A Brief Guide to Writing an HR Resume That Secures Interviews

You are only a great resume away from your next HR dream job!

The first step in any job application process is writing and submitting a resume to your chosen vacancy.

Since the HR job industry is booming yet the job seeking market is more competitive than it has ever been before, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting everything right the first time.

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Not only is your resume the first impression of you that a recruiter is going to have, but it will also decide whether you secure an interview at your next dream HR job.

Not sure where to start when it comes to writing your HR resume? 🤔
Or maybe you are looking for some extra tips to make your resume stand out? 🎖️ 

Here’s a brief guide detailing everything you need to know. 🤓

How to get your HR resume noticed?

Right at the very top of your resume is going to be the headline and, as the first thing your future employer will see, you want this to be as powerful as possible.

Nowadays, not many people still use personal summaries or career profiles since they are worthless when compared to a powerful headline.

“By having something like “Your Name: Human Resources Manager”, followed by 2-4 bullets points which summarise your expertise instantly, you can be sure a recruiter will be drawn into the rest of your resume in no time at all,” explains Jennifer Hardy, a resume editor for Australian Help.

What should you highlight in your HR resume?

Many people like to talk about their educational history because they think this is what recruiters want to see. However, most companies will be more interested in the past work experience and skillsthat you have.

When talking about your work history and your experience in the HR industry, be sure to edit your talking points to make them relevant to the role that you’re applying for.

Make sure that you highlight the essential skills every human resource manager shoudl have!

Of course, this means re-writing your resume for every job that you apply for, but it will dramatically increase your chances. 

How to make your HR resume stand out?

“There are going to be many aspects and considerations that nearly all HR employees are going to have and mention within their resume, so you’re going to want to think about what makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates,” shares Derren Thompson, an HR manager for Paper Fellows.

In most cases, this will be the achievements and accomplishments you’ve collected your time in HR.
Perhaps you’ve handled many serious issues in the past. Maybe you’ve changed and streamlined the processes of a business or the way things work. You might have even been part of a revolutionary project for a past business.
Whatever it is you’ve achieved in your career so far, make this clear in your resume.

Useful tools for writing the perfect HR resume

One of the most important factors of any resume is making sure that your content is perfect.

If your resume has any mistakes, typos or problems with it, this shows a lack of attention to detail and could cost you the interview.

Here is a list of tools that can help:

• Studydemic & Academadvisor: Two professional writing tools for checking the grammar of your resume.
• Resume Service: A service that can edit and proofread your resume to perfection.
• Easy Word Count & Let’s Go and Learn: Two online tools to track the word count of your resume, or for professional writing tips.
• Writing Populist: An online blog you can use for tips and advice on improving your writing skills.

Expert tip for writing a great HR resume 

Tip #1: Keywords
As an employee in HR industry, you’ll already know the importance that keywords have, both for human and electronic readers, such as Application Tracking Systems, which is why it’s so important that you include them in your resume.

As you know, the best place to look for the keywords that are expected to appear is in the job description, so start there and make a list of the ones you think you should be including. Remember, when it comes to actually writing your resume, make sure these keywords fit naturally into your content but remain ‘skimmable’ to the reader.

Tip #2: Photo
Next, your photo. If you're unsure about including a photo with your resume, find out when it is appropriate to add a photo to your resume.

Tip #3: Format
Another thing, if you're sending your resume to a recruting agency, make sure you learn how to format your CV for recruiting agencies.

That is it. 🙂
Happy interviewing - fingers crossed! 🤞 

About the guest author

Mary Walton is a tutor at BoomEssays, where she helps students beat exam stress. Also, she blogs at Simple Grad, and proofreads writing tasks at UK Writings, British custom writing service.