About This Resume

A resume alone isn't likely to land an HR manager job if you have never handled hiring or employee complaints on your own, but if you're one of several experienced generalists applying, a well-built one can be what prompts a company leader to call you and ask for more. That's because an HR manager is hired for more than just a list of programs. Leaders want judgment they can trust.

Executives who hire an HR manager tend to read for business results first: time to fill jobs, turnover, cost savings and how well you handled risk. Scope matters as well, meaning the headcount you supported, the number of sites and whether you led an HR team. Judgment is harder to show, so pick one example. Rolling out new pay bands without a single formal complaint, for instance, says a lot about how you work with people.

What to Include

  • Scope for each job: headcount supported, number of sites and the size of the HR team you led
  • Hiring results such as time to fill, offer acceptance and roles filled each year
  • Retention work, with turnover before and after
  • Pay and benefits projects, such as salary bands, open enrollment or a switch to a new benefits provider
  • Employee relations and compliance work: investigations, policy updates, handbook rewrites and audits
  • HR systems you ran or rolled out, named the way the posting names them
  • Certifications such as SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR or SPHR

Human Resources Manager Resume Sample

Sample resume. The person, employers and contact details are fictional.

Cordell Whitfield

Human Resources Manager
Birmingham, AL | cordell.whitfield@example.com | (555) 014-6607

Summary

HR manager with ten years in manufacturing and trucking, supporting up to 650 employees across three sites. Rebuilds hiring pipelines, writes policies supervisors can actually follow and handles workplace investigations with care and speed. SHRM-SCP.

Experience

Human Resources Manager, Cahaba Forge Manufacturing, Birmingham, AL 2021 to present

  • Lead HR for 650 employees at three plants with a team of four.
  • Cut first-year turnover in production jobs from 48% to 29% by adding a structured first week and 30-day check-ins.
  • Brought average time to fill hourly jobs down from 34 days to 19 with a referral program and on-site hiring days.
  • Rewrote the employee handbook and trained 42 supervisors on attendance and leave rules.

HR Generalist, Magnolia Freightways, Bessemer, AL 2016 to 2021

  • Supported 280 drivers and warehouse staff on hiring, leave, benefits and discipline.
  • Moved open enrollment online and ended paper benefit forms for good.
  • Kept federal drug and alcohol testing records for drivers and passed two Department of Transportation audits with no findings.
  • Investigated about 35 employee complaints a year and closed each with written findings within 30 days.

Education

B.S., Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Vulcan Ridge University, 2015

Skills

Employee relations and investigations, Recruiting and onboarding, Pay bands and job descriptions, Benefits administration and open enrollment, FMLA and ADA leave coordination, HR systems (UKG, BambooHR), Supervisor training, Policy and handbook writing

Certifications

  • SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), 2022
  • Professional in Human Resources (PHR), 2018

Tips for Your Human Resources Manager Resume

  • Lead with scope. Headcount, number of sites and team size in the first bullet tell a reader what size of job you have handled.
  • Pair each program with a result. "Launched a mentoring program" describes a plan, and "Launched a mentoring program that cut first-year turnover in the warehouse" shows what it did.
  • Keep employee details off the page. Describe investigations by count and outcome, and never by a name, department or story that someone could recognize.
  • Name the HR systems you have run. Companies change payroll and HR software slowly, so a manager who already knows theirs can help from the first day.
  • Put your certifications after your name in the summary as well as in their own section.
  • If you are moving from generalist to manager, show the manager-level work you already do, such as policies you wrote, supervisors you trained and cases you led.
  • Use the language of the business. Talking about cost, turnover and output helps a plant manager or chief executive see HR as part of running the company.

Next steps: the resume writing guide covers every section in detail, and the template library has layouts for other fields and career stages.