How to Write an HR Specialist Resume
Looking for how to create a perfect resume to get your dream job? Keep on reading then.
Well, if you want your dream HR specialist job, your specialist resume must be top-notch. It must show your competency in working with people and resources.
There are two scenarios: either you have a great deal of experience in the HR field or do not have enough experience to state it on your resume. Both ways, you need to figure out what to put on your resume to significantly impact the hiring managers.
It is a daunting task, and you need the best approaches to create an impressive HR specialist resume. A human resources specialist resume guide is the key to figuring it all out.
This article presents the best HR specialist resume practices and examples to assist you in landing a human resources specialist job. Here are the subjects we’ll be discussing in detail in this article:
How to write an HR Specialist Resume?
Your HR specialist resume must contain everything in a clear, concise, and impressive state much like you create job descriptions to make an impression on hiring managers and recruiters. It should have no grammar or punctuation errors as they can cost you a job offer.
You must understand what hiring managers are expecting from you. They prefer to know if you fit their job requirements or not without wasting their time reading your entire work history or going through every accomplishment of your professional life.
Many human resources specialists highlight the following skills in their human resources specialist resumes:
- Excellent time-management and organizational skills
- Ability to work well with employees, managers, and recruiters
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Proven ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Instead of mentioning such common HR skills, it is ideal to offer something fresh in your resume to entice recruiters. Focus on your unique experiences and relevant skills if you want to catch the eye of the hiring managers.
So what features can make your resume unique? Here are some distinctive aspects that you can highlight in your human resources specialist resume:
- Understanding of human resources
- Creating and explaining HR policies
- Understanding of business objectives
- Handling compensation and benefits programs
- Ability to manage employee relations
- Mentoring and coaching employees
- Administering performance evaluations
- Maintaining the confidentiality of employee records
- Expertise in hiring the best talent and handling the onboarding process
- Coordinating and supervising employee development programs
While writing your resume, focus on how you can add value to the company. Instead of including everything you have ever done, state your most significant competencies and strengths.
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HR Specialist Resume Formats
The decision of what resume format to use has a significant influence on recruiters. The format of your resume is as important as the quality of its content.
Make your HR specialist resume simple to scan. Use any of the three popular resume formats to structure your resume:
Reverse Chronological Resume
This type showcases your most recent experiences in reverse chronological order. It is a suitable format if you have extensive experience to mention on your resume.
Functional Resume
It highlights your skills and accomplishments and works great if you keep on changing careers or lack experience.
Combination Resume
By combining elements of both chronological and functional resumes, this type is ideal for job seekers with a few years of human resources experience.
ATS Compliance
Many recruiters use ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) to filter job applicants. This system scans resumes for specific keywords and grades them, saving recruiters from the hassle of reviewing resumes themselves.
If your resume does not include the relevant keywords, the Applicant Tracking Systems will never forward your application to the hiring manager.
So, always use relevant keywords from the job description in your resume, such as recruiting process, company policies, employee training, and goal-oriented to get past the ATS and increase your chances of getting an interview call.
What Sections to Include in your HR Specialist Resume?
Adding sections to your resume can make it more informative and easier to read. Here are sections you need to add to your resume for human resources specialist role:
Header
Include your full name, professional title, email address, phone number, and location in the header of your resume. You can also include links to your social media accounts in this section.
Work History
Mention your work experiences in reverse chronological order. Begin with your most recent job and list down your previous positions.
For each position, add the organization’s name, job title, and date of employment. Also, write a brief description of your roles and responsibilities. Use bullet points to facilitate the hiring manager to go through your human resources specialist resume.
Instead of adding your entire work history, focus on the experiences that are relevant to the HR specialist job post. For example, when applying for a human resources manager position, mention talent management, performance management, and payroll administration in your HR specialist CV instead of highlighting your product management or customer service.
List down the recent relevant work experience. Include your job title, your achievements in your recent job, and work duration. All this information can influence your chances of landing your dream job.
HR Specialist Resume Practices
Here are human resources specialist resume examples to tell you how to write about your experience at various HR levels.
Listing Human Resources Specialist Skills
Regardless of your experience level, your skills section is the most crucial part of your human resources specialist resume. It’s where you can show off your HR skills and highlight the qualities that make you a good fit for the job.
When you create your human resources specialist resume, focus on your technical skills as well as soft skills. This skills section shows recruiters your competencies and skills to manage various HR duties.
While listing skills, add those that match the job description. Here is a list of qualities that you can include in your skills section:
- Talent acquisition
- Talent management
- Labor relations
- New hire orientation
- Employee engagement
- Payroll administration
- Business administration
- Employee retention
- Performance management
- Soft skills
Listing HR Specialist Education
Educational background is a vital section of your human resources specialist resume. It depicts your knowledge and expertise in the HR field. A bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, Marketing, or related fields can offer you an edge over your competitors.
While adding your educational background, add complete information about your degree (university name, graduation year, and GPA). You can also add coursework relevant to the job you are applying for.
Skip mentioning degrees that are irrelevant to the job description. Doing so will take up unnecessary space on your resume and waste the recruiters’ time.
Listing HR Specialist Certifications
Certification is a great way to highlight your HR-specific skills and credentials. It allows you to stand out from the competition and grab the attention of the recruiters.
Most employers prefer to hire candidates who have certifications. Certificates offer assurance that the candidate has the relevant skills and knowledge to perform their job duties. There are a plethora of certifications available, and you can choose the one that is most relevant to your career.
If you don’t have a certification, you can enroll in a certification program and get the necessary credentials. Some of the most popular HR certifications that you can include on your human resources specialist resume are:
- Certified HR manager
- Certified HR Business Partner
- Certified HR Generalist
- Strategic Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP)
- Strategic Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)
- PHR Professional in Human Resources
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
- Certificate in Human Resource Management by The York University
- International Association for Human Resources Information Management
- Global Professional in Human Resources
Listing Human Resources Specialist Achievements
Your achievements section is the best place to show off your successes in your role as a human resources specialist. This section allows you to demonstrate your impact on your previous roles.
Including achievements on your HR specialist resume will help you stand out as an exceptional candidate and draw the attention of hiring managers. Your achievement shows the recruiters your capability to deliver results.
It also tells them what you can do as an experienced HR specialist and what benefits you can bring to a company. Employers want to hire human resources specialists who can take their business forward and achieve their goals.
While adding achievements to your human resources specialist resume, focus on data and statistics to back up your claims. It will make your accomplishments more believable and impressive.
Here are some examples of achievements that you can include on your HR specialist resume:
- Launched a new employee onboarding process that reduced turnover by 12% and helped achieve
- Saved the company $1 million by restructuring its benefits program
- Reduced employee turnover by 20% by implementing new engagement initiatives
- Spearheaded a company-wide culture change initiative that improved employee satisfaction by 15%
Listing Languages
Proficiency in speaking and writing a foreign language is an important asset for any HR specialist.
Communication in multiple languages enables human resources specialists to connect with candidates from various cultures and helps with employee orientation and employee retention.
In most cases, jobs demand proficiency in the English language. Knowing more than one language allows you to improve employee relations and drive employee engagement.
You can also communicate employment law to the employees adept in different languages and update them about the latest changes.
If you are proficient in multiple languages, include this information on your human resources specialist resume. Some important business languages are Chinese, Spanish, and German.
HR Specialist Resume Example
Creating a human resources specialist resume from scratch is quite difficult. It demands focus on many things, such as format, layout, content, and keywords.
Here is a human resources specialist resume example below to make your job easier. This resume example will give you an idea of how to write your resume.
While writing your resume, avoid adding long paragraphs. Instead, use bullet points and short sentences to make your resume easy to read.
Don’t waste resume space by adding objectives and unnecessary information. Highlight information that can help an organization achieve its goals.
Include relevant information on your resume and leave out the rest. Recruiters spend a few seconds reviewing each resume, so make sure your information is easy to scan and understand.
Human Resources Specialist Job Application Experience
It is quite common for human resources specialists to not hear back from hiring managers after applying for numerous jobs. Irrespective of multiple degrees and certifications like Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), it is almost difficult to land a job if you fail to focus on the requirements of each job.
Since a general HR specialist resume does not work for all job postings, you should customize it as per each job you apply for. It indicates specifying your skills, achievements, and work experience relevant to the human resources management position.
So, tailor your resume as per each job description to land your dream HR specialist role.
How many pages should your HR specialist resume be?
The length of your resume has a great impact on the hiring managers. It is essential to keep your human resources specialist resume concise so that employers can scan through it with ease. Your resume should not exceed 2 pages unless you have extensive experience and qualifications.
Where can you apply with your human resources specialist resume?
Finding a job opening and applying is another crucial step once you write your resume for an HR specialist role. You can use various online and offline resources to search for job postings. Following are some popular job-searching websites:
- Indeed
- Glassdoor
- Monster
- ZipRecruiter
- Upwork
HR Specialist Resume Tips
Here are a few resume tips to help you create an effective resume for an HR specialist role:
1. Create a unique cover letter for each post
Each job is unique in its requirements. So, avoid sending a generic cover letter to each employer. Instead, create a unique cover letter for each job you apply for.
It will help you focus on the specific requirements of each job and show the hiring managers that you are a good fit for the human resources specialist role.
2. Proofread your resume before submitting
Make sure you proofread your resume before submitting it to the employer as recruiters can spot errors from a mile away. Get a certified professional résumé writer to go through it so that they can provide feedback on how you can improve your HR specialist resume further.
3. Keep updating your resume
Keep updating your resume throughout your career. As you gain more experience as a human resources specialist, add more details to your resume.
It will help you stay competitive in the job market and make it easier for hiring managers to find the information they want.
4. Be honest about the details in your resume
Remain truthful about all the details in your HR specialist resume. Hiring managers can spot if you exaggerate or lie about your experience or qualifications.
5. Highlight your key strengths
Your resume should highlight your key strengths relevant to the human resources specialist position. It will help show the hiring manager that you have HR-specific skills and experience.
HR Specialist Resume Do’s and Don’ts
There are a few things you should avoid doing when writing human resources specialist resumes:
Adding Unnecessary Personal Information
Personal information is a vital part of your HR specialist resume, however, there is no need to include unnecessary personal information. Avoid adding hobbies, interests, religion, and anything irrelevant to the HR specialist position.
Adding Your Picture
Adding your picture to your resume is not necessary. Unless the job posting asks for your picture, you should avoid including it in your HR specialist resume.
Including Irrelevant Work Experience
Even if you have extensive human resources management experience and find it difficult to fit it into a single page, avoid adding any irrelevant work experience.
Include your recent and most relevant experience in your HR specialist resume.
Making Your Resume Too Long
The HR specialist resume should have one page covering your HR-specific skills and work experience. Add necessary information to keep your resume concise and easy to read.
Key Takeaways
To sum up, this article discusses what to include in your HR specialist CV, along with some tips and HR best practices to keep in mind. It also covers some of the best HR specialist resume examples. Here are the key takeaways from this post:
- Keep everything relevant to the job description
- Focus on your recent work experience and human resources specialist skills
- Avoid including unnecessary information
- Make sure your resume is free of errors by proofreading it with attention
- Customize your resume for each job application
Creating a perfect resume can get time-consuming and frustrating, however, it is necessary if you want to land your dream job.
With these guidelines, you can now write your resume for an HR specialist role. So, what are you waiting for? Start writing today and watch your career take off.
FAQs
Here are the most frequently asked questions and answers about human resources specialist resumes:
What is the job description of an HR specialist?
The job description of an HR specialist includes supporting recruitment efforts, creating and enforcing HR policies, ensuring compliance with labor laws, managing employee relations, maintaining employee records, and reporting to upper management.
How do I write a resume for HR?
You can write a resume for HR by including your contact information, writing a professional resume summary, providing your educational background, describing your work experience, and including soft and hard skills.
Who is the HR specialist?
A human resources specialist is a trained HR professional with thorough knowledge of all aspects of human resources. They possess skills and know-how for handling personnel issues within an organization, recruiting new talent, and facilitating training and onboarding into the company.
What skills do you need to become a human resources specialist?
Key skills to become a human resources specialist include excellent oral and written communication, interpersonal intelligence, budgeting and accounting, problem-solving abilities, and leadership. An understanding of business, human psychology, and employee relations is also essential.
If you are looking to get an HR role, feel free to take our HR Certification Courses, where you will learn techniques to develop your skillset in human resources, build your HR network, form a winning resume, and come up with a successful job search plan that lands you on exciting HR specialists’ jobs.
