Human Resources (HR) Generalist Resume Examples to Inspire You
This article presents a collection of inspiring HR generalist resume examples that highlight the skills, experiences, and achievements that make candidates appealing to employers.
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your career in human resources, these examples will provide valuable insights into effective formatting, keyword usage, and how to showcase your expertise in areas like employee engagement, performance management, and employee relations.
Let’s dive into these resumes and discover how to create one that reflects your potential.
How to Make a Winning HR Generalist Resume
The most effective resumes are the ones that include relevant information for the job you are applying for.
Recruiters dedicate, on average, 7 seconds to each resume, which means you don’t want them to spend this time reviewing things that won’t guarantee that you are an excellent candidate for the role under review.
The secret to winning an interview with your resume is focusing on quality over quantity regarding information.
After years of recruiting experience, I found that the best resumes follow a structure that looks like this:
- Contact Information
- Academic Background
- Profile Summary
- Skills and Capabilities
- Professional Experience
- Certifications
Whether you should include all these sections on your resume or not depends on how much experience you have in the field and whether you hold credible certifications. If you have plenty of professional experience, for example, you don’t have to include a skills section.
Let’s explore the specifics in an HR generalist resume sample:
Contact Information
There are no secrets when putting together this first part. Ensure you include your name, email address, phone number, and home address at the top.
Your name should be in evidence, with the other information items underneath it. Make sure to organize this section so that it doesn’t take up much space on your resume page.
Example:
Academic Background
I’ve seen many applicants leave this section out. When I ask why, they say that they were told that their degree was not very significant.
That’s not true. Even though professional experience has more value nowadays, your education still counts, especially for entry-level positions.
Most companies hiring an HR Generalist require candidates to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or a similar field.
Keep this section simple and direct. There is no need to mention coursework or honors.
If your college GPA is higher than 3.5, you can mention it. Finally, your school name, years of completion, degree, and field of study should be enough.
Examples:
Profile Summary
The profile summary aims to maximize the few seconds the recruiters will spend reading your resume.
In three or four sentences, you will tell them why you fit the position.
Recruiters might dedicate a few extra seconds to reviewing your resume if you get their approval on this section.
To make sure you hit the right points, you should include a mix of these three points:
- A summary of your human resources career. For example: “Human Resources generalist and SHRM certified professional with 2 years of experience in the technology industry.”
- Concrete results backed by numbers. For example: “Increased employee engagement rate at [previous company name] by 38% and employee productivity index by 16%.”
- Evidence that you know what it takes to succeed in the role. For example: “Seeking to increase training engagement and decrease cost-per-hire at [company name].”
Examples:
These sample resumes show different ways you can format your profile summary:
Skills and Capabilities
In this section, you can use keywords to tell your hiring manager your strengths as a human resources generalist.
You must show you have the right skills for the job to get your recruiters’ attention.
To find out these specific skills, I recommend opening the job post and highlighting keywords that describe the qualifications and capabilities the company is looking for.
Once you have these keywords, choose about six of the most relevant ones (ensure you have these skills) and include them in this section.
Suppose the job posting lists “Generate, organize, and make conclusions from the human capital database” as one of the main job responsibilities. In that case, including “Data-driven” as one of your skills is a good idea.
Most HR Generalist job descriptions require a combination of a few of the following skills:
- HRIS Expertise
- Data-driven
- Conflict Resolution
- Employee Relations
- Coaching
- Intercultural Sensitivity
- Administration Tasks Expert
- MS Office Programs
- PeopleSoft
- FMLA
- Benefits Administration
- Employee Incentive Programs Management
- Tax Compliance
- ATS and CRM knowledge
- Employee Performance Management
- Employment Law Expertise
- Talent Acquisition
- Project Management
Examples:
The resume format above shows the level of expertise in each skill, which helps the hiring managers understand how far each of your capabilities goes.
If you prefer not to specify the expertise level, you can use a format that looks like the resume sample below:
Professional Experience
This should be the most significant section of your HR generalist resume.
Recruiters will confirm whether you have the skills you showcased by reviewing your previous work experiences in the HR department.
The secret to making this section powerful is including as many solid results as possible.
Broad descriptions aren’t convincing. Be as specific as you can be and give them solid results.
Each bullet point should increase the hiring manager’s confidence that you can thrive. To do that, you must tailor the descriptions to the job you are applying for.
These are some examples of the job responsibilities that human resources recruiters will look for underneath your previous job titles:
- Performed new employee orientation and increased onboarding satisfaction by X %
- Generated data and HR policies to base decisions that led to a decrease in cost-per-hire of X %
- Managed staffing processes for X departments, from resume and cover letter screening to new hire orientation
- Administered workers’ compensation and benefits plans based on company policies, market research, and surveys
- Led Diversity & Inclusion committee initiatives, which contributed to a significant improvement in employee retention and engagement
- Streamlined HR operations by appropriate training administration that assisted employees in furthering their personal and organizational development
- Investigated and managed employee conflicts in the work environment and brought up solutions before they escalated and affected labor relations
- Conducted hiring interviews, performance reviews, and exit interviews
- Utilized the HRIS to provide, track, and maintain data and optimize applicant tracking processes
Examples:
Remember that the Human Resources Generalist role tends to be an entry-level position in most companies. This means most candidates don’t have many years of experience in the field.
If that is your case, I recommend thinking of the tasks you had in your previous non-HR jobs and listing the ones that helped you develop as a human resources professional.
Project management tasks, for example, are performed in most administrative jobs and will help you succeed as a human resources generalist—the same goes for data analysis responsibilities.
Certifications
You will showcase your human resources credentials in this last section of your resume. Not many candidates for entry-level HR jobs hold credible certifications, so if you do, that’s an excellent way to differentiate yourself. If you don’t, you might want to start thinking about getting certified.
The most common human resources certification is offered by the Society for Human Resource Management. The institution is recognized globally, and they have different levels of certifications depending on the career stage that you are at.
Many companies require their HR Generalist candidates to hold certifications.
In this section, you can also include awards or special achievements. Just make sure to adjust the section’s title accordingly.
If you want to learn more about HR certifications to upgrade your resume, check out our HR Certification Courses.
Examples:
If you don’t hold any certification, you can substitute this section for another section that will show off some other strengths. This could be languages you speak, attended HR conferences, associations you are part of, or even volunteer work you did.
Give Your Resume a Boost and Land an HR Generalist Job
As an HR generalist, you know the power of a well-written professional resume when recruiters decide who will be invited for interviews.
Customizing your resume for the specific HR functions involved is the best way to show hiring managers that you are the right person for the job.
Follow this resume writing guide and get inspired by these HR generalist resume samples to optimize your job search and land a remarkable job.
FAQs
Here are the most frequently asked questions about HR generalist resumes:
What are the key elements to include in an HR generalist resume?
When crafting an HR generalist resume, it’s essential to highlight specific skills and experiences relevant to the role. Include keywords such as “employee engagement initiatives,” “employee satisfaction,” and “employee relations” to demonstrate your expertise in fostering a positive workplace culture. Additionally, showcase your skills in performance management, as this is crucial for driving team effectiveness and individual growth within an organization.
How can I showcase my experience with employee engagement initiatives in my HR generalist resume?
To effectively showcase your experience with employee engagement initiatives, detail specific projects or programs you’ve led or contributed to. Use metrics or outcomes to illustrate your impact, such as improvements in employee satisfaction scores or increased participation in engagement activities. Incorporating these examples into your HR generalist resume will help potential employers see your proactive approach to enhancing workplace morale.
What HR generalist resume skills should I emphasize for a successful application?
In your HR generalist resume, focus on skills that align with the job description and the role’s expectations. Emphasize your abilities in employee relations, performance management, and conflict resolution, as these are critical for maintaining a healthy work environment. Additionally, highlighting your knowledge of HR policies and practices and your analytical thinking capacity can further strengthen your application.
How can I improve my HR generalist resume to attract more attention from employers?
To improve your HR generalist resume, tailor it to each job application by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases from the job posting. Include quantifiable achievements related to employee engagement initiatives and performance management, as these details will set you apart. Keep the format clean and professional, ensuring that your skills and experiences related to employee satisfaction and employee relations are easily identifiable to hiring managers.
If you are new to Human Resources and are looking to break into an HR Generalist role, we recommend taking our HR Generalist Certification Course, where you will learn how to build your skillset in human resources, build your human resources network, craft a great HR resume, and create a successful job search strategy.
