Human resources (HR) managers facilitate business operations by ensuring effective employee relations. If you’re applying for this role, an excellent cover letter and resume are crucial components to your success. They play a huge part in getting your dream job and provide an opportunity to market yourself as the best candidate for the position.
Our objective in this guide is to walk you through the entire process of writing an HR manager cover letter and resume. In this article, you’ll be exposed to the essential components of both documents and provide tips and templates you can use for the task.
HR Manager Cover Letter Guide
Since the success of an organization is dependent on its employees, hiring managers are careful when selecting new employees. Any slight error is capable of disqualifying you. As such, you have to pay attention to the structure of your cover letter because you only have one chance to impress hiring managers.
Why Does Your HR Manager Cover Letter Matter?
According to Glassdoor, companies receive an average of 250 applications for corporate positions. A maximum of six are invited for an interview, and one is selected for the job. It suggests that there is likewise stiff competition for HR manager roles.
Your cover letter represents your best chance to compel a hiring manager to invite you for an interview. Think of it as a marketing strategy to showcase the value you will bring to the company.
A well-written cover letter should show an interplay between your skills and experience in the field. It provides ample opportunity to express yourself in written form and display your communication skills. You can use the cover letter to highlight your key achievements and invite the hiring manager to have a discussion in the future.
Essential Components of Your HR Manager Cover Letter
The content of your letter is yours to decide. You are responsible for the information you give to the hiring manager. But there are essential components that your letter should have regardless of its content. The following components are the building blocks that determine the structure and flow of your HR manager cover letter.
- Header: This section of your letter consists of your personal data and contact information. The hiring manager will reference this section if they need to contact you.
- Greeting: As a courtesy, your salutation should come first before you delve into the letter. Ensure that you address the letter to the hiring manager.
- Introduction: This is the opening paragraph of your letter that welcomes the recruiter to evaluate what you have to offer. Your introduction should be firm and captivating. It should highlight your excitement and interest in working for the company. Also, use this opportunity to mention any referrals available.
- Body: This is the longest section of the letter and usually consists of three paragraphs. The first paragraph highlights some of your previous work experience, while the other two capture your essential skills, vital abilities, and relevant expertise with human resources management. Excellent delivery of this section in your letter is critical.
- Conclusion: Conclude your letter with a strong call-to-action and affirm your interest in the HR manager position. While you must thank the recruiter for reviewing your letter, try not to appear desperate. End on a confident but compelling note that would make the recruiter desire to meet you.
- Closing: Sign off with a phrase like “Sincerely” and include your name as well. When you end well, you strengthen your letter and provide the perfect icing on the cake.
5 Tips for Writing a Strong HR Manager Cover Letter
If you follow all that we have discussed so far, you should be well on your way to crafting a solid cover letter. Nonetheless, we have provided five tips to help you construct an effective cover letter.
- Write to match the job description. If the critical requirements of the job listing are conflict management skills, excellent interpersonal skills, and managerial abilities, you should strive to list these skills in your letter. This will tell the recruiter you have the desired skillset.
- Be honest and realistic. Write the letter with the job description in mind but be honest about your abilities. Don’t exaggerate your value. Instead of promising the world, be realistic and honest about your capabilities. Stay within the safe zone and give yourself room to meet and exceed expectations.
- Connect your skills with your experience. Rather than list a plethora of skills, connect those technical and soft skills with your work experiences. For example, instead of saying that you have good managerial skills, write that you facilitated and promoted the efficiency of employees by providing necessities for work that increased productivity.
- Be straightforward with your sentences. Keep your sentences clear and simple. Recruiters should be able to follow your sentences easily without having to reread them to understand your point. Make it easy for the recruiter by avoiding complex sentences and unclear terms.
- Check for errors before submitting. Proofreading is as important as writing a letter. After writing your letter, reread it while checking for spelling errors, syntax errors, and flawed sentence constructs. Also, take time to cross-check your info and contact data.
HR Manager Cover Letter Example
Our sample cover letter for an HR Manager position summarizes our earlier discussions. Your letter should reflect professionalism and must highlight the relevant requirements of the position. Take a cue from the sample below and tailor your letter in a similar fashion.
HR Manager Cover Letter Sample
Joseph Walker
(123) 456-789
March 1, 2021
Dear [Hiring Manager],
I am pleased to be applying for the position of human resources manager at Shale Limited. With my industry experience managing various staff communities and implementing human resources initiatives, I am confident that I will bring value to your organization.
As the human resources manager at LaserBeam Holdings, I spearheaded and coordinated recruitment processes to hire new talent and organized intensive training sessions for 50 employees by providing platforms to gain professional certifications. I implemented pension initiatives and benefit schemes for employees that increased motivation and employee productivity by 12 percent.
With my expertise and interpersonal skills, I have managed conflicts and resolved corporate disputes. In addition, listening to staff needs and catering to them, promoting healthy and competitive working environments, and ensuring compliance with company culture and values have improved my leadership, organizational, and negotiation abilities.
Considering my years of experience and my Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) title from the Association of Talent Development (ATD), I believe I can contribute to achieving the goals set by your organization.
I appreciate your consideration and look forward to discussing the human resources manager position with you further.
Sincerely,
Joseph Walker
HR Manager Resume Guide
Your resume is a summarized version of your cover letter. It captures your education and work history, provides insight into the various positions you have held, highlights your responsibilities in those positions, and showcases your relevant skills and industry experience.
Why Does Your HR Manager Resume Matter?
Your resume is important because it provides you with the opportunity to propose yourself as a superb candidate to your potential employer. It is almost always required to land an interview and shows how your career goals as an HR professional align with the organization’s vision.
Since recruiters have to screen through countless job applications, they usually spend brief moments evaluating each resume. Therefore, you only have a short time to impress the recruiter. While constructing your resume, make sure you have unique value to offer that can improve the organization’s business operations.
Essential Components of Your HR Manager Resume
Every human resources resume must have the following components regardless of the style and layout. Below we’ve listed the most important components to include in any future resume you send out.
- Header. Just like your cover letter, your resume also needs a header that provides your contact information. It includes your name, professional email address, phone number, and links to your professional and social profiles. Before submitting, ensure that the information here is accurate.
- Professional Summary. This section of your resume provides insight into your career objectives as an HR personnel and highlights your merits. With the summary, you can reveal your overall experience and display your greatest assets.
- Work History. This summarizes your entire work history and is where you can showcase the experience gained from the previous positions you’ve held throughout your career. Recruiters can evaluate your career progression from this section.
- Skills. Here, you have the opportunity to display your skills in bullet format. While you can include generic skills like communication and conflict management, you need to have something extra to stand out in the job market. Recruiters look for the basic requirements but hope to see more than just the technical skills in the job listing.
- Education. This section focuses on your educational background and the human resources degrees you have earned. It is unnecessary to include all the schools you have attended, but you should highlight any degrees you’ve earned.
5 Tips for Writing a Strong HR Manager Resume
As mentioned earlier, companies receive about 250 applications for corporate openings. To sift through resumes, they use an applicant tracking system (ATS) software. To write a solid resume that will stand out in this system, consider the resume writing tips below.
- Use the keywords in the job listing. This is very crucial because the ATS sorts according to the job listing keywords. The terms you use should match the job requirements.
- Write in reverse-chronological order. In your experience section, you should write your current job first and proceed down the list. Similarly, in the education section, you should write your degrees first. This allows recruiters to see your most important achievements before skimming through details of your experience.
- Only include jobs in the last 10 – 15 years. Your resume summarizes your career and does not require you to include your entire work history. Focus on the positions you have held in the last 10-15 years. The idea is that you should not overwhelm the recruiter, but you should also provide something substantial.
- Choose a simple and readable font. Since recruiters spend only a short while screening your resume, you should ensure that they can sift out necessary information quickly. Use simple font styles and sizes.
- Put your experience first. While this is not compulsory in all resumes, you should put your work experience first before your education, especially if you only have one or two degrees. Market yourself with your best assets first.
HR Manager Resume Examples
With the above resume tips and principles, you should be able to develop a solid HR manager resume. The following samples will offer further clarity on the structure of your resume.
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
HR Manager Resume Sample: The Experience Section
Human Resources Manager, LaserBeam Holdings | New York, NY 05/2017 – Present
- Organizes and coordinates periodic recruitment processes to hire seasoned professionals with diverse talents
- Encourages in-house schemes to train staff by offering subsidies for bootcamps and professional certifications
- Improves employee performance and efficiency by listening to needs and providing solutions
- Implemented reliable pension plans, increasing employee retention rate by 25%
Human Resources Manager, Stream Media | Texas, TX 12/2012 – 05/2017
- Managed and supervised company staff structure, employee performance, and employee welfare
- Ensured employee compliance to organizational standards, culture, and values
- Implemented benefit schemes to motivate employees, increase overall performance, and reduce project delivery time
- Managed conflicts and interpersonal issues and promoted a positive working environment within the organization
Sample HR Manager Resume Template
[Your Name]
[Address]
[Phone Number]
[Email]
[Links to social media profile – if applicable]
Professional Summary
[Write a few sentences detailing your skills, experience, and career goals.]
Work Experience
- Position Held [Dates]
[company name and location]
- [Responsibilities]
- [Responsibilities]
- [Responsibilities]
- Position Held [Dates]
[company name and location]
- [Responsibilities]
- [Responsibilities]
- [Responsibilities]
Skills
- [Skill]
- [Skill]
- [Skill]
- [Skill]
Education
- Degree [Dates]
[University and Location]
HR Manager Resume Template Resources
- LiveCareer Template: With this template, you can construct your resume according to professional standards. You have access to editable text fields with simple font styles and formats.
- ResumeGenius Template: This template offers five different sections to work with. If you have a lot of experience with few educational degrees and qualifications, consider using this template.
- BeamJobs Template: This unconventional resume template can be used when you have a lot of work experience you want to showcase. The other sections are skewed to the left, providing more room for text under your experience section.
Importance of an HR Manager Cover Letter and Resume
It will interest you to know that hiring managers are also HR managers because recruitment is one of their responsibilities. So they carefully scrutinize applications according to industry standards. If you are a job seeker in this field, the onus is on you to make sure your cover letter and resume are up to standard so that you can receive invites for job interviews.
HR Manager Cover Letter and Resume FAQ
Yes, it is relevant to your resume because it gives an overview of your professional abilities, even if some of the skills are not closely related to human resources. Most soft skills you don’t need to include because they should be reflected in your achievements.
An effective cover letter should be one page in length and should capture your relevant qualifications and market yourself well to the recruiter. If your letter exceeds one page, there is a high probability that the recruiter will not read it. If you follow the guide above, you should be able to write your letter on a single page.
We strongly advise that you craft your resume to fit onto one page. However, if you have extensive experience that you want to showcase, you can have a second page. Make sure that the second page has relevance to the resume and is devoid of unnecessary elements.
If you cannot get the recruiter’s name, you can use other salutations like “Dear Hiring Manager,” or “Dear Hiring Team.” You would score more points when you use such salutations than addressing the letter with “To Whom It May Concern.”
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
