- What should your payroll specialist resume include?
- How can you create a professional summary?
- How should you describe your work experience as a payroll specialist?
- Include a fitting payroll specialist resume education and certifications section
- Which key skills are relevant for a payroll specialist resume?
- How to select the most impactful payroll specialist resume template
- Copyable payroll specialist resume example
- Key takeaways for writing a payroll specialist resume
Payroll is an essential part of any company, particularly when it comes to paying employees correctly and on time! Salary is often an organization’s largest expense, so employers are looking for payroll specialists with the required certifications, combined with the ability to be highly organized, accurate, and compliant. Crafting a well-written resume that showcases your payroll expertise and achievements is the best way you can stand out in the payroll crowd.
This resume guide, along with the corresponding payroll specialist resume example, will cover the following topics:
What should a payroll specialist resume include?
Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education)
Adding relevant key skills to your resume
Choosing the right resume template for a payroll specialist
What should your payroll specialist resume include?
Your payroll specialist resume needs to demonstrate your deep payroll knowledge as well as your skills in communication, IT, and time management. No two payrolls are the same, but all require the ability to be detail-oriented in terms of financial control, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. Presenting this information in a clear, concise, and compelling way will help you move forward in the hiring process.
Your payroll specialist resume should contain the following elements:
The resume header with your contact information
The resume summary
The resume skills section
The employment history section
The education section
How can you create a professional summary?
Payroll specialists are required to have a critical eye, and that’s one thing a hiring manager will also be using to review your resume. Your professional summary is the first thing they will see, so it needs to convey that you have the perfect set of skills, experience, and expertise to bring to the job opening. In 3-6 sentences, demonstrate the value you can add so recruiters are compelled to read on and learn more about you. This could include showcasing your high-level skills in payroll administration and general accounting practices, your proven success managing complex financial audits, risk matters, and budgets, along with your strong technical proficiency across various payroll software.
See our adaptable payroll specialist resume summary below.
Skilled and highly trained accounting professional with payroll administration and general accounting practices. Proven success applying compliance controls and measures while utilizing analytical thinking and innovative techniques to audit financials, identify risks, and manage budgets. Proficient in ADP, Paylocity, Gusto, and QuickBooks.
How should you describe your work experience as a payroll specialist?
The all-important work experience section is your opportunity to show the breadth and scale of your payroll experience as well as any stand-out contributions. Remember, it’s important to be clear and concise in this section. If you create overly long descriptions for each role, it can just result in the hiring manager zoning out and moving on to the next candidate.
Start with your current or most recent job and work back to earlier roles, covering no more than 10 to 15 years of experience. This approach is a great way to showcase your progression in the workplace to becoming a specialist in the payroll field. Balance short paragraphs of core responsibilities, with bullet-pointed achievements, making sure to include facts and figures as much as possible.
While payroll specialists work with numbers, their jobs don't necessarily provide an opportunity to deliver measurable results. With this in mind, your achievements can be more focused on outcomes, such as improving compliance.
Take a look at the adaptable payroll specialist resume employment history section below.
SENIOR PAYROLL SPECIALIST at Major Chemical Company 2020 - present
Manage bi-weekly payroll functions for 1,000+ employees.
Ensure timely processing of new hires, temporary workers, transfers, promotions, and terminations.
Verify accurate completion of worksheets prior to importing data to financial system.
Assist with reconciling payroll journal entries, as well as bank accounts against payroll ledger.
Create payroll data file for third-party payroll processor; serve as primary interface with provider.
Compile off-schedule payouts. Maintain up-to-date employee information in financial systems. Support year-end payroll close and processing of W-2 forms.
Conducted a review of current payroll processes, establishing standards and procedures that improved efficiency and compliance.
PAYROLL COORDINATOR at ABC Manufacturing Company 2018 - 2020
Processed semi-monthly payroll for more than 500 employees.
Partnered with accounting department to reconcile payroll transactions on a bi-weekly basis, including payroll journal entry reconciliation.
Ensured strict compliance with federal and state regulations. Assisted with preparations for year end.
Processed financial data for monthly reporting, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets and asset, liability, and capital account summaries.
Expert Tip
Focus on continuous improvement to stay at the top of your payroll game
Payroll is a dynamic and ever-changing role, thanks to evolving regulations, technological advancements, and changing employee requirements. Staying ahead of the game is therefore vital in advancing your career. Maintain an awareness of new and emerging legislation, attend relevant training programs, and seek feedback from employees and stakeholders to continually enhance your skill set and advance in your payroll career.
Include a fitting payroll specialist resume education and certifications section
Highlighting your degrees, credentials, and certifications the right way is vital on your payroll specialist resume as recruiters will be looking to see that you’re suitably qualified for the job opening. Here’s some key areas to focus on when crafting your education section:
List your education in reverse order with the highest qualification first. Payroll specialists often have a two- or four-year degree in accounting or a related field. If you don’t have a degree (only some organizations require one), use this section to focus on training or certifications (a high school diploma doesn’t need to be included).
List any certifications you’ve completed or are working towards (Certified Payroll Specialist for example) as they demonstrate your commitment to personal development.
Keep it simple. Only list relevant information under the degree—qualification level, subject, and educational institution—to keep this section clear and concise. The only exception would be if you’re a recent graduate, where you can include GPA (If 3.0 and over), year completed, and any notable projects, awards, or accolades.
Bachelor of Science in Accounting at the University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
Which key skills are relevant for a payroll specialist resume?
Other than experience, employers will be keen to see if your payroll specialist resume includes the key skills required to do the job. So, how do you make sure the skills you list line up with what they’re looking for?
Closely review the job description, as it will often provide keywords that you can directly include or find adjacent skills that align with ones you actually possess. Your resume will most likely be scanned by ATS systems that rank keywords by how closely they match the job description.
Here’s some payroll specialist keywords to give you some inspiration:
Payroll Administration
Budget Development
Regulatory Compliance
Auditing & Analysis
Expense Management
Data Organization & Reporting
Documentation & Reporting
How to select the most impactful payroll specialist resume template
The structure of your resume needs to be organized, polished, and professional—all qualities of a great payroll specialist. Avoid any design-heavy resume formats as this can confuse application tracking systems and result in the information being parsed incorrectly. Stick to a clean and modern resume design with concise sections. This will ensure your resume is easy to read by both hiring managers and the robots!
In terms of length, a two-page resume tends to be the norm for a payroll specialist. If you find that your resume is just tipping over to three pages, then try to adjust margins, the header/footer, and any white space to achieve a two-page version.
When exploring our many resume templates in our resume builder, start by selecting the resume layout that fits your situation best. Find inspiration with our over 100 available resume examples.
Copyable payroll specialist resume example
Summary example
Skilled and highly trained accounting professional with payroll administration and general accounting practices. Proven success applying compliance controls and measures while utilizing analytical thinking and innovative techniques to audit financials, identify risks, and manage budgets. Proficient in ADP, Paylocity, Gusto, and QuickBooks.
Employment history example
SENIOR PAYROLL SPECIALIST at Major Chemical Company 2020 - present
Manage bi-weekly payroll functions for 1,000+ employees.
Ensure timely processing of new hires, temporary workers, transfers, promotions, and terminations.
Verify accurate completion of worksheets prior to importing data to financial system.
Assist with reconciling payroll journal entries, as well as bank accounts against payroll ledger.
Create payroll data file for third-party payroll processor; serve as primary interface with provider.
Compile off-schedule payouts. Maintain up-to-date employee information in financial systems. Support year-end payroll close and processing of W-2 forms.
Conducted a review of current payroll processes, establishing standards and procedures that improved efficiency and compliance.
PAYROLL COORDINATOR at ABC Manufacturing Company 2018 - 2020
Processed semi-monthly payroll for more than 500 employees.
Partnered with accounting department to reconcile payroll transactions on a bi-weekly basis, including payroll journal entry reconciliation.
Ensured strict compliance with federal and state regulations. Assisted with preparations for year end.
Processed financial data for monthly reporting, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets and asset, liability, and capital account summaries.
Education example
Bachelor of Science in Accounting at the University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
Skills example
Payroll Administration
Budget Development
Regulatory Compliance
Auditing & Analysis
Expense Management
Data Organization & Reporting
Documentation & Reporting
Key takeaways for writing a payroll specialist resume
Payroll is essential to ensuring smooth and compliant business operations, so employers are always on the look-out for talented payroll specialists who can deliver these goals.
In order to land the plum payroll opportunities, your resume needs to showcase your deep payroll knowledge and skills in communication, IT, and time management.
Target your resume by including keywords in each section, like “payroll administration”, “auditing”, “regulatory compliance”, etc. Use the job description for keywords to match.
Make your life easier by using our online resume builder to create your payroll specialist resume with adaptable templates and AI powered content.
