HR Generalist Resume Example
An HR Generalist resume is evaluated on functional ownership measured by compliance and resolution rates, not administrative support without outcome data.
This resume is for HR Generalists who manage full-cycle employee life cycles and compliance audits but aren't yet responsible for department-wide strategy or executive leadership. It also works for HR Coordinators or HR Administrators transitioning into this broader scope of responsibility.
- Ownership of core HR functions like employee relations or benefits administration
- Evidence of process optimization or cost-saving initiatives
- Reliability in maintaining compliance and data integrity
- Experience section prioritized by impact-driven bullets
- Skills grouped by functional HR domains
- Education and certifications placed at the bottom to emphasize work history
Lauren Anderson
Summary
Experience
- Managed employee relations for a 450-person clinical department, resolving 95% of internal grievances and reducing legal escalation costs by $45K.
- Optimized Workday HRIS data entry workflows, cutting processing time for payroll changes by 28% while maintaining a 99.8% data accuracy rate.
- Prioritized a comprehensive I-9 audit over manual file migration, identifying and correcting 150+ documentation errors to ensure 100% compliance with federal regulations.
- Mentored 2 HR Coordinators on conflict resolution techniques and policy interpretation, improving team response time to employee inquiries by 3 business days.
- Redesigned the stay-interview process and onboarding flow for the Phoenix manufacturing site, increasing 90-day new hire retention from 74% to 86%.
- Owned the annual benefits enrollment cycle for a regional population of 12,500 employees, transitioning to an automated system that saved 40 labor hours per month.
- Chose to consolidate 3 separate employee recognition programs into a single performance-based system, which reduced administrative overhead by $22K annually.
- Audited 500+ employee records for FLSA classification accuracy, reclassifying 12 roles to mitigate wage and hour liability.
Education
Skills
HR Administration · HRIS (Workday) · Employee Relations · Benefits Administration · Compliance · Communication · Policy Implementation · Onboarding · Reporting · FLSA · I-9 Audits · Conflict Resolution · Performance Management
What makes this resume effective
- This resume meets the hiring bar for HR Generalists by demonstrating ownership of employee relations, impact through process optimization, and reliability in compliance audits.
- Notice how Lauren Anderson at Tenet Healthcare quantifies her impact by showing a 95% resolution rate for internal grievances, which signals high-level conflict resolution skills.
- See how the transition to an automated benefits system at Honeywell is framed as a time-saving achievement of 40 labor hours per month rather than just a task.
How to write better bullet points
Managed employee relations and handled grievances.
Resolved 95% of internal grievances for a 450-person department, reducing legal escalation costs by $45K.
It transforms a vague duty into a measurable achievement that shows financial and operational impact.
Helped with the onboarding process for new hires.
Redesigned the onboarding flow for a manufacturing site, increasing 90-day new hire retention from 74% to 86%.
It demonstrates ownership of a process and ties the effort to a critical HR metric: retention.
Updated employee files and checked for compliance.
Audited 500+ employee records for FLSA accuracy, reclassifying 12 roles to mitigate wage and hour liability.
It shows proactive risk management and the scale of the compliance work performed.
HR Generalist resume writing tips
- Connect every HR process change to a specific business outcome like cost reduction or time saved.
- Highlight one major compliance win, such as an I-9 or FLSA audit, to prove reliability.
- Show evidence of mentoring or team support to demonstrate leadership potential within the department.
Common mistakes
- Listing tasks like "managed payroll" without mentioning the scale or accuracy of the work.
- Failing to mention specific HRIS tools like Workday or ADP, which are often used as filters.
- Focusing only on administrative support while ignoring the strategic impact on retention or employee relations.
Frequently asked questions
Is this resume right for someone with three to seven years of experience? Yes, if you have transitioned from basic coordination to independent ownership of HR functions like employee relations or benefits administration.
Yes, if you have transitioned from basic coordination to independent ownership of HR functions like employee relations or benefits administration.
Yes, if you have moved beyond basic coordination into independent ownership of HR functions. It is less suitable if your experience is still primarily focused on data entry and scheduling without decision-making authority.
What if my background is in a small startup rather than a large organization like Tenet Healthcare? Yes, because hiring managers value the ability to build processes from scratch and establish structure in lean, high-growth environments.
Yes, because hiring managers value the ability to build processes from scratch and establish structure in lean, high-growth environments.
Focus on the breadth of your role and how you built processes from scratch. Hiring managers value the ability to wear many hats and establish structure in smaller environments just as much as large-scale corporate experience.
What if I don't have access to specific cost-saving metrics like the $22K reduction shown here? Use volume-based metrics instead, such as the number of employees supported or the accuracy percentage maintained in your HRIS audits.
Use volume-based metrics instead, such as the number of employees supported or the accuracy percentage maintained in your HRIS audits.
You can still use volume-based metrics to show impact. Emphasize the number of employees supported or the percentage of accuracy maintained in your HRIS audits to demonstrate your reliability.
How much should I change before applying? Maintain the results-oriented structure but swap technical tools and local regulations to mirror the specific job description requirements.
Maintain the results-oriented structure but swap technical tools and local regulations to mirror the specific job description requirements.
Keep the results-oriented bullet structure but swap out specific HRIS platforms or local regulations to match the requirements of the job description. The goal is to mirror the specific technical environment of the target company.
What do hiring managers focus on at this level? Managers look for quantified proof of independence, specifically your ability to resolve complex employee issues without needing constant escalation.
Managers look for quantified proof of independence, specifically your ability to resolve complex employee issues without needing constant escalation.
In this resume, Lauren Anderson quantifies her grievance resolution rate, which is the level of specificity recruiters expect. They look for the ability to handle sensitive employee issues independently and the technical proficiency to manage complex data.
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