Human Resources · free guide

How to tailor your resume for a HR Generalist role

A screener on an HR Generalist posting reads past the title's own promise, general, because listing every function without sizing any of them proves nothing. Tailoring means anchoring on population served. That match, more than any other line on the page, decides whether this resume gets a second look.

Four moves for this posting
  1. Anchor on population served, matching the employee count the posting implies; ratio of support to headcount says more than a list of functions ever could.
  2. Name your deepest two functions with evidence, matching whatever the posting emphasizes most; depth in two areas reads stronger than a shallow claim across every function.
  3. Show one fixed process with numbers, an onboarding step cut, matching any process language the posting mentions; generalists who improve systems are the ones who get promoted.
  4. Match your industry and company stage, startup, established, to the posting's own description; stage match signals your generalist range fits how they actually operate.
The fact behind this

The claim that ATS systems auto-reject 75 percent of resumes traces to a 2012 marketing claim, not research. (traced to a 2012 vendor marketing claim)

Before you tailor anything

Start with the version a recruiter opens right now, then make these moves against it.

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