HR manager CV examples to help you build yours

An HR manager needs to have a great understanding of people and an ability to do management tasks. Here’s how to effectively show off this skill set in your CV.

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Table of Contents

  1. Why should I use HR manager CV examples?
  2. What to highlight in an HR manager CV?
  3. Structure of an HR manager CV
  4. Do’s and don’ts for an HR manager CV
  5. FAQ: HR manager CV examples

Why should I use HR manager CV examples?

HR managers are a vitally important part of keeping a company running. The job description of an HR manager can vary tremendously, but it typically includes managing employees for a company and ensuring that the company is functioning appropriately. Here’s how you can create a professional CV for an HR job posting.

What to highlight in an HR manager CV?

One of the first elements you’ll likely see in an HR manager CV example is the sense of authority. You want to emphasise that you’re good at your job and that you’re an authoritative presence in your important role. That doesn’t mean you have to come off as authoritatively mean or rude. It just means a hiring manager should trust you to implement important HR generalist structures.

Structure of an HR manager CV

One of the biggest elements of your CV structure is always going to be the CV format you choose. Typically, people with more experience will almost always want to choose the chronological CV format, while people with less experience can choose between the combination or functional CV formats. From there, you’ll work on these sections.

Contact information

The CV header is the bridge between your CV design and your CV content. It typically includes your full name, location, phone number, email address, and your job networking profile links.

Professional summary or career objective

The next section of your CV is your professional summary or career objective. It’s a short paragraph that encapsulates your CV as a whole, providing something like a CV sample section for a hiring manager to understand your CV. For a career objective to be used when you lack work experience or changing careers, you should include your career goals.

Skills

Your specific competencies are a huge part of your human resources manager CV. If you’re trying to write your skills section, here are skills to consider featuring as bullet points:

  • Onboarding new hires
  • Employee relations
  • Knowledge of employment law and benefit programmes
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Knowledge of company policies and employee benefits
  • Business administration
  • Understanding company initiatives
  • Meeting with new employees
  • Performance management
  • Project management
  • Conflict resolution
  • Staffing
  • Talent acquisition
  • Worker’s compensation
  • Benefits administration
  • Decision-making skills
  • Disciplinary procedures
  • Human Resource Management System (HRMS)
  • Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
  • Employee retention and employee satisfaction
  • Organisational development
  • Performance reviews
  • Talent management
  • Time management

Your skills section should not include all of these skills but it’s good to highlight at least 5 to 10 of these skills. Including both soft skills and hard skills is a big part of any good HR CV.

Work history

Your work experience section needs to include up to 10 years of experience in the human resources department and related fields. As an HR professional, you need to have worked up to this job through many years of experience. You can check other CV templates to see what types of experience other job seekers often list.

Education

A journey to becoming an HR manager typically starts with a bachelor’s degree which you should add to the education section of your CV. You can also include professional memberships like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and others.

Do’s and don’ts for an HR manager CV

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind when writing your HR manager CV:

Do:

  • Use all relevant experience including other managerial experience. Although an HR manager isn’t a typical manager, you can still cite managerial experience.
  • Rely on certifications to prove your skills. It’s one of the best ways to ensure a hiring manager knows about all of your skills.
  • Research the company you’re applying for. This can help you determine the company culture and how to target your CV.

Don’t:

  • Mention specific employees from previous HR positions. This may be a violation of certain privacy laws regarding what information you can share without consent.
  • Discuss any negative metrics. Your CV is where you get a chance to talk about your positives so you should never bring up negatives.
  • List more than 10 years of experience on your CV. If you have more than 10 years, you can feature your full list of jobs on your LinkedIn profile.

FAQ: HR manager CV examples

Q: Do I need to include a cover letter for an HR manager application?

You should always include a cover letter for any job application and an HR manager application is no different. A cover letter is completely different from your CV. It allows you to talk to the hiring manager, gives you space to go more in-depth into your best accomplishments and even gives you space to ask for a job interview. Use the CVHelp cover letter builder to create yours.

Q: Can I write an HR manager CV without a lot of experience?

HR managers, by definition, need the experience to get the job they’re looking for. However, it’s important to remember that your relevant experience may not need to be specifically in the job market. You may be able to cite academic experience, volunteer experience and internship experience, as well as experience in other managerial roles. Include this information on your CV if you don’t have experience in the HR department.

Q: How do I change my HR manager CV to apply to different jobs?

The key to making sure your HR manager CV looks great for your job application is in CV keywords. As an HR professional, you already know that these are keywords that the hiring manager and the applicant tracking system (ATS) will look for in the job applications you submit. If you include as many of these keywords as possible, you’ll be able to more accurately get your CV read by the hiring manager or recruiter.

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