When you’ve spent the bulk of your career working in human resources, you’ve seen your fair share of lackluster resumes. Some are so generic you’re left wondering if the applicant even read the job description.
Others are so chock full of buzzwords and empty platitudes that your eyes immediately glaze over.
On the flip side, you know firsthand what makes for a compelling resume. But applying those best practices when writing your own HR executive resume? Well, that’s enough of a challenge to make you want to lay your head down on your desk. After all, knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things.
The good news is that you’re starting with a solid foundation of knowledge that can help you write a resume that does all of your skills, experiences, and qualifications justice.
This guide will walk you through the steps you need to take to peel your forehead off your desk and craft a resume that puts you at the top of the hiring manager’s pile. You know firsthand what it takes to get there—now it’s time to make it happen for yourself.
(Related: Top-Rated Executive Resume Writers).
What Is An HR Executive?
Considering you’ve spent a large portion of your career in HR, you likely already have a solid understanding of what an HR executive does. But, a quick refresher never hurts.
A human resources (HR) executive is a high-ranking professional who oversees and manages all of the HR functions within an organization.
The “HR executive” title itself is a blanket term and there are several other potential titles that might fall under this umbrella, including:
- Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
- Chief People Officer (CPO)
- Vice President of HR
In an HR executive role, you have your finger on the pulse of all of the different HR tasks happening within the company.
While you’re likely not completing them directly, you direct and supervise your team members—a combination of recruiters, HR coordinators, and other specialist roles—who execute HR areas like:
- Recruitment and hiring
- Employer branding
- Employee onboarding
- Career planning, training, and development
- Employee experience and company culture
- Compensation and benefits
- Compliance, health, and safety
- HR administration and information systems
- Policies and procedures
That’s not an exhaustive list, but it shows the breadth of responsibilities of an HR director. Ultimately, they’re the ones steering the ship of the entire HR function within the organization.
How to Write an HR Executive Resume: 10 Steps to Prove You Can Walk the Walk
Over the years, you’ve accumulated valuable experience, impressive results, and deep knowledge of employment practices—and those are what need to shine through on your resume.
Every HR professional in the stack will say they’re an “enthusiastic leader” or “skilled collaborator.” These steps are about going beyond buzzwords and empty claims to craft a resume that presents you as a candidate who can truly get the job done.
1. Carefully Review The Job Posting
You don’t have to think too hard about the standard skills that are beneficial for an HR executive role. To qualify for this position, you need to be competent with:
- Communication
- Decision-making
- Human resource systems
- Organization
- Problem-solving
But injecting your resume with that “blah” list of generic skills isn’t enough to help your resume stand out from the pack—especially when every HR executive is also going to lay claim to those abilities (regardless of whether they can back them up or not).
Your HR executive resume needs to go beyond showing that you’re qualified to showing why you’re uniquely qualified for that specific role.
And that means tailoring your resume for every single position you apply to.
How do you get started? With the job description. Review it carefully and jot down your answers to the following questions as you do so:
- How many years of experience is the employer asking for?
- What education level do they require?
- What are the key job duties?
- What technical or hard skills are required?
- What soft skills are highlighted?
- What size team does this role manage?
- What size budget does this role manage?
- What keywords or phrases stand out?
- What are the organization’s values?
- What is the industry and is it similar to one you have experience in?
- What are the required qualifications?
- What about qualifications that are preferred but not required?
Those questions guide you as you take a fine-tooth comb to the job description and pull out the most important pieces to be incorporated into your document.
It’s the difference between writing your resume with yourself in mind and writing your resume with the specific employer in mind.
For example, imagine you’re analyzing this job description for a Chief HR Officer at VNA Health.
You might jot down the following notes:
- 5+ years in a strategic HR leadership role
- Bachelor’s in HR, business administration, or related field
- Key duties and phrases: HR strategies, workforce planning, talent acquisition, employee development, employee relations, policies and procedures, workplace culture, diversity, employee engagement, recruitment processes, onboarding processes, compliance, performance evaluations, team management
- Key skills: All of the above plus HR principles, employment laws, interpersonal and communication, problem-solving, decision-making, HRIS, Microsoft Office Suite
- Values: Compassion, innovation, employee well-being, and positive change in healthcare
Now you’re armed with a long list of key terms and skills that you can use to guide you as you write your resume.
Do you need to jam every single thing you find into your document?
Not exactly.
While that might be tempting to help you make it through an applicant tracking system (ATS) an employer might use, your primary goal is to create a resume that’s a readable, human-friendly, accurate, and impactful representation of your skills and qualifications—not a keyword-stuffed laundry list of buzzwords.
In short, worry about impressing the hiring manager first and the robots second.
2. Match Up Your Skills And Qualifications.
The goal of your resume is to connect the dots between what the organization’s needs and what you bring to the table.
That’s what this step is all about: drawing the parallels between the demands of the job description and your own experiences and competencies.
Return to the list you created in the previous step and put each separate requirement or request into the left column of a simple, two-column table.
Once you have them all listed, use the middle column of the table to brainstorm bullet points about how you meet that requirement—whether it’s a specific degree type or examples of times you put that skill into action.
And then use the right column to translate your contributions into quantifiable business results.
Here’s what this might look like sticking with our same example:
| Chief HR Officer at VNA Health | ||
| What the Job Needs: | What I’ve Done: | Business Results: |
| “Develop and implement HR strategies aligned with organizational mission, goals, and objectives.” | Launched recurring employee surveys to solicit feedback and make strategic improvements Revamped a performance evaluation process to increase both manager and employee engagement | Improved employee retention by 14% Increased employee engagement by 23% Improved Glassdoor rating from an average of 3.4 to 4.5 stars |
| “Collaborate with senior leadership to drive workforce planning, talent acquisition, and employee development.” | Conducted quarterly presentations to the company’s board of directors to gain approval on hiring plans Spearheaded a management training process to support managers who pivoted to supervising remotely during the pandemic Created weekly HR office hours for company leaders to share relevant questions, concerns, and feedback | Improved management effectiveness scores by 18% Secured leadership buy-in on an aggressive hiring plan that demanded $5 million in company resources Improved retention of company leadership by 10% |
| “Oversee recruitment and onboarding processes to attract and retain top talent.” | Overhauled the recruitment process geared toward new grads, pivoting from a core schools strategy to one that emphasized diversity Executed a “Quickstart” new hire onboarding process | Improved diversity in applicant pool by 35% Reduced employee turnover in the first 90 days by 23% |
When you’re eager to roll up your sleeves and actually start your resume itself, it’s tempting to rush through this. But take your time to lay the foundation here.
The more detailed you can get in this step, the easier time you’ll have pulling your HR executive resume together.
3. Conduct Additional Company Research.
Understanding the ins and outs of the position you’re applying for is important, but so is digging into the organization itself.
Before you start your resume, dedicate some time to researching the company. Look at resources including:
- Company website
- Company LinkedIn page
- Employer review sites
- News headlines
- Press releases and announcements
This will give you the lay of the land of that company. As you peruse those resources, pay close attention to:
- Are there recent headlines or updates that clue you into the company’s future direction or priorities?
- How many team members does the organization currently employ?
- What has growth (particularly related to employee headcount) looked like?
- Is this a new position or does somebody else currently hold this title?
LinkedIn is particularly helpful for understanding the company’s existing staffing and growth.
If you have a Premium account (which is a worthy investment for HR pros) click the “Insights” tab on the company’s LinkedIn page and you’ll see metrics and graphs about the organization’s employee count, distribution, and job openings.
While you’re at it, click into the “People” tab on the company’s page and see if you spot any familiar names or first connections that are currently employed there.
You know firsthand the power of a personal referral or recommendation and leveraging your connections can go a long way in getting your resume in front of the right people.
All of these steps help you get a more solid grasp on the organization’s mission, vision, values, status, and future plans. That’s helpful context as you write your resume and can also offer plenty of fodder and conversation starters for your interview conversations.
Put simply, your resume is a marketing document designed to promote you. This step is all about digging deep into your target audience so you can market yourself accordingly.
4. Create Your Resume Header.
When you’re ready to start writing your resume, kick off with one of the most straightforward pieces: your resume header.
Whether you start from scratch or with an HR executive resume template, your header is one of the easiest pieces to fill out. It goes at the very top of our document and covers the basics, including your:
- Full name
- Relevant professional designations you’ve achieved (for example, PHR)
- Email address
- Phone number
- Location (your city and state instead of your full mailing address)
- Headline or target job title
It’s simple enough. But here are a few other best practices to keep in mind as you complete this section:
- Make your name stand out: What’s the most important piece of information on your resume? Your name. For that reason, put it directly at the top in a bigger and bolder font than any of your other content. You want it to be the most attention-grabbing thing on your document.
- Leverage your headline: Your resume headline uses only a few words to explain what you do. Tailor this to the job you’re applying for by swapping in keywords or even the exact title they use for the position. For example, you could write “Human Resources Leader” or “Experienced Human Resources Executive.”
- Include your LinkedIn profile: A whopping 95% of HR managers at top U.S. companies have a LinkedIn profile, proving it’s somewhere you need to be when you work in human resources. Take some time to knock the cobwebs off your profile and then include your LinkedIn URL in your resume header. Make sure to clean up your URL by viewing your profile and clicking the pencil icon next to “public profile & URL.”
5. Fill In Your Work History.
Particularly when you’ve reached the executive level, your work history will take up the largest portion of your resume.
You’ll list your roles from the past 10-15 years in reverse chronological order, with the most recent one at the top.
Start by getting the basics down: your job title, the years you worked in that position, the organization’s name, and the location.
Underneath that, include a brief description of the organization as well as the role you filled there. Here’s what that can look like on an example HR executive resume:
HR DIRECTOR | 2020 – 2022
NexaTech Solutions | Chicago, IL
NexaTech solutions is a pioneering tech company specializing in cutting-edge call tracking solutions for small businesses.
Oversaw and managed a team of 15 HR professionals responsible for strategizing and executing all HR functions for the business, achieving a 15% increase in employee engagement scores and a 21% decrease in voluntary turnover.
It takes a little bit of extra time and space, but it helps set the scene before you get into the nitty-gritty of your responsibilities and achievements in that role.
Your bullet points go below that overview.
But keep in mind that you aren’t just giving the rundown of the work you did—you need to emphasize why it mattered. Quantifying your accomplishments is one of the best ways to do that. Start by jotting down your role and then ask yourself questions like:
- What size teams did you manage?
- What policies and procedures did you institute or refine?
- What improvements or outcomes did you achieve?
- What goals did you meet or exceed?
- What processes did you create or overhaul?
Those channel your focus from the work you did to the results you achieved, which is the frame of mind you need to be in to write impressive job history bullet points. You can also refer back to the third column in the table above.
Here’s a general template you can follow to craft your bullets:
[Action verb] [skill or task] that led to [specific result]
Here’s an example of how that approach can take your descriptions of your work experience to the next level:
| 🛑Bad: | ✅Better: |
| Developed a new hire onboarding process | Developed and implemented a “Quickstart” employee onboarding process to orient new hires, achieving a 23% decrease in employee turnover in the first 90 days and improving time to productivity by 15% |
See the difference? If it’s easier, you can break your bullet points into two separate categories: one for your responsibilities and one for your achievements. Or, you can integrate them all into a single list of bullets—it’s’ up to you how you want to approach it.
Here’s an example of how you might separate the two:
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Developed and implemented HR policies and procedures to support company objectives and ensure compliance with legal requirements
- Created and oversaw all recruitment and talent acquisition strategies, including candidate sourcing, interviewing, and new hire onboarding
- Crafted a compelling employer brand to engage applicants, improve employee advocacy, and position the organization as a desirable place to work.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Developed and implemented a “Quickstart” employee onboarding process to orient new hires, achieving a 23% decrease in employee turnover in the first 90 days and improving time to productivity by 15%
- Overhauled recruitment strategies for new grads, pivoting from a core schools approach to a skills-based approach that increased candidate diversity by 35%
- Instituted a continuous performance management process, improving employee engagement scores by 27%
Struggling to fill this section out? Return to old emails, reports, performance reviews, recommendations, and more. Those can jog your memory about tangible things you achieved in your past roles.
6. Write An Employment Summary.
Writing out all of the details of your work history requires a lot of elbow grease, which means this section will feel like a breeze in comparison.
This is essentially a sneak peek into your previous positions that goes near the top of your document. It lists only your job title, employer, and the years you worked there so hiring managers can gain insight into your past roles and experience without having to scroll or flip through all of your work history.
For that reason, it’s only worth including if you’ve held more than three roles. Here’s an example:
Chief Human Resources Officer | 2022 – 2024
CircuitCore Innovations
HR Director | 2020 – 2022
NexaTech Solutions
HR Manager | 2015 – 2020
Paper Cup Wireless
HR Coordinator | 2012 – 2015
ColorBox Creative
Particularly if you have a lot of previous positions under your belt, this gives potential employers a snapshot into your history and makes it easy to see how your career has progressed over time.
7. Emphasize Your Skills.
It’s time to turn your attention to the skills section. Start by returning to the notes you took from the job description to refresh yourself on the competencies that the position is asking for.
Think you should just list those in a simple bulleted list on your resume? Not so fast. It’s not enough to parrot the job description—especially since all of the other applicants are likely using the same terms.
Instead, add some extra color and context by including a one-sentence description or even a real-world example with each skill. Take a look at the difference that can make:
| 🛑Bad: |
| KEY SKILLS: Team management HR policies and procedures Talent acquisition Employee development |
| ✅Better: |
| KEY SKILLS: Team management: Proven ability to inspire and lead teams to execute the company’s mission, with experience leading teams from five to 50 employees HR policies and procedures: Skilled in spearheading or improving a variety of HR policies, including a parental leave policy that boosted employee satisfaction scores by 48% on an annual engagement survey Talent acquisition: Strong track record of identifying and implementing innovative acquisition strategies to engage both passive and active candidates Employee development: Demonstrated ability to foster a growth-oriented culture where employees are motivated to learn and advance within the organization |
8. List Your Education.
Your education section is another fairly straightforward piece of your resume. It lists your degrees and certifications in reverse chronological order.
You can also include relevant courses or other professional development opportunities here.
Here’s a sample HR executive resume to show you what this simple section can look like:
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Master of Business Administration (MBA) | May 2012
Aurora University | Scranton, PA
Concentration in Human Resource Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | May 2010
Evergreen University | Boston, MA
Minor in Communication
Professional in Human Resources (PHR) | August 2012
HR Certification Institute
Where should you put this section? Well, it depends. Return to the job description to determine just how crucial your educational background is for the role.
If it ranks highly in the requirements like with this job description, then it’s smart to put your education section near the top of your resume:
But if education doesn’t get as much emphasis in the job description, then you can move this section toward the bottom of your resume.
9. Write Your Professional Summary.
Take a deep breath and roll your shoulders, because you’re almost done—you’re on the last piece of your resume.
Doing all of the other sections first gives you a crash course on everything you’ve done in your career so far, which makes it easier to write your resume summary.
Your professional summary—which you might also hear called your career profile, professional profile, or another similar term—goes at the top of your document directly under your headline.
It’s essentially your highlight reel, calling attention to the most relevant and impressive qualifications you can bring to that job.
It’s another area where tailoring and targeting will carry a lot of weight, so look back on your notes from the job description and the comparisons you made to your own experience.
Challenge yourself to highlight three to five things from that table that absolutely need to be included in your profile.
Then, use these tips to write a summary that’s every bit as impressive as you are:
- Be specific: Skip the generalities and vague language. Be crystal clear about what you’ve done and accomplished. For example, if you have expertise in a specific industry, name it.
- Use first-person language: Your resume doesn’t have to be stuffy and devoid of all personality. Writing your summary in the first-person feels less stiff and robotic and more like a human introduction.
- Emphasize your achievements: Again, relevance is key here. Choose one or two that are most closely-related to the position and add them into your summary so they’re unmissable for the hiring manager.
Here’s a closer look at how you can take your summary to the next level by incorporating those tips:
ions you can bring to that job.
It’s another area where tailoring and targeting will carry a lot of weight, so look back on your notes from the job description and the comparisons you made to your own experience.
Challenge yourself to highlight three to five things from that table that absolutely need to be included in your profile.
Then, use these tips to write a summary that’s every bit as impressive as you are:
- Be specific: Skip the generalities and vague language. Be crystal clear about what you’ve done and accomplished. For example, if you have expertise in a specific industry, name it.
- Use first-person language: Your resume doesn’t have to be stuffy and devoid of all personality. Writing your summary in the first-person feels less stiff and robotic and more like a human introduction.
- Emphasize your achievements: Again, relevance is key here. Choose one or two that are most closely-related to the position and add them into your summary so they’re unmissable for the hiring manager.
Here’s a closer look at how you can take your summary to the next level by incorporating those tips:
| 🛑Bad: | ✅Better: |
| Driven and experienced HR executive. Passionate about improving diversity, increasing employee engagement, and supporting employee development. Skilled communicator and problem-solver committed to building a better working environment for employees. | Motivated HR leader with more than 12 years of experience in the tech industry, with nine of those years spent in HR leadership roles. As a skilled communicator and committed problem solver, I guide teams to prioritize employee needs, balance those with organizational goals, and revolutionize the HR function. Under my leadership, my team has rolled out new policies, processes, and benefits that decreased turnover by 23% and improved employee engagement scores by 48% within two years. |
10. Proofread And Polish.
You have everything down on paper. But before you submit your resume and cross your fingers, set aside some time to carefully edit and refine your resume.
Don’t rush through this process. In fact, it’s best to take a break—even if it’s just an hour—after writing your resume before moving into the editing process. That can help you come back feeling refreshed and clear-headed.
Here are a few tips to help you catch all of the possible typos and mistakes as you proofread your HR executive resume:
- Read from the bottom up: It’s a trick for your brain that forces you to look at each sentence individually rather than glossing over them. You’ll catch more errors that way.
- Check your length: Heard that you need to keep your resume to one page? Don’t panic. While that’s true for early or mid-career professionals, it doesn’t apply to executive-level positions. Aim to stick to around three pages (and don’t go beyond five). Any pages beyond the first page should be at least half full. You don’t want just a few lines hanging out on an extra page.
- Check your content with an ATS tool: 99% of Fortune 500 companies say they’re using AI to screen candidates, so it’s not a bad idea to confirm your resume is set up to make it through ATS. Upload your resume and the job description to a tool like Jobscan to see how your document compares and make strategic improvements.
Don’t trust yourself to spot all of the mistakes—especially if you’ve been staring at your resume for hours?
Ask a trusted friend, family member, former colleague, or another peer to help. Send them your resume and the job description so they can pass along helpful feedback that keeps relevance in mind.
Write a Resume That Makes the Right Impression.
You work in HR, which means you know just how crucial your resume is in your job search. And being an HR executive with a lackluster resume is a lot like being a hairdresser with a bad haircut.
All of those best practices you used to evaluate candidate resumes throughout your HR career?
It’s time to use this guide to apply them to yourself. Do that and you’ll craft an HR executive resume that shows you don’t just know what to do—you know how to do it.
Irene
