Top Payroll Resume Examples & Pro Writing Tips

You have a number of options for choosing a resume design, but for a payroll resume your best choice is something simple and straightforward using a clean, modern look. Payroll resumes are often expected to be stuffy and dull, so you want to avoid anything too classical with heavy use of serif fonts. Instead, surprise readers with a refreshing sans serif look not too different from our payroll resume samples, using clean, modern fonts and plenty of white space.

Think of your resume summary as the reader’s first introduction to you. You should make yourself personable while still remaining professional with an introductory statement of no more than three sentences. Mention your years of experience, and go on to discuss what makes you an asset to an employer by calling out your greatest strengths and how you benefit the bottom line.

One thing you should avoid, though, is writing an objective statement. Employers want to hear what you can do for them, not what you want from them.

It’s inevitable that in your payroll resume you’ll want to include skills such as ADP, Sage, and QuickBooks, as we did in our payroll resume samples. You can include these skills in the searchable keyword skills section to put them front and center, but it’s even better when you can include them in your work history bullets. In your work history bullets, you can describe how you used those technical skills to accomplish a positive result, giving them more impact with context and a measurable outcome.

If you have certifications such as Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) from the American Payroll Association or Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute, you should definitely list those certifications after your name in your header so employers know up front that you have the skills they’re looking for. Write them just as the acronyms CPP or PMP, but in your education section list the full write-up of those certifications with the name, institution, and completion date spelled out. All other certifications should also go in this section.

As you think through your career history, focus on accomplishments that have a measurable, demonstrable result. If you can focus on accomplishments that quantify those results with numbers, even better. Numbers capture attention, so if you can say that you cut payroll processing time by 32% or shaved 14 days off month-end closing and reconciliation, those numbers will make employers pay attention.

You can still list accomplishments with less tangible results, however. If you mentored team members to improve collaboration and job performance, that’s still a result. If you reduced errors by implementing payroll automation software, you’ve created a positive effect. Don’t be afraid to show that, and stand up and proclaim it loudly as you use our payroll resume samples to craft your own original resume.