Resume template · Updated October 2026
HR generalist resume template
Short answer
Henrietta suits an HR generalist: a conventional business layout, education printed straight after experience, and a three-column skills grid for the many short HR tasks a generalist covers. The fictional sample supports 420 employees at a food manufacturing plant after starting as an HR assistant in senior living. Her SHRM-CP appears in the headline as well as the certifications section, which prints near the end.
Download the HR generalist sample
Grace is a fictional HR generalist. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Henrietta suits an HR generalist resume
Henrietta is the conventional business layout HR readers expect, and it prints education straight after experience, which helps when an HR degree is part of your case. Its three-column skills grid fits a generalist's long list of short items (onboarding, leave administration, I-9 audits, HRIS reports) without spilling onto a second page.
Second choice: Meridian. Meridian is equally plain and puts skills above experience, useful if HRIS and payroll system skills are what the posting asks for first.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Your setting and scale: industry, number of employees you support, union or non-union, one site or several. Then the areas you own, such as onboarding, leave, employee relations or benefits, and your certification.
- Work Experience. Generalist jobs blur into lists of duties. Pick bullets with an outcome: onboarding you rebuilt, investigations closed, an audit passed, turnover in one group reduced. Give case volumes as round numbers if exact counts are sensitive.
- Education. Your degree in HR, business or psychology with the year. Henrietta prints it right after experience, so it reads as part of your qualifications.
- Skills. HR processes first (onboarding, leave administration, investigations, open enrollment), then your HRIS and payroll systems by name. The grid prints without group labels, so lead with what the posting stresses.
- Certifications. SHRM-CP from SHRM or PHR from HRCI, with the year. Both bodies aim these at HR professionals in operational or implementing roles, which matches generalist work.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Grace Mendoza
HR Generalist, SHRM-CP
Indianapolis, IN | grace.mendoza@example.com | (317) 555-0186 | linkedin.com/in/sample-grace-mendoza
SHRM-CP certified HR generalist supporting 420 employees across three shifts at a food manufacturing plant. Owns onboarding, leave administration and first-line employee relations, and keeps HRIS data clean enough for monthly turnover reporting.
Experience
HR Generalist, Crossroads Food Products, Indianapolis, IN (02/2022 to Present)
- Support 420 hourly and salaried employees on three shifts, including night-shift office hours twice a month.
- Rebuilt new-hire onboarding with production supervisors; 90-day turnover for hourly hires fell from about 40% to under 30% within a year.
- Administer FMLA, short-term disability and ADA accommodation requests, about 60 cases a year, coordinating with the benefits carrier.
- Investigate attendance, conduct and harassment complaints with the HR manager and document findings and outcomes.
- Ran the 2024 I-9 self-audit and corrected every flagged form before the external review.
HR Assistant, Lakeview Senior Living, Carmel, IN (06/2019 to 01/2022)
- Processed new hires and terminations in BambooHR for four communities with 300 staff.
- Coordinated pre-employment background checks and nursing license verifications.
- Organized annual open enrollment meetings and answered employee benefits questions.
Education
BS, Human Resource Management, Wabash Plains University (05/2019)
Certifications
- SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), SHRM (2023)
Skills
Onboarding, Leave administration, Workplace investigations, I-9 audits, Open enrollment, Turnover reporting, UKG Pro, BambooHR, Excel, Microsoft Teams, Confidentiality, Steady with upset employees, Supervisor coaching
How to make the sample yours
Restate your employee population
Replace 420 plant employees with your own headcount and setting. Supporting a three-shift manufacturing workforce and a 60-person office are different jobs, and recruiters want to see which you know.
Name your HRIS and payroll systems
The sample lists UKG Pro and BambooHR. Write the systems you used, and say whether you were the administrator or a regular user.
Describe employee relations carefully
Give counts and outcomes ("about 30 conduct investigations a year, reviewed with the HR manager") without any detail that could identify an employee.
Keep the certification date current
SHRM says its credentials are recertified every three years from the date you became certified. Write the year you earned or last renewed yours.
Show one project beyond daily work
A handbook rewrite, an HRIS migration, a new onboarding program: one bullet of project work separates a generalist from an assistant.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- HR generalist
- employee relations
- onboarding
- leave administration
- FMLA
- benefits open enrollment
- HRIS
- I-9 compliance
- workplace investigations
- policy administration
- employee handbook
- turnover analysis
- SHRM-CP
- performance management
Mistakes to avoid
- Bullets that read like the job description ("responsible for HR functions") with no outcome or scale.
- Any detail about an investigation, accommodation or medical leave that could identify an employee.
- Listing employment laws as skills with no example of applying them. Show the leave process you ran or the audit you led instead.
- Leaving the certification only at the bottom when the posting asks for SHRM-CP or PHR.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
What separates an HR generalist resume from an HR coordinator resume?
A coordinator resume shows accurate processing: paperwork, scheduling, data entry. A generalist resume shows judgment: employee relations cases, leave decisions, advice to supervisors, small projects. If you are moving up, add bullets where you made or recommended a call.
Should an HR generalist list SHRM-CP or PHR?
Either, if you hold it. SHRM issues the SHRM-CP and HRCI issues the PHR, and postings name one or both. Write the full name, the issuing body and the year, and repeat it in your headline or summary.
How do I write about employee relations without breaking confidentiality?
Use volumes, types and outcomes: "closed about 30 conduct and attendance investigations a year". Never include names, a team small enough to identify someone, or medical details.
Do I need an HR degree to be an HR generalist?
No. Plenty of generalists studied business, psychology or something unrelated, and experience plus a certification can carry the application. List whatever degree you have in one line.
How long should an HR generalist resume be?
One page is usual. Two pages make sense after ten or more years, or when you supported several sites with different workforces.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- SHRM: SHRM Certification (SHRM-CP is for HR professionals in operational roles, with no degree or experience requirement; recertify every three years from the date you became certified)
- HRCI: HR Certifications (PHR (Professional in Human Resources) is for HR professionals who implement programs and support daily operations, with a focus on U.S. laws and regulations)
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