstrate any noteworthy accomplishments in both your current and past positions. This is where you can really underscore your value as a candidate by demonstrating through relevant career achievements what you are capable of.

Let’s look at the applicant’s professional experience to get an idea of what you should do:

• “Saved branch 17% annually by implementing cost containment measures related to benefits, compensation, and overhead.”

Notice how our applicant quantifies their experience. By doing this, the employer can gather that the candidate effectively applied their knowledge and skill to save the respective company money.

This means the applicant found a way to better to divvy out salary, benefits, etc. in a way that benefitted the company–a huge plus. Let’s see one more example:

• “Assisted in reallocating resources by incorporating an algorithmic approach that reduced labor costs by 25% in 2016.”

Remember that certification we stressed earlier? Here’s how it can come in handy: the applicant demonstrates their mastery of the technical side of HR by showing their involvement in the designing of an algorithm that pinpoints expenditure of a company’s resources. In this example, they found a way to reduce labor costs, making them an asset to any team.

Again, professional experience is meant to enhance your resume. Be sure it puts your achievements in the best light by quantifying your experience and including results-oriented examples.

3. Top off Your Resume With an Additional Skills Section

Your additional skills section should conclude your resume by listing relevant soft skills or certifications.

HR is a field that demands a strong computer savvy and familiarity with a variety of technical softwares, so emphasizing any proven ability with computer programs is strongly advised. Our applicant included the following additional skills to strengthen their resume:

• Microstrategy certified
• Familiar with Kronos, Sage People, and Clear Company software
• Working proficiency in Spanish

We see several softwares mentioned above, all of which are frequently in use by HR departments worldwide. The applicant demonstrates here that they are a self-starter type, implying they need less hand-holding. Also, they include that they have a “working proficiency in Spanish,” a skill that is becoming more and more useful.

There are many other certifications and learnable skills out there to include on your HR resume. Here are a few we found to help you out:

• FileMaker Pro
• ADP Workforce Now
• VCG Pointwing recruiting software
• SilkRoad software
• Orange HRM
• BambooHR

Be sure to check out our skills section writing guide for a more comprehensive explanation of how to construct your additional skills section.

If the idea of writing a resume still seems scary, let our professional resume builder do the work for you!