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How to Write the Perfect HR Resume

October 31, 2017 by Careerminds

No matter how many resumes you’ve looked at in your HR career, it’s still a challenge to write your own. So, to help, we’ve put together a handy guide to get you started on crafting your ideal HR resume.

Let’s jump right in.

Check Out Some Samples

First, in order to write a great HR resume – no matter if its an entry level human resources resume or a human resources manager resume – you need to see what a good one looks like before you can craft your own. This is where a bit of research comes in.

A quick search online will show you countless examples of what a good HR resume should look like. Take your time and look through all of them, writing down notes during your search will also be beneficial.

Ask yourself: what do they all do differently than you? What ideas can you take away? How is it formatted, styled, and written? Once you answer these questions, you can dive into writing your own HR resume knowing that you are on the right track.

Every HR Resume Should Have a ‘Hr Resume Objective’

Before you start writing, though, you need to think about what you’re aiming for in your career. This may seem like an obvious step that every job seeker should already have covered, though you’d be surprised how often job hunters haven’t fully nailed down what they want to pursue.

What is it that you really want to do? What can you see yourself spending 40 hours or so on per week? If you want a high level job, what is a good entry point?

Once you have your objective, you can include it in your resume. For example, your career objective could be something like:

‘I aim to use my experience and excellent communication skills to achieve your HR directives. I have a BA in Human Resources Management and Human Resources certification.’

This shows the recruiter exactly what you’re looking to achieve with them. As a HR employee, you’re the face of the company, and you need to make a good impression. The career objective portion of your resume does that for you in a succinct, concise way.

Hr Resume: Highlight Your HR Skills and Competencies

No matter where you’ve worked, you’ll have achieved things that you’re proud of. Did you implement new HR software that reduced a gigantic amount of paperwork in your old company? Have you led case studies and found new ways to improve your department? These things are meaningful to you and the hiring manager who will be reviewing your application.

When you’re writing your resume, focus less on where you worked and more on what you achieved when you were there. It’s a good idea to sit down and list all the achievements you’ve made over the years. Once you have that written out, you can then narrow them down to the ones that are relevant to the job you’re applying to. Of course, you do need to list where you worked, but keep it to a short list with just the names of companies and the dates you worked for them.

Use Online Tools

Tools are becoming essential to the resume writing process but searching for the right ones to use can be daunting. Here are a few of our favorites:

  • Resume Writing Services: If you need help writing your resume, the writers at this service would be happy to help you.
  • Via Writing: This site is full of ideas to help you improve your grammar skills.
  • Essayroo: This writing agency can handle the writing for you if you need them.
  • State Of Writing: This site is packed full of useful writing guides you can consult when you need to.
  • Boom Essays: This writing guide is perfect for any writer. The Huffington Post has recommended them if you’re writing a resume.
  • Easy Word Count: This tool will give you an accurate word count of your resume, as well as check your spelling for you.
  • Custom Essay: You can consult writers here if you’re stuck creating your resume.
  • Cite It In: Use this tool to get the correct citation for any source you use.

Use HR Keywords

When you’ve looked at resumes for work, you probably scanned them to see if they contained certain keywords that were relevant to the role you were trying to fill.

“It’s the same when you write your own resume. Look through the job listing for potential keywords,” says resume editor Joanna Richards at Big Assignments.

“Look for the ones that look like they’re important to the recruiter, and use them in your resume. It shows you’ve paid attention to what the recruiter wants, and that you’re the right person for them.”

As the job search continues to become more and more virtual, keywords – and the importance to use them – is only going to increase. Nowadays, hiring managers use specialized pieces of software to automatically filt out resumes that do not contain the proper keywords.

This means that you should use online tools to help you figure out what keywords to use and when to use them depending on where you are applying.

Keep It Clean and Short

As you probably know, recruiters don’t have time to wade through pages of text looking for the information they need.

If they can’t find it right away, they’re going to discard the resume. In fact, some studies say each resume is only given five seconds to wow them. That means that your resume needs to be short and to the point. Only include relevant information and clearly label it with sections so the reader can find exactly what they need.

While you can read a plethora of different articles on writing a resume, the most important step is that you write one. After you have a draft, use all of the tools above to make sure it is doing what you want it to. Have your friends and colleagues take a look over it. Get as many eyes on it as you can so you can better edit and refine it before sending it out.

These tips will help you write the HR resume that shows you in the best light and displays why you’re right for the role. Follow them to create a resume that will catch recruiters’ attention and grab you the job you’ve always wanted.

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