Are you an HR Generalist looking to craft a strong, compelling resume that helps you land the job of your dreams? You’ve got the right mix of education, knowledge, skills, and experience to excel in this role, but how do you convey that to a recruiter or employer who has to sift through hundreds of similar resumes and decide who to interview and who to pass on?
Crafting your HR Generalist resume
1. Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for
Take time to research the company and specific role you’re applying for, and make small amendments to your resume accordingly. The job description is a helpful resource that will usually include details such as the key responsibilities, essential skills, and desirables of the role.
Tailoring your resume shows employers that you’re not just applying to any job—you’re the right fit for theirs.
Tailoring your resume shows employers that you’re not just applying to any job—you’re the right fit for theirs.
2. Focus on results, not just responsibilities (and use data to back them up)
Don’t just share the responsibilities you’ve had in previous roles – speak to the impact you have had and use data to quantify your achievements.
3. Use action verbs
An action verb is a doing word – e.g., organized, delegated, directed, planned – that demonstrates you not only did your job but accomplished something in the process. For instance, you might say that you led guided tours of the workplace for new employees or that you conducted interviews with candidates for open positions.
4. Don’t forget to showcase your soft skills
Soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, communication, and time management are crucial to succeeding in any role at work and progressing in your career. Remember to include these in the skills section of your HR Generalist resume, and if you have room, share examples of times you’ve demonstrated these skills and the results you achieved.
5. Be honest about your skills and experience
While it’s important to showcase your strengths, avoid the temptation to embellish your skills or experience. Employers value authenticity, and any exaggerated claims can lead to challenges during interviews or on the job.
Stick to highlighting the skills you genuinely possess and can back up with examples. For instance, if you’ve only had limited experience with a specific HR software, be honest about your proficiency level rather than overstating it. Trust that your real strengths will speak for themselves.
6. Keep the layout clean and easy to read
When formatting your resume, it’s essential to strike a balance between making it visually appealing and ensuring it’s optimized for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Many companies use these systems to scan resumes to extract relevant information and decide if the document should move forward to a recruiter.
Here are some tips to keep both ATS and design in mind:
- Keep the design simple: While it’s important to personalize your resume to reflect your unique experiences and qualifications, simplicity in design is key. ATS software may struggle with complex designs, unusual fonts, and excessive formatting. Stick to a clean, neutral font (e.g., Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman).
- Use standard headings: Use straightforward section titles like “Summary,” “Professional Experience,” “Skills,” “Education,” and “Certifications.” Fancy or creative titles (like “What I Bring to the Table”) can confuse ATS and result in important sections being overlooked.
- Avoid graphics and images: ATS often cannot parse text embedded in graphics and images. While these elements may make a resume visually impressive to a human reader, they could lead to critical information being missed during the automated scan. Keep your resume layout plain and text-based.
- Utilize bullet points for clarity: Use bullet points to organize your achievements and responsibilities clearly. This helps both ATS and human readers quickly scan and absorb your experience.
- Choose the right file format: Submit your resume in a format that ATS can easily process, typically .docx or PDF (if the job posting specifies that PDFs are acceptable).
HR Generalist skills to include on your resume
When listing your HR Generalist skills, it’s important to tailor them to the specific job you’re applying for. While the following are commonly valued skills, always review the job posting and prioritize the skills that align with the role. This ensures your resume shows why you’re the right fit.
Common HR Generalist skills to consider including in your resume:
- Communication skills
- Administrative expertise
- HR Management knowledge and expertise
- HR strategy creation & execution
- Managing priorities
- Proactivity
- Coaching
- Conflict management and resolution
- Recruitment and onboarding
- Employee experience expertise
- Command of technology
- Analytical skills and data-driven HR
- HR reporting skills
- Commercial awareness
- Cultural awareness and sensitivity
- Wellbeing evangelism
- Active listening
- Teamwork
- Stakeholder management
- Project management
- Time management
- People analytics
- Ethics and data privacy
HR Generalist resume examples
Senior HR Generalist resume
Professional summary
Accomplished HR Generalist with 8+ years experience in an HR role, and an MSc in Human Resource Management. Skilled in recruitment, onboarding, conflict management, and learning and development. Seeking the right senior HR position for the next step in my career, to further develop my skills, knowledge and experience.
Experience
Senior HR Assistant (March 2019 – Current) | Agile Recruitment – Phoenix, AZ
Key results:
- Utilized the HRIS to optimize applicant tracking processes
- Trained 20+ managers on interviewing best practices that led to better hiring decisions and improved candidate satisfaction
- Welcomed new employees to the company, gave guided tours, served as their main point of contact and increased onboarding satisfaction by 27%
- Transitioned from paper to digital resources to streamline onboarding process
- Updated the company policy booklet with current industry guidelines
- Conducted exit interviews and analyzed turnover data and reported findings leading to a 15% increase in retention
- Provided guidance and support to managers and employees on HR-related matters
- Developed training materials and improved employee performance by 18%
- Actioned payroll for 200+ employees
- Revised job descriptions across all levels and 20+ categories
HR Assistant (April 2016 – February 2019) | TJ Consulting – Phoenix, AZ
Key results:
- Co-developed morale-boosting employee programs that increased satisfaction by 14% and productivity by 17%
- Brought outsourced recruiting functions in-house and saved the company $2,000+ each month
- Re-developed the onboarding program to include key HR information and company resources
- Ensured data protection and security with confidential employee information
Skills
- HRIS Technologies
- HR metrics & analytics
- MS Office
- Mediation & advocacy
- Problem-solving
- Project management
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Recruitment & selection
- Orientation & onboarding
- Training & development
- Performance management
- Organizational development
- Payroll & benefits administration
Education
MSc Human Resource Management
The Open University
2012 – 2015
👉🏻HR Generalist resume templates
After the HR generalist training course
You will not only acquire a complete set of HR Generalist knowledge, skills and tools, but will also build your company's recruiting and onboarding processes, build your employer brand, and learn how to organise employee training.
But that's not all
You will also describe the corporate culture, create an offboarding process, develop your EVP and form a Total Rewards package
And most importantly
I will teach you how to align your work with the business, understand the business and employees, lead projects, sell your ideas to management and prove the effectiveness of your solutions
