A payroll specialist is a member of the HR or accounting team that handles the entire payroll operations. They start by calculating employees’ wages based on their hourly rates and the number of hours worked. They should also consider bonuses, overtime, and deductions. After having approval from upper management, payroll specialists issue payments and taxes by submitting checks or using automation software.
Most payroll specialists rely on automation software to optimize their processes. Therefore, it is essential to highlight your computer literacy on your resume. You should be familiar with fundamental accounting tools and specialized payroll software.
Other payroll specialists’ responsibilities include conducting audits to evaluate internal expenses, creating reports for upper management, and addressing employees’ concerns regarding their payments. Personnel management is a very important part of payroll operations because you might have to deal with conflict and educate or onboard other employees. Therefore, it is a good idea to indicate your personnel management skills on your resume.
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Payroll specialists are responsible for ensuring that employees get paid correctly and on time. That’s why they track their hours, calculate their wages, and deductions, and issue their payments with accounting software. Additionally, they are also responsible for evaluating a company’s payroll process and ensuring it follows legal compliance. Therefore, it is worth mentioning your auditing skills on your resume.
As a payroll specialist, you are usually expected to have the appropriate training in basic finances or accounting. You should ideally have an associate degree. However, some employers might ignore this requirement if you are able to demonstrate you have a good understanding of accounting practices. You should reflect this in your resume by focusing on your technical skills and professional experience.
There are numerous payroll tools these days that help you automate tasks. If you are familiar with one or multiple accounting programs, you should list them in your resume. Also, consider checking your potential employer’s tools requirements to see if you are familiar with any of them.
Senior payroll specialists supervise their colleagues’ work by ensuring payroll operations are accurate and following legal compliance. They also authorize payments and make the necessary corrections to ensure payroll processes follow corporate standards. It is important to demonstrate your trustworthiness and confidentiality on your resume since this is a high-level position, and you handle sensitive information.
As a senior payroll specialist, you should have a deep understanding of payroll compliance. It means that you should adhere to all government and local regulations regarding employees’ payment issuing. This is crucial because not following these laws could negatively affect any business.
There are numerous accounting and finance credentials that can help you certify your expertise and competencies. They are issued by industry-leading organizations so they’ll make you seem more authoritative and reliable. Some of the most relevant certifications are the Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), the Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), and the Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS).
We spoke with hiring managers who recruit payroll specialists at companies like ADP, Paychex, and Gusto. They shared insider tips on what they look for in resumes that stand out. The following tips will help you create a strong payroll specialist resume that showcases your skills and experience.
Payroll certifications show employers that you have the knowledge and skills to handle payroll tasks. Some common certifications include:
If you have any of these certifications, make sure to list them prominently on your resume. For example:
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), American Payroll Association, 2020
If you're working towards a certification, you can also mention that on your resume to show your commitment to professional development.
A resume summary is an optional section that highlights your most relevant qualifications for the payroll specialist position you're applying for. While your resume already serves as a summary of your skills and experience, a resume summary can provide additional context and emphasize key points that might not be immediately apparent from the rest of your application.
However, it's important to avoid using an objective statement, which focuses on your goals rather than how you can benefit the employer. Instead, use your summary to showcase your value and fit for the specific payroll specialist role.
The work experience section is the most important part of your payroll specialist resume. It's where you show hiring managers how you've applied your skills and knowledge to real-world situations. Use this section to highlight your most relevant and impressive accomplishments, and to demonstrate your value as a candidate.
Here are some tips to help you write a strong work experience section:
When writing your payroll specialist resume, you should know that your word choice is essential to persuade recruiters. You must demonstrate excellent communication skills while describing your accomplishments and responsibilities in previous roles. That’s why it is a good idea to incorporate strong action verbs into your resume that improve its word economy.
Now, you should only focus on those action verbs that are relevant to your career and accurately describe your experience. It is also important to avoid repetition as it’ll affect your readability. Consider using our selection of payroll specialist action verbs to get started.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Your payroll specialist resume should indicate your proficiency with data entry, accounting fundamentals, and payroll software. These are the skills you should highlight in your resume. Also, it is important to mention those tools that you use for automating payments and reporting. You can also talk about the techniques you use as a payroll specialist, such as payroll administration and personnel management.
Make sure you also indicate your familiarity with payment legislation, since this is an important part of payroll and taxes operations. If you need more skills to include in your payroll specialist resume, consider checking the following ones.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Payroll Specialist job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
