Here’s How to Write Your Own Resume as an HR Professional (Plus an Example!)

Human resources (HR) is a broad field, encompassing HR generalists as well as many sub-areas including recruiting (also known as talent acquisition), benefits administration, talent management, learning and development, and more. If you’re an HR professional, especially if you work in recruiting, you’ve probably reviewed hundreds or even thousands of resumes. But when it comes to creating a solid resume of your own, it can be just as hard as it would be for a hairdresser to cut their own hair. (And if you’re still looking for open positions to apply to, you can search for HR jobs right here on The Muse.)

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Here are some tips to help you write an outstanding resume as an HR professional.

As you may know if you already work in HR, tailoring your resume to the particular job you’re applying for can make it easier for the reader to see why you’re the right hire. So scrutinize each job description to find out what achievements, skills, and qualifications are most important—and tweak your resume accordingly.

You can highlight your most relevant achievements for each job by moving the bullet points that describe those achievements further up within each experience entry, highlighting key skills in a summary section, and repeating key terms in different sections of your resume (for instance, mentioning names of important software in a bullet point describing your work achievements and repeating them in your “Skills” section).

If you’re an experienced HR pro, you’re likely aware that many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to keep track of resumes from job applicants. These systems allow a recruiter to quickly search resumes for keywords, which typically include acronyms, proper nouns, or phrases from the job description. Therefore, it’s always important to look for these key terms in every job posting and work them naturally into your resume.

You should always default to the keywords you find in a given job posting (and use the same phrasing and language that the company does). But here are some keywords for different types of jobs within HR to get you started; some of the most common terms are listed first, followed by acronyms referring to laws or regulations, key software, and certifications toward the end of each list.

HR Generalist Keywords

• Recruiting, interviewing, hiring, job descriptions
• Orientation
• Personnel files
• Policies, procedures
• Open enrollment
• Performance reviews
• Confidentiality
• Equal employment
• Employee safety
• Organizational charts
• Exit interviews
• COBRA
• I-9, W-4
• Software: Microsoft Excel, PeopleSoft, human resource information systems (HRIS)
• Certifications: PHR (Professional in Human Resources), SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources), SHRM-CP ( Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional), SHRM–SCP (Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional)

Recruiter Keywords

• Candidates, pipeline, candidate experience
• Sourcing (including tools such as LinkedIn, social media, Indeed.com)
• Interviewing, selection, screening
• Hiring managers
• Strategic workforce planning
• Job descriptions
• End-to-end hiring process, full-cycle recruiting
• Recruitment metrics (such as time-to-hire or similar)
• Reference checks
• Background checks
• Offer letters
• New hire packets
• Wage/salary analysis
• Job fairs
• College and university relations
• Closing candidates
• Onboarding
• Software: ATS, HRIS, Oracle

Benefits and Compensation Keywords

• Leave, paid time off (PTO), vacation days, sick days, personal days, paid holidays
• Benefits: total reward, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), workers compensation, disability, tuition reimbursement
• Voluntary deferred compensation/retirement plans, pension plans, 401(k)
• Eligibility
• Payroll
• Contract negotiations
• Vendor negotiations
• Wellness
• Procurement
• Benchmarking
• Benefit plan administration
• Audits, reconciling, reports
• Open enrollment
• Disability accommodations
• Leave of absence (LOA)
• Government departments:Department of Labor (DOL), CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
• Government programs and regulations: Medicare, Medicaid, COBRA, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act, HIPAA, Affordable Care Act (ACA), Dependent Eligibility Verification Audit (DEVA)
• Software: ADP, timekeeping systems, Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), HRIS

Employee and Labor Relations Keywords

• Grievances, disputes, investigations
• Disciplinary and termination meetings
• Collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
• Conflict resolution/management
• Contract negotiations
• Arbitration
• Unions
• Legal and regulatory compliance; Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), ADA, FMLA
• Wage and hour laws
• Climate surveys

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