Human Resources Resume Builder. Your resume made professional

A generalist at a 200-person plant and a recruiter filling 40 roles a quarter do very different work, so let your summary say which one you are.

Certification is usually voluntary, yet the BLS handbook says some employers prefer or require it. Options include the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP from the Society for Human Resource Management and the aPHR, PHR and SPHR from the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). Name the HRIS, applicant tracking and payroll systems you've run, such as Workday, ADP or UKG, using the product names the posting uses.

Measure results with time-to-fill, offer acceptance, turnover, payroll accuracy or audit findings closed. Keep employee relations entries anonymous by describing case volume and outcomes, not people. For example: "Cut average time-to-fill for warehouse roles from 34 to 26 days by adding weekend hiring events and same-week offers."

• How do I list SHRM-CP or PHR on my resume?

  Put the letters right after your name, or after a postgraduate degree, as in "Dana Ortiz, SHRM-CP." SHRM's certification handbook asks for that placement, in capitals with no periods, and rules out shortening it to "CP." Repeat the full credential, issuer and year in a Certifications section; SHRM also lists holders in an online directory employers can use to verify.

  Both credentials need upkeep. SHRM asks holders to recertify on a three-year cycle, and HRCI runs its certifications, the PHR included, on a three-year cycle too. Once a SHRM credential expires, SHRM says to stop using the letters; if you still list it, give its dates and mark it expired.

• How do I write payroll experience on a resume?

  Describe the payroll before your duties: employees paid, pay frequency, the number of states or entities, and the payroll system. Then show control, such as tax notices you resolved, audits you passed and the year-end filings you owned.

  Payroll careers often climb in visible steps. A Timekeeper collects and checks hours, a Payroll Administrator runs the cycle, and a Human Resources Payroll Manager owns the calendar, the controls and the people who process it. Give each title its own dates, even at one employer, so a reader sees the climb.

• Do resume writers need a certification, and how should I show one?

  Not to start: PARWCC, the association of resume writers and career coaches that grants the CPRW, notes that anyone can claim to be a resume writer and says its credential sets certified writers apart. The Certified Professional Resume Writer is earned by passing an exam, which candidates have a year to complete, lets you put CPRW after your name and stays valid while you keep a PARWCC membership.

  Then make your own resume a writing sample. Say who you write for, such as new graduates, career changers or executives, how many clients you've served, your usual turnaround, and where a reader can see redacted samples you have permission to share. Compare the Resume Writer examples.

• Which HR titles lead to management, and what should each one show?

  Show the scope widening with each title. A Human Resources Assistant gives counts: new hires onboarded, files kept and records updated. A specialist, such as a Leave of Absence Specialist or a Human Resources Shared Services Specialist, owns a process from request to close. Managers add people and policy: an Industrial Relations Manager shows contracts negotiated and disputes settled, and a Global Human Resources Director shows countries, headcount and the HR model behind them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says some HR managers start out as human resources or labor relations specialists, so name the specialty you built and date each step.