HR Generalist resume example. Plus the keywords recruiters search for.
An HR generalist resume that shows impact on hiring, retention and compliance — with the HRIS and employment keywords recruiters look for.
Reviewed by Nazir Elmurodov · Updated
/ The example
HR Generalist resume example.
Rachel Thompson
HR Generalist
Denver, CO · rachel.thompson@email.com · linkedin.com/in/rachelthompson
Summary
HR generalist with 5 years supporting 300–600 employee companies. I handle the full employee lifecycle and build processes that cut turnover and keep the company compliant.
Experience
HR Generalist, Summit Manufacturing · Apr 2021 – Present
- • Support 450 employees across 3 sites on onboarding, benefits, leave and employee relations
- • Reduced first-year turnover from 34% to 21% with a structured 90-day onboarding plan
- • Moved HR records to Workday, cutting time spent on manual data entry by 10 hours a week
- • Led annual open enrollment with 96% participation and zero compliance findings
HR Coordinator, Peak Health Clinics · Jan 2019 – Mar 2021
- • Coordinated hiring for 120 roles a year, reducing time-to-fill from 42 to 29 days
- • Ran I-9 and licensing audits for 300 clinical staff
Education & certifications
B.S. Human Resource Management, Colorado State University, 2018 · SHRM-CP
Skills
Employee relations · Onboarding · Benefits administration · Workday · HRIS · Recruiting · FMLA · Compliance · Performance management · Payroll support
Rachel Thompson
HR Generalist
rachel.thompson@email.com · Denver, CO
linkedin.com/in/rachelthompson
Summary
HR generalist with 5 years supporting 300–600 employee companies. I handle the full employee lifecycle and build processes that cut turnover and keep the company compliant.
Experience
HR Generalist — Summit Manufacturing
Apr 2021 – Present
• Support 450 employees across 3 sites on onboarding, benefits, leave and employee relations
• Reduced first-year turnover from 34% to 21% with a structured 90-day onboarding plan
• Moved HR records to Workday, cutting time spent on manual data entry by 10 hours a week
• Led annual open enrollment with 96% participation and zero compliance findings
HR Coordinator — Peak Health Clinics
Jan 2019 – Mar 2021
• Coordinated hiring for 120 roles a year, reducing time-to-fill from 42 to 29 days
• Ran I-9 and licensing audits for 300 clinical staff
Education
Colorado State University
B.S. Human Resource Management · 2018
Certifications
SHRM-CP
Skills
Employee relations, Onboarding, Benefits administration, Workday, HRIS, Recruiting, FMLA, Compliance, Performance management, Payroll support
Why it works
It sizes the population you support, shows results in turnover and time-to-fill, and uses compliance and HRIS terms exactly as HR job posts write them.
Use this as your starting point
Opens in the editor with every section filled in. Swap in your own details and download a PDF or Word file free.
Start from this exampleSample resume. Names, companies and figures are illustrative.
/ Summary examples
Three summary examples. Pick the one closest to you.
Two or three lines: your level, your field and one result.
- Entry level
HR coordinator with 2 years of recruiting and onboarding support. Scheduled 400+ interviews a year and built an onboarding checklist used company-wide.
- Mid level
HR generalist supporting 450 employees across 3 sites. My onboarding program cut first-year turnover from 34% to 21%.
- Senior
HR business partner who has advised leadership teams of 1,000+ employee organizations on workforce planning, performance and employee relations.
More for other jobs and situations (no experience, career change, senior): resume summary examples.
/ Bullet points
Bullet point examples. From duty to result.
Turn duties into results: what you did, how, and what changed.
Retention
Instead of: Improved onboarding
Write: Cut first-year turnover from 34% to 21% with a structured 90-day onboarding plan
Recruiting
Instead of: Helped with hiring
Write: Coordinated 120 hires a year and cut time-to-fill from 42 to 29 days
Systems
Instead of: Used HR software
Write: Moved HR records to Workday, saving 10 hours of data entry a week
Compliance
Instead of: Handled compliance
Write: Ran open enrollment with 96% participation and zero compliance findings
/ Keywords
Keywords and skills for HR generalists.
These come up often in HR generalist job posts. Include only the ones you can back up in an interview, and use the exact wording from the post you're applying to.
- Employee relations
- Onboarding
- Benefits administration
- HRIS
- Workday
- BambooHR
- ADP
- Recruiting
- Talent acquisition
- Performance management
- FMLA
- Compliance
- Policy development
- Payroll
- SHRM
/ ATS tips
ATS tips for HR generalists.
Say how many people you support
Headcount and number of sites tell a recruiter your scope right away.
Name the HRIS
Workday, ADP, BambooHR and UKG are common filters.
Show people outcomes
Turnover, engagement scores and time-to-fill turn HR work into results.
List certifications in text
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP or PHR should appear in plain words, not as a logo.
How does your HR generalist resume compare?
Free ATS score, missing keywords and fixes in about 10 seconds.
/ Questions
HR Generalist resume FAQ.
Writing the cover letter too? See Rachel's cover letter, annotated
What should an HR generalist resume highlight?
The size of the workforce you support, the HR areas you own, your HRIS experience and results in retention, hiring or compliance.
Is SHRM certification required?
Rarely required, but often preferred. List it if you have it or note that you're studying for it.
How do I keep employee relations work confidential?
Describe the type and volume of cases and the outcome in general terms — never names or identifying details.