HR Executive resume example
By Bhagirath Sheela, founder of JobCatch ·
HR executives in India often cover recruitment, onboarding, payroll inputs, attendance and statutory compliance in one role. Employers read the resume for which of these you handle, at what volume, the HRMS you use, and your knowledge of compliance such as PF, ESI and the labour codes.
What recruiters look for
- Recruitment volume: positions closed, time to hire, sources
- Onboarding, attendance and payroll inputs
- Statutory compliance: PF, ESI, gratuity, the labour codes
- HRMS tools and employee engagement work
Section order
With experience
- Summary
- Experience
- Skills
- Education
- Certifications
As a fresher
- Summary
- Education
- Internships
- Skills
- Achievements
Summary examples
Fresher
MBA (HR) graduate with an internship in a staffing firm, where I screened 300 resumes and scheduled 80 interviews in two months.
Experienced
HR executive with four years at a 600-person manufacturing company. Closed 140 positions last year, run monthly payroll inputs and PF/ESI compliance, and moved attendance onto an HRMS.
Skills, spelled the way postings spell them
An applicant tracking system matches the words in the job posting, and it does not reliably treat two spellings as one skill. The left column is the form most postings use; the right, other spellings people type. Use the posting's own spelling for each application, and list only what you can discuss in an interview.
| Skill | Also written as |
|---|---|
| Recruitment | Talent acquisition, Hiring, Sourcing |
| Payroll processing | Payroll |
| Microsoft Excel | Excel, MS Excel, Advanced Excel |
| Documentation | Technical writing, Record keeping |
| Stakeholder management | — |
| Client communication | Client handling, Client servicing |
| Process improvement | Process optimisation, Process optimization |
| Google Workspace | G Suite, Google Sheets, Google Docs |
Also worth listing if you have them: Onboarding, HRMS (Keka, Darwinbox, greytHR), PF and ESI compliance, Employee engagement.
Bullet examples
Each bullet says what you did and what changed because of it. Change the numbers to your own; a recruiter will ask about every one.
- Closed 140 positions in a year, from shop-floor operators to engineers; average time to hire fell from 38 to 24 days.
- Prepare monthly payroll inputs for 600 employees and file PF and ESI returns on time every month.
- Moved attendance and leave from paper registers to an HRMS for six locations.
- Run onboarding for 15 joiners a month, including documents, induction and first-week check-ins.
- Organised quarterly engagement surveys; the response rate rose from 40% to 78%.
For freshers: projects and internships
- Internship at a staffing firm: screened 300 resumes and scheduled 80 interviews in two months.
- Summer project: studied attrition at a BPO and presented three retention recommendations.
- Coordinated placements for my MBA batch as a member of the placement committee.
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing "end-to-end HR" with no numbers. Positions closed, employees covered and filings done are your results.
- Leaving out compliance. In India, PF, ESI and labour-law knowledge is often what the employer is really hiring for.
- Not naming the HRMS. Many postings ask for experience with a specific system.
What an ATS reads from this sample
An applicant tracking system turns the PDF into plain text before anyone reads it. This is that text for the sample above, extracted by the same code as "What the ATS reads" in the app. Everything is in reading order, under the right heading, with the name and email intact — which is what a single-column template is for.
Kavita Joshi HR Executive [email protected] • +91 98765 43210 • Vadodara, Gujarat • linkedin.com/in/kavitajoshi Summary HR executive with four years at a 600-person manufacturing company. Closed 140 positions last year, run monthly payroll inputs and PF/ESI compliance, and moved attendance onto an HRMS. Experience HR Executive, Kirtiman Engineering Jun 2022 – Present Vadodara Closed 140 positions in a year, from shop-floor operators to engineers; average time to hire fell from 38 to 24 days. Prepare monthly payroll inputs for 600 employees and file PF and ESI returns on time every month. Moved attendance and leave from paper registers to an HRMS for six locations. HR Associate, Talentbridge Staffing Aug 2020 – May 2022 Vadodara Run onboarding for 15 joiners a month, including documents, induction and first-week check-ins. Organised quarterly engagement surveys; the response rate rose from 40% to 78%. Skills Recruitment · Payroll processing · Microsoft Excel · Documentation · Stakeholder management · Client communication · Process improvement · Google Workspace · Onboarding · HRMS (Keka, Darwinbox, greytHR) · PF and ESI compliance · Employee engagement Projects HRMS rollout Moved attendance and leave for six locations from paper to an HRMS. Education MBA, Human Resource Management 2018 – 2020 The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda · 7.8 CGPA Languages English · Hindi
Interview questions to prepare
The app's interview prep for this sample and a plain HR Executive posting. It works from the resume and the posting only, and tells you how to prepare, never what to say.
Questions every interview has
- Tell me about yourself. Two minutes: what you do now (HR Executive at Kirtiman Engineering), one result you are proud of, and why this role is next.
- Why do you want this job? Read their website and one recent piece of news before the call. Name something specific.
- Why are you leaving your current job? Say what you are moving towards. Do not criticise your employer.
- What is your notice period, and what salary are you expecting? Decide your number before the interview, so you are not deciding it on the call.
About the skills the job asks for
- Tell me about a time you used Microsoft Excel. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Stakeholder management. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Client communication. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Recruitment. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Payroll processing. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Documentation. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
About what the resume claims
- You wrote: "Closed 140 positions in a year, from shop-floor operators to engineers; average time to hire fell from 38 to 24 days." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Prepare monthly payroll inputs for 600 employees and file PF and ESI returns on time every month." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Moved attendance and leave from paper registers to an HRMS for six locations." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
Questions to ask them
- What would a good first three months in this role look like?
- Who would I work with most closely?
- What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?
Templates that suit this role
All of these are single-column and read cleanly by an applicant tracking system. Classic is free, with no watermark.
Questions
What should an HR fresher put on a resume?
Internships, summer projects and placement-committee work, with numbers: resumes screened, interviews scheduled, events organised. Add Excel skills, because HR runs on spreadsheets.
Is an MBA necessary for an HR executive job?
Common, but not required for executive roles. A BBA or any degree plus recruitment or payroll experience can get you in; an MBA (HR) helps for HR business partner roles later.
Next: the HR Executive cover letter the app drafts from this resume, and how to show Microsoft Excel, Documentation on a resume.
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