INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, HR Director positions are at a 9% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 161,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 14,800 to 176,500 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the HR Director jobs was $121,220 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $71,180, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The HR Director job market is wide open for candidates.
Top HR Director sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a HR Director resume experience section
HR Director Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real HR Director resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
Work Experience
HR Director
Aexie Swarm
2019-2021
- Como miembro del Comité de Dirección y con un equipo de 58 personas me responsabilizo de la gestión integral de los equipos de Tienda, Servicios Centrales y Logística, marcando estrategias y políticas que faciliten la consecución de los objetivos de la compañía y ayuden a transmitir los valores de la marca.
- He participado de la expansión e internacionalización de la compañía y del lanzamiento de ( Woman, Boys & Girls, Personal Tailoring, e-commerce)
- Principales áreas de responsabilidad; Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Compensation & Benefits, Labour& Law, Payroll & Aministration, Organización, RSC)
- Atracción del mejor talento a través del diseño de acciones omnichannel adaptadas a la multidisciplinaridad y la multiculturalidad (Europa, Asia, Latam, USA) ( Headhunting, dinámicas de grupo, open house...)
- Desarrollo de equipos de alto rendimiento gracias al diseño e implantación de itinerarios de formación y desarrollo
- Proyecto Integral de employer branding incluyendo acogida, desarrollo y fidelización.
- Implantación de acciones dirigidas a conseguir los KPI's de la compañía. Definición de escalas salariales para cada uno de los países y sistemas retributivos para cada una de las líneas. Diseño de herramientas para una correcta optimización de los equipos y confección del presupuesto anual para todas las filiales.
- Negociación de : Pactos de Empleo, Planes de Igualdad, Traslados de Instalaciones, Cierres etc..
- Gestión de la nómina para E de Retribución flexible, Incentivos, Forcem
- Programas de RSC para la inserción de jóvenes en riesgo de inclusión social.
Work Experience
HR director
Sanguine
2012-2018
- Development and optimization of business processes, standards, procedures and regulations within the area of responsibility of HR
- Organization of effective staff recruitment process (timely and proper closing of the different levels of vacancies)
- Development of HR brand. Formation of the image of an attractive employer in the external and internal environment. Building and updating of the corporate culture.
- Formation and development of the personnel reserve
- The introduction of modern methods of adaptation and assessment of staff
Work Experience
HR DIRECTOR
Miller - Windler
2018-2020
- Responsible for employee relations, staff development and equal opportunity functions for the firm
- Providing HR advice and counseling to senior leaders
- Developed a performance management process to guide strategic decisions on salary increments and bonus pay out
- Developed a strategy on talent management and culture and values process.
- Responsible for South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Mauritius
Work Experience
HR Director
Smash Tech
2020-2022
- Developed customer centric talent strategy, resulting in 12% organic growth in 2009, case fill rate increase from 79% in 2009 to 90% in 2010, and market share gain in coffee from 18% in 2008 to 24% in 2009
- Embedded the employer branding strategy, improving labour turnover from 30% in 2008 to 18% in 2009
- Raised the bar on talent by stretching Executive Director’s objectives and linked them to Plant Global Efficiency and gross sales. This resulted in Plant Global Efficiency improvements of 40% in 2009 vs 2008; Linking talent development to Executive Directors’ performance goals. This resulted in improvements in absenteeism: 1.7% in 2009 vs. 4% in 2008
- Change Management: Championed the plant optimization strategy in 2008 and successfully retrenched 60 employees without any recourse to CCMA
- Compensation and Benefits: Established cross-functional local incentive plans to drive the local business. This resulted in: Cash Flow performance against target being exceeded by 46% in ‘09; and Operating/Net Income recognition against target being exceeded by 30% in ‘09.
- Achievements Acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods (2010): Drove the integration of human capital between the two entities in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Kenya and Mauritius. Resulted in over 2.3 thousand employees seamlessly working for Kraft Foods with no disruption to the business;
- Organizational Culture and Strategy implementation (2011): Part of team that developed the Kraft Foods culture and strategy to serve as “glue” to integrate the employees of the organization post the acquisition. Resulted in improved morale and productivity. Employees understood their workplace culture and had a better grasp of their goals and expectations from their managers, fellow employees and customers.
Work Experience
HR Director
Kozey - Bogisich
2018-2020
- Sunday Times Best 25 Big Companies 2018 with Employee Engagement at 86%
- Integration of the EE and BT sales teams moving to a multi brand operating model
- Building the Group approach to external talent from education programmes and ensuring the delivery of internal acceleration programmes
- Retail Week Be Inspired Ambassador
Work Experience
Sr. HR Director
Innovation Arch
2009-2014
- Created HM, LLC HR strategy, HR Vision, and Mission
- Coached business leaders on key organizational and leaders issues which led to the development of the company’s 1st formalized succession plan model
- Developed and implemented company’s 1st formal, structured performance management and review process
- Planned and led organization design projects to streamline and implement new structures, which resulted in the utilization of an electronic pay voucher system as a reduction to administrative burden time & saving $17,334 annually
- Developed and adhered to HR fiscal budget -$50K annually
- Established and maintained an intimate understanding of the client organizations and the business, in the interest of building effective and productive working relationships with internal stakeholders and clients, at all levels of the organization
- Designed and initiated the transition to an electronic job application platform
Work Experience
International HR Director
Strat Security
2016-2017
- Relocated to The Netherlands to gain wider HR and commercial experience in Europe, securing an interim appointment as Interim International HR Director.
- Tasked with establishing HR to support KIC’s international roll-out across 6 European countries.
- Ensure the standardisation of all HR workflows, policies, procedures and structures.
- Introduced performance management and appraisal systems across all markets.
Work Experience
HR Director - project based
Kozey - Bogisich
2012-2014
- Preparing HR plan for the corporate structure
- Predetermening job positions
- Developing payroll structure
- Hiring and sustaining plan
- Preparing training plan
- Administrative functions
Work Experience
HR Director
Innovation Arch
2016-2020
- Create organisational structure
- Structure payroll process
- Initiate new approach for recruitment
Work Experience
HR Director Europe Colleague Experience
Flux
2016-2020
- Coordinate HR for all European countries
- Lead organisational transformation and change agendas for Europe
- Accountable for a broad range of HR practices to build organisational capability and effectiveness through areas such as workforce planning, performance, employee engagement, organisational design, leadership development and employee relations to meet current and future workforce needs
- Coach and influence managers and leaders to create an environment where our people uphold and demonstrate integrity, ethical practices and the values of our business and actively lead on diversity and inclusion
- Provide leadership, direction and career development for 8 direct reports and their teams
Work Experience
HR Director
Vortex Solar
2021-2022
- Year-on-year employee engagement improvement, 83% to 89%, through putting people engagement at the heart of activities
- 80% internal succession in Retail through award-winning development programme
- Integration of corporate function across three brands through redesigning organisational operating model and capabilities, saving of £6m over a three-year period
- Re-skilling of EE retail colleagues through COVID-19 pandemic by setting up to work remotely and take pressure of contact centre capacity
- Implemented TUPE transfers, new job sizing methodology and reward frameworks for c500 colleagues in the corporate teams supporting business integration
Work Experience
HR Director Italy Region, Packaging Division
Smash Tech
2021-2022
- Business partnering with leaders and managers of the operating units for the strategic management of the workforce
- Unions and Employee Relations, both at site and national level
- Compensation & Benefits policies and procedures
- Recruitment policies and processes, being an active partner in the selection and evaluation of leadership roles
- Management of the Talent and of the L&D strategy of the region
Work Experience
HR Director
Kozey - Bogisich
2020-2022
- Relaunched the role of human resources from service level to business partnership
- Developed and successfully implemented HR strategy
- Created the best employer brand that reached top positions not only within local companies but successfully compete with best multinationals
- Established efficient processes of Planning, Attracting, Developing and Retaining employess
- Increased Employee Engagement level to 20% during 3 years
- Successfully switched to grading structure
- Automatization of HR service processes
Work Experience
HR Director Headquarter
Lambent
2009-2014
- Implementation of European Finance Service Center based in Parma
- 3 year cost saving project for Market Unit Italy (2.5 mio savings)
- Smart working project (global project awarded with the Barilla Excellence Award)
Work Experience
HR Director CZ, SK
Admire Arts
2015-2017
- Improvement for HR KPIs by 20-30% (Time to hire, Payroll quality)
- New Total Reward concept
- Salary market alignment concept created by me adopted by whole region (8 countries)
Work Experience
Executive HR Director - Eastern Europe
Nixue Root
2021-2022
- Responsible for 2000 associates, incl. 1 factory in Russia employing 600+ people
- Co-leaded global EVP project team
- Launched EE wide Achievements Recognition Program
- Recruitment & Assessment Toolkit and Local Successors Improvement Plan via key org competencies and strategic positions identification
- 4 ways of cluster’s restructuring aimed to 1. provide countries’ GM’s with more and better strategic resources and 2. improve service level for representatives, 3. inject new org competencies to execute biz strategies and create own commercial marketing team, and 4. lay off obsolete manual jobs following business processes digitalisation
- Built EE HR team: business partners and centres of expertise (Talent Management and Development, C&B, HRIS, Expats services)
- Global Workday launch in EE
- Improved budgeting process and monthly monitoring of deviations
- Initiated RACI creation between regional, clusters and countries HR teams
Work Experience
HR Director
Waters and Sons
2012-2014
- Highest employee engagement score (4.7) in the group
- Growing digital talent from 0 - 500
- Recognized as top agile partner by the Tech team/ recognized by as one of top 3 change makers in the division
PRO TIP
Include quantitative data throughout your HR Director resume to impress the hiring manager. Real facts and figures that show off your competency as an audit manager go a long way. Did you reduce the costs of audits? Manage a large team? Boosted efficiency? Show off the real numbers!
Action Verbs for your HR Director Resume
At Enhancv, we went through countless HR Director resumes and uncovered which are the unique words people use to spice up their resumes. Forget about buzzwords - use these power words instead to make your experience section shine.
Recommended reads:
HR Director Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your HR Director resume
HARD SKILLS
- Microsoft Office
- Project Management
- Jira
- Slack
- Taleo
- Workday
SOFT SKILLS
- Organisation
- Communication
- confidentiality
- Time management
- Team work
- Adaptability
PRO TIP
Avoid getting sidetracked by Applicant tracking software by including a tech skills' section matching the job description and your own qualifications.
Recommended reads:
HR Director Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your HR Director Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your HR Director resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
HR Director Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your HR Director resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
Resume Summary Formula:
[Adjective] [job title] with [number] years of experience in [industry], a proven ability to [relevant, measurable skills], and a strong background in [relevant context of your work experience] seeks a position as [the job title you’re applying for].
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your HR Director resume
HR as a Strategic Business Partner
Better understand your value and role as a strategic business partner
Learn HR Fundamentals for a Career in Human Resources
Human Resource Management is key to developing any business or organization. Learn core HR roles and responsibilities.
SHRM Certification Exam Prep: Essential Steps for HR Pros
[2022 UPDATES] Learn how to best prepare for the SHRM-CP & SHRM-SCP exams
The Human Resources Certification Program (HRCI - PHR/SPHR)
An Exam Preparation Guide to the Human Resource Body of Knowledge
Ultimate Human Resources : HR Generalist Course with Payroll
Hands-on HR Certification : Remote Recruitment, Onboarding, HR Career Plan & Roadmap, Indian Payroll, Compensation, PF
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a HR Director. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
HR Director Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
HR Director Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your HR Director resume:
HR Director Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your HR Director resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great HR Director Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
Volen Vulkov
8 minute read
Updated on 2022-03-25
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