You blend precision, diligence, and expertise to effortlessly navigate the complexities of managing the payroll side of your company. You maintain near-constant oversight of employee finances, making sure everyone gets paid correctly, and on time.
Whatever your particular niche within payroll, you’ll need to craft a top-notch resume and write a cover letter that effectively summarizes your strengths before you can push your career forward.
We’re here to help. Our payroll resume examples and tips are tailor-made for professionals across all aspects of payroll. Read on to start advancing your career!
Why this resume works
- While a big chunk of your payroll resume should be dedicated to your achievements in streamlining processes and ensuring consistency in practices, it’s your ability to identify and implement cost-saving initiatives that would elevate your application.
- Look at how Sylvia highlights her track record in saving costs. It’s an example you can emulate and boost chances of being hired.
Why this resume works
- Proving your passion for helping the payroll process can be difficult, especially if you’ve got no educational background in finance.
- So let your skills do the talking in your payroll assistant resume. List well-known finance tools like ADP Workforce Now, Intuit QuickBooks, and Payroll Relief. Companies expect their candidates to use them for handling salaries so they’ll easily overlook your education if you can prove you’re a master at them.
Why this resume works
- You can’t simply write that you’ve helped senior accountants or managers to make payrolling more efficient and expect to get hired. Rather, add some flair to your payroll coordinator resume with some leadership qualities.
- Begin your bullet points with action words like “Leveraged” and “Automated” to show that you know your way around FinTech and can create innovative solutions for improving payroll operations.
Why this resume works
- Your knack for small details is a great way to elevate your payroll clerk resume and boost your chances. However, there’s something else, albeit simple, that can prove to be a gamechanger in your application.
- Choosing a professional resume template and formatting your piece to make it easy for recruiters to read and follow your career journey is a powerful expression of your professionalism.
Why this resume works
- Of course, a payroll manager resume without measurable achievements from past and present roles may be far from convincing. Every candidate will be keen to include impactful achievements, making the competition stiffer.
- To stand out from the rest, including your bachelors of science labor and employment relations not only gives you credibility but also underscores your insider’s knowledge of the industry.
Why this resume works
- There are several ways to ensure your payroll specialist resume gets you hired in a stiff competition. Out of those ways, showcasing your understanding and use of specialized tools ranks top.
- Highlighting how you leveraged Gusto, GAAP, Kronos, and more to boost efficiency and improve workers’ satisfaction would get you noticed by the hiring team.
Why this resume works
- Nia sets a perfect example of what should help your payroll administrator resume get that job you’re qualified for.
- When you look closely, there is a tactical use of relevant software and tools to get things done and meet job expectations. Likewise, you can follow this script by highlighting your competencies in tools such as IRS Publication 15, Zenefits, BambooHR, and more to underscore your suitability for the advertised job.
Related resume examples
Tweak Your Payroll Resume to Match the Job
Thanks to your experience in payroll, you’ve developed a unique skill set that makes you the ideal candidate. With the help of tools like Paychex, ADP, and QuickBooks, payroll operations are seamless, and everyone’s happy.
Your job is pretty specialized, so focus your resume on the things that matter most in your particular branch of payroll.
Highlight that you’re a pro at crucial payroll tools, such as Excel, Paychex, and Kronos. If you’re applying for a specialized niche within payroll, such as compliance, emphasize your tax and legal regulatory knowledge, too.
Need some ideas?
15 top payroll skills
- ADP Workforce Now
- Paychex Flex
- QuickBooks Payroll
- Sage Payroll
- Kronos
- TurboTax
- Microsoft Excel
- UltiPro
- Ceridian Dayforce
- Paycom
- Workday
- SAP SuccessFactors
- Zenefits
- Oracle Payroll
- Gusto
Your payroll work experience bullet points
Regardless of your niche within payroll, your work is crucial—after all, you make sure payroll operations are running smoothly, all the while adhering strictly to the ever-changing tax laws and regulations.
Your daily responsibilities are key, but your resume should, instead, highlight your greatest successes. Harness the power of data and back them up with concrete metrics and figures to amplify your impact.
As an example, discuss how you streamlined payroll processes using ADP, leading to a reduction in total errors by 24%.
- Spotlight how you improved processes and reduced occurrences of payroll and benefit-related errors.
- Highlight the top-notch quality of your work by including improvements to data accuracy or meeting crucial deadlines.
- Showcase the scale of your work by mentioning the sheer volume of employees you oversaw payroll processes for.
- Emphasize your financial impact by outlining cost-savings that your work led to.
See what we mean?
- Implemented TSheets time tracking system, resulting in a 21% improvement in timekeeping accuracy and a $13,243 reduction in overtime costs
- Utilized QuickBooks Payroll to automate tax calculations, resulting in a 17% reduction in payroll tax errors and saving an estimated $5,348 annually in penalties
- Processed payroll for a team of 1,112 employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance with all federal and state regulations
- Achieved a 99.6% accuracy rate in payroll calculations, reducing errors and discrepancies
9 active verbs to start your payroll work experience bullet points
- Implemented
- Enhanced
- Processed
- Streamlined
- Optimized
- Negotiated
- Audited
- Achieved
- Maintained
3 Tips for Writing a Payroll Resume When You’re Just Starting Out
- Display your certifications
- Certifications won’t always be required, but can go a long way toward showing your commitment early in your career. If you have certs like the FPC, CPP, or specialized payroll qualifications, display them with pride.
- Showcase your attention to detail
- You know full well that accuracy and precision are key in payroll, so highlight your attention to detail. For instance, mention how you prevented errors and ensured smooth operations in tasks like calculating wages, deductions, and taxes.
- Highlight software proficiency
- Showcase your familiarity with payroll software to set yourself apart and assure employers you can hit the ground running. Mention any payroll management tools you’ve used during your education or personal projects, such as ADP or QuickBooks.
3 Tips for Writing a Payroll Resume if You’re Already Experienced
- Emphasize your business-oriented thinking
- Your payroll strategies often have an impact on the broader business strategy—spotlight that in your resume. Detail how your initiatives saved expenses and time, leading to improved decision-making for senior management.
- Dive into your specialization
- If you’re specialized in a niche such as international payroll, compliance, or advanced reporting, flaunt that expertise. Highlight any certifications, training, and work experience that reaffirm it.
- Spotlight your process optimization
- Optimization is a crucial part of payroll. Show that you know that by talking about things like the strategies you used to streamline payroll workflows, implement new technologies, or introduce practices that boosted efficiency.
Use your cover letter to elaborate on the achievements you listed in your resume. For instance, detail why you opted to use Gusto to implement time-saving measures that led to significant drops in processing time.
If you’ve just started out, a career objective can be a great way to tailor your resume to each role. Mention each company and job title specifically, and include a long-term career trajectory you’d like to follow within the company—for example, setting your sights on a payroll lead role.
To distinguish your resume, tailor it to include the most relevant keywords for each job description. If a role emphasizes TurboTax and Kronos, list these skills at the top of your list.
