Landing your first HR role starts with a polished application, and the right Human Resources intern resume can set you apart from other candidates.
This guide will walk you through presenting your skills, writing a cover letter, and resume building so you can make a strong impression from day one.
We’ll cover:
- ↪ 5 Human Resources intern resume templates tailored for entry-level success
- ↪ Resume building advice to get a headstart on your HR career journey
- ↪ How should you structure your resume to highlight your strengths effectively
Why this resume works
- Don’t have any past HR-related work or project experience? Don’t sweat it! What matters most is convincing employers you can handle HR tasks, even if it’s through unrelated experience.
- Here’s how you’re gonna do it: Cherry pick your best projects/jobs and align bullet points with HR duties. Impacts like leading a team and resolving disputes show you possess must-have HR qualities and create a unique human resources intern resume.
How to Write a Human Resources (HR) Intern Resume
Dedicate your human resources (HR) resume to proving to employers that you have what it takes to not only manage existing workers, but also onboard better talent and retain them.
Summary
Use a strong objective and university projects to prove you’re an intern worth hiring!
Put your education first, then back it up with transferrable skills from projects, and any other roles that underscore your potential and the value you would bring if hired.
Here’s what to include on your HR intern resume:
- Proper understanding of what the job requires
- Experiences that speak of your potential
- Core soft and HR skills
- Familiarity with HR tools or software such as Workday, BambooHR, or Excel
- Accomplishments that demonstrate initiative, teamwork, or process improvements
Show employers your passion with a well-crafted objective
The first thing an employer will probably notice is your career objective, so do them a favor and personalize it. You’re not expected to have tons of experience in it, just a clear sense of direction and proof that you’ve learned about the company before applying.
Don’t let this stop you from being specific, though. Be clear on the type of work you’re looking for and what it can help with. It’s always a good idea to use spell-checkers and ensure you aren’t making typos.
Check out the example below to learn how you can walk the fine line between a personalized, yet to-the-point objective:
Example
“Motivated MBA student with a proven track record in customer service looking to harness my strategic planning experience in an HR intern role at Vivint. I’m keen to learn valuable HR practices, such as reporting employee performance and developing benefits, while contributing to Vivint’s mission of creating an engaging and supportive workplace.”
Education: Your biggest asset
In a role that largely depends on business management knowledge, expand a bit on what makes your academic background relevant.
And don’t stop at a degree, include extra coursework that directly relate to HR work, such as:
- Business Ethics
- Organizational Behavior
- Human Resource Management
While crafting this section, make sure you use the following format:
Example
Bachelor of Science
Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
Brigham Young University
2020-2026
Provo, UT
Make projects your best friends
Just because you don’t have work experience doesn’t mean you’re out of the competition. Almost every application will not have direct experience in HR, so use projects to your advantage.
This includes activities, like:
- Class presentations
- Campus-wide initiatives
- Mock HR sessions
- Seminars
Here’s an example of using a project to your advantage:
HR Strategist Study
- Led a group of 6 to discover how Lever CRM’s features help businesses maintain relationships with candidates and improve candidate engagement by 14%.
- Presented the latest recruitment strategy findings to a class of 29 students, showing the impact on organizational growth and sustainability.
- Used BambooHR’s reporting and analytics tools to analyze hypothetical employee turnover rates and identify 3 areas for improvement.
If you feel like you’ve added all projects and still have space left for more, try including any hobbies that might interest the employer. Check the job description to learn if the company prefers candidates with certain interests.
What Matters Most: Your Skills & Experience
With a limited background in HR, the skills section of your resume becomes pivotal in highlighting what you can do.
Align those skills with the asks of the HR internship role you’re pursuing to show recruiters you have the tools to excel. Refer to the HR job description for the required skills, and avoid listing generic terms like “HR software” or “communication.”
For instance, don’t jot down something as broad as “spreadsheets” when referring to HR software; opt for the more specific “Excel” or “Google Sheets.” Similarly, when referencing social media, refer explicitly to each platform and indicate your level of expertise.
Here are some top HR skills you may see.
9 most popular human resources (HR) intern skills
- Employee Recruitment
- Retention Strategies
- Data Analysis
- Conflict Resolution
- Google Suite
- MS Excel/Word
- Asana
- SAP SucessFactors
- Paycor
Sample human resources (HR) intern work experience bullet points
Here’s where your resume needs extra personalization. Everyone has a unique background, so look critically at your experience to see what you can spin to your advantage.
The work experience section of a good resume will demonstrate how you’ve applied your skills in real-world situations and left a positive impact. If you’re a recent graduate, you can include degree-related projects or even volunteer initiatives where you used skills relevant to HR.
If transitioning into HR from another field, scan past roles for where you utilized skills that align with the human resources internship role. Remember, quantify your achievements—numbers speak volumes!
Here are a few samples:
- Reviewed patient documentation and insurance information before submission, reducing database entry errors by 74%
- Operated as social media campaign lead for university project, attaining 164 subscribers on YouTube and 1.3M followers on Instagram
- Utilized data-driven techniques to analyze social media algorithms and prioritized top posts, performing better than 96% of competitors’ campaigns
- Developed automated system for ordering office supplies, reducing manual inventory review time by 186+ hours annually
Top 5 tips for your human resources (HR) intern resume
- Metrics are key
- Like our examples above, numbers set off your achievements. Use real figures to show how you helped increase subscribers and views on a social media platform.
- Stay sleek
- Even when trying to fill space, don’t ramble. HR departments handle large volumes of data and documents, so if you’ve had some experience organizing, managing, and retrieving information efficiently, even in another capacity, mention it.
- Context helps
- If aligning your history with the desired human resources internship is challenging, provide context to your achievements. Describe how your actions contributed and helped drive results within the HR landscape.
- Stand out with relevant experiences
- Review the Human Resources job description and identify values to leverage in your resume. For instance, if the HR intern position requires frequent interaction with employees at all organizational levels, showcase your skills as a clear, effective verbal and written communicator.
- Go modern
- When picking a resume template, choose what places your best accomplishments at the focal point. Avoid loud colors or distracting fonts for high readability.
Key takeaways
Here’s a refresh on what you learned:
- State your mission in a career goal that explains why you want to work in HR
- Take advantage of school projects, internships, and volunteer work
- Use numbers or results when possible to prove what you achieved
- Keep your resume short, clear, and easy to read at a glance
- Adjust your resume for each internship so it matches what the role is asking for
Human Resources (HR) Intern Resume FAQs
No. Stick with a one-page resume template but avoid fluff. It’s better to list fewer but better examples, such as having a basic understanding of HR laws and regulations, including knowledge about labor or discrimination laws and health and safety regulations.
Understandably, you’ll have limited experience with HR software at this point. Only list software you have experience with, whether Workday, Asana, or Tableau.
Absolutely, but it isn’t as daunting as it sounds! Refer to the job ad for core requirements and look for keywords matching your skills, such as u0022Organization and Time Managementu0022 or u0022Interpersonal Skillsu0022 to increase your chances of snagging an interview.
Since you’re new to the workforce, companies won’t bombard you with tons of work, but be prepared to learn things you were never taught in college. An HR intern is mainly asked to do administrative work, but may also contribute to handling complex tasks like improving any workplace policies or ideating benefits.
The objective of an HR intern resume includes a quick recap of the candidate’s skills and any project experiences. It should be convincing and inform employers why someone wants to be in the field and apply for the role.
