Certified Resume Writer & Career Coach
Why Be a Human Resources Manager?
A human resources manager is a role that is rewarding but also quite challenging. Human resources departments and their managers are critical to any organization, and tend to be impactful in different work environments such as corporations, private entities, government, or NGOs.
Human Resources managers are responsible for a number of employment-related and administrative matters, as well as the effective coordination and management of other HR personnel. They may also be in charge of recruitment while serving as a medium between employees and higher-level management.
Because HR managers work with so many people, they should be prepared to lead an entire HR team to reach common goals. To do that, they should be fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and encourage them to increase their HR-related skills. They should also proactively engage with their team to provide support and boost morale.
Additionally, HR managers are well-paid and integral to the hiring, compensation, and disciplinary duties of an organization. As a result, they require strong critical-thinking skills and can enable you to develop better interpersonal skills. By pursuing informed decisions and diplomatic strategies, you can be in a position to influence the direction your organization takes.
Job Outlook and Average Salary
According to Zety,
Human resources manager roles are expected to grow by 9 percent between 2016 and 2026—that represents over 12,000 new HR managers.
BLS
According to a LiveCareer stat from 2018, their average salary was $90,594. So with demand peaking and salary rising, your human resources resume must be outstanding to stand out!
HR Resume and HR Resume Examples
For an HR manager resume, you are advised to follow certain resume format rules:
- Initial Formatting – Split up the different parts of a resume with large, legible section headings.
- The Heading – First begin with the heading, which will include your name, phone number, email address, and your address (street address is not required).
- Resume Summary – Based on an HR resume sample, the next section should be the resume Summary or Objective.
- Skills Section Placement – The Skills section can go here, or it can appear somewhere after the chronological Professional Experience section.
- Professional Experience – Then comes the Professional Experience section. According to human resources resume samples, this section should be written in a reverse chronology order.
- Education – Human resources resume examples reveal that the Education section follows Professional Experience. If you are a recent college graduate, then this section could be very important to highlight.
- Extra Sections – A human resource resume will also benefit by containing extra sections.
HR Resume Summary or Objective Section
An obvious question would be whether to select a human resources manager resume Summary or Objective. If you have had human resource manager roles in the past, then the rule of thumb is to use the resume summary. The summary quickly introduces you to the hiring manager, provides background, and includes quantifiable achievements to demonstrate your HR skills.
However, for an entry level human resources resume, select the resume Objective if you have had scant HR manager experience. For entry-level HR resumes, the objective provides career goals. It can also offer quantifiable accomplishments to demonstrate your worth to them.
Example Summaries and Objectives
The following is an effective human resources resume summary selected from a sample HR resume:
Professional career reflects more than 20 years of experience in administrative leadership, human resources management, resource utilization, and organizational development in highly competitive and diligently structured institutions. Leadership abilities have been utilized in re-organization of programs, services, and resources for leading academic institutions. Entrepreneurial skills were developed in the start-up of retail specialty operation from concept to implementation.
Additionally, you can utilize this summary for senior Human Resources executive/senior business partner.
Proactive and business-minded HR leader with a dynamic 15-year career steering organizations through complex transitions and building an empowered and talented workforce in cross-cultural environments within highly competitive consumer products and pharmaceutical/healthcare industries. Proven expertise in defining organizational structure and human capital requirements to align HR functions with business goals, providing the catalyst to optimize performance, enhance productivity, and drive revenue and profit growth. Articulate communicator and highly skilled negotiator. Fluent in English and Portuguese (native); intermediate Spanish.
On the other hand, this is what an entry-level position objective would look like:
Attentive to details, processes, and most importantly, to people. Motivated to bring my project and internship experience to a growing company like Falstaff, where compassion for others and knowledge of efficient HR services will be the key to winning the day.
The reason this resume works for entry-level HR resumes is because it demonstrates the right temperament and skills to perform the job. The entry level resume should focus on strengths such as education, GPA, awards, and relevant courses.
Skills Section
For the human resources skills resume, list both HR management-related hard skills and soft skills. First, you should examine the HR manager job description for the job you are applying. Then, to select the optimal keywords on a resume, highlight the skills that are requested or required in the job requirements section of the ad. If something on your list matches a listed skill from the job ad, include it on your resume.
Based on human resource resume templates, common verbs are usually “attention to detail”, “leadership skills”, “interpersonal skills”, or “management skills”. While these are good skills to list on your resume, it doesn’t hurt to think outside the box a little bit. Other possible skills that will help you stand out include:
- Human Resource Admin.
- Recruiting & Staffing
- Dispute Mangement
- Training & Onboarding
- Employee Relations
- Grievance & Dissatisfaction
- Compensation & Benefits
- Succession Planning
- Payroll Systems
- Compensation & Benefits
- Health & Safety
- Company Policy Management
- Rules & Regulations Adherence
- Employee retention strategist
Remember that every HR manager resume should be different or tailored to the job opening. So, do not copy these exact HR Skills into your resume.
Human Resources Manager Professional Experience Section
The most effective format for the Professional Experience section is a reverse chronology in which you list the most recent position first, then the one before that, and so on. Tips to strengthen this section include:
- Place the company name and your business title on one line. Then list dates of work and 3-6 bullet points that show your HR manager responsibilities.
- Begin each bullet point with resume action words such as initiated, launched, pioneered, spearheaded, etc.
- Provide measurable achievements as opposed to broad statements.
- Tailor your resume to one specific HR job rather than sending a generic resume.
Example Bullet Points for Professional Experience Section
The following are excellent examples directly from the resume of a human resources manager:
Established strategic business plan from concept to implementation to start two retail specialty shops that grew in size, market share, and customer base, with revenues in excess of $450K per year.
Held supervisory responsibility for all aspects of student life, capital facilities, program management, and event planning to position Viceroy as one of the top American Higher Education “best buys.”
Supervised campus-live event-planning projects and established student-life policies for university campus with 310 diverse organizations and an enrollment in excess of 33,000.
Furthermore, these are effective bullet points for senior human resources executive/senior business partners.
Business Partnering & Organizational Design: Developed and executed HR headcount reduction strategy for market business operating plan that was instrumental in a 12-month turnaround of Pharm-Global Consumer Healthcare business in the UK, following an 8-year decline. Reduced headcount by 10% annually, resulting in 15% profit improvement in a shrinking market.
HR Infrastructure Development/Staffing & Recruitment: Transformed HR infrastructure at London headquarters office of 900 with 11 entities. Redesigned staffing and recruitment function, re-negotiated agency fees, and shifted recruitment focus to internal and web-based systems. Reduced time-to-hire by 10% and cut agency expenses by 50%, achieving cost savings by 80%.
In these latter examples, you can see how the senior executive took an inferior situation and improved it, backing his claims up with numbers.
Human Resources Manager Education Section
Strive to list your educational background in an intriguing way. The following are valuable tips for doing so:
- Begin with your most recent and highest degree at the top. Then list the rest in reverse chronological order.
- Include your degree earned, college name, graduation date, and school location.
- Add additional details if relevant to Human Resources manager jobs, relevant coursework, or Latin honors (summa cum laude).
- Do not include high school on your resume if your undergraduate degree is still in progress at university.
- Equally important is relevant coursework, which does not mean just HR-related courses or degrees. It includes your lessons in business management and leadership.
Example Education Formatting
Here is an example of the Education section for a Human Resources Director.
Bachelor of Arts, Human Resources Management; Rice University, September 2006 – April 2020, Houston, TX
Again, taking an example from the senior human resources executive/senior business partner, we find this Education listing.
University of Coimbra, Portugal
Additional Human Resources Manager Resume Sections
To make a human resources manager resume stand out, it is an excellent idea to add some additional sections to it.
For example, some possible sections are:
- Certifications
- Foreign languages
- Project portfolio
- Job-related achievements
- Licenses and memberships
- Personal interests
- Volunteer experiences
A list for HR certifications includes:
- Certified Health Care Staffing Professional
- Associate Professional in Human Resources (aPHR)
- Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
- Certified Staffing Professional.
- Global Professional in Human Resources.
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
- Certified Search Consultant.
Additional Resources
When trying to land a job in HR, it is beneficial to display activity in professional associations. Membership in a related organization will not just show that you are connected. It will also show that you are resourceful, you are staying updated on HR news, and you are passionate about your line of work. Here are some of the leading professional associations for human resources in alphabetical order.
Leading Professional Associations for Human Resources
A-D
- American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) is the association of professionals managing affirmative action, equal opportunity, diversity, and other human resource programs.
- Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations.
- The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) sets the quality standard for the executive search and leadership consulting profession.
- Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) is a non-profit membership organization supporting an inclusive workforce for people with disabilities.
- College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) is the leading association for HR professionals in higher education.
- Corporate Health and Wellness Association (CHWA) focuses on health, wellness, prevention, and disease management.
E-N
- Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) is the world’s largest, oldest, and most respected membership organization for employee assistance professionals.
- International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) is dedicated to quality continuing education and training programs.
- The International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM) is the world’s leading membership association dedicated specifically to serving HR technology professionals.
- International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) is the leading public sector human resource organization in the world.
- Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) is the singular organization in the country where professionals interested in all aspects of labor and employment relations network.
- Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTen) is dedicated to supporting the professional goals of trainers in the life sciences.
O-Z
- National Human Resources Association (NHRA) is focused on advancing the individual career development, planning, and leadership of human resource professionals.
- Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) is dedicated to the continuous enhancement of human resources through networking, learning, and advocacy.
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 285,000 members in more than 165 countries.
- WorldatWork is the leading nonprofit professional association in HR, compensation, and total rewards.
