Payroll Manager Resume: Examples, Summary, & Guide

You’ve lost track of the number of hours you’ve spent on sending out job applications. Either way, you’re not getting paid for this time, so it’s just as well. 

Get on the clock by landing a well-paid, benefits-filled job with a 100% compliant payroll manager resume that’s guaranteed to get you a paycheck. 

In this guide:

• A payroll manager resume sample better than most.
• How to make the perfect payroll manager job description for resumes.
• How to write a resume for payroll manager jobs that stands out.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing a payroll manager job.

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Looking for other resume examples for similar professions? Here’s a selection of relevant guides: 

• Accounting Resume Example
• Accounting Assistant Resume Example
• Accounting Manager Resume Example
• Account Manager Resume Example
• Financial Analyst Resume Example
• Human Resources Resume Example
• Office Manager Resume Example
• Payroll Specialist Resume Example
• Project Manager Resume Example
• Senior Accountant Resume Example
• Tax Accountant Resume Example

Payroll Manager Resume Sample

Payroll managers oversee a company's payroll processes, managing payroll teams, developing and implementing policies, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. A payroll manager resume should show outstanding attention to detail, along with the right experience for this senior role. 

Here’s how to write a payroll manager resume that’ll pay for itself in full: 

1. Use the Right Format on Your Payroll Manager Resume

All documents you prepare at work follow certain rules. There’s no room for creative expression. With resumes, it’s quite similar—the most effective ones stick to tried and tested guidelines.

Here’s how to format your payroll manager resume:

• Apply the reverse-chronological layout to your resume: list your most recent experience first to highlight your biggest wins. 
• Choose a professional resume font: if it looks out of place on an invoice, it doesn’t belong on a resume. Arial, Calibri, or Georgia are among the best choices. 
• Set your resume margins to one inch on all sides and use 1–1.15 line spacing for clarity. 
• Keep an eye on the length of your resume: one page would be ideal, but for senior roles such as yours, a two-page resume is also acceptable. 
• Divide your document into the standard resume sections: a professional resume header with your contact details, a summary paragraph, work experience, education, key skills, and additional information (certifications, foreign languages, etc.—we’ll cover these in the final section of this guide). 

When you’re ready, submit your resume as a PDF file. There are two reasons for this choice: 

Firstly, PDFs display the same on every device—unlike Word Docs, which may look different in another version of Office or another software (like OpenOffice). 

Secondly, most medium to large companies nowadays use ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) for hiring employees, as you probably know. The PDF format will make your resume more ATS-compliant in the majority of cases. 

If an employer knows their ATS software doesn’t read PDFs very well, they will request .docx resumes from candidates. In such a case, always comply with the file format preference stated in the ad—you don’t want to risk your resume getting jumbled up by the ATS! 

2. Write a Convincing Payroll Manager Resume Summary

You likely know exactly how many applications a good job opening can attract. And just in case you don’t, the answer is always a lot. A lot more than recruiters can get through if they were to read each resume in full. 

What they do instead is skim-read resumes for relevant information to quickly determine which ones are worth their time. And the job of your resume introduction is to convince them you belong on the shortlist. 

This introductory paragraph is called a resume profile or resume summary, and its purpose is to convey your value to the employer in 2–4 sentences. Here’s how to structure it to make sure it does its job: 

1. Start with one adjective that describes you (in a professional capacity) or your work ethic (proven, detail-oriented, driven, efficient)
2. Add your job title (payroll manager)
3. Mention your years of experience (4+, 5+)
4. State exactly how your skills can be an asset to the company (eager to develop efficient payroll processes for XYZ Company and maintain 100% on-time, accurate payments)
5. Outline a couple of your best professional achievements (improved time-tracking accuracy by introducing a clock-in/out system for automatically recording working hours, hand-picked a team of payroll specialists that exceeded efficiency and accuracy goals by 15%)

If you feel you’re getting stuck, skip this section for now. Come back to it once you’ve completed the rest of your resume—it’ll be easier to sum up your experience when it’s laid out on the page and fresh in your mind. 

Expert hint: As you research resume writing, you’ll likely come across the term ‘resume objective’. Objectives are similar to summaries, except they’re usually reserved for entry-level candidates with little to no experience. As a management candidate, you should be able to write a summary for your resume instead. 

3. Log Your Work Experience With Relevant Skills and Achievements

Reusable content is often the name of the game in payroll management—employee statements, IRS forms, or money transfer orders all follow a specific template that can be used repeatedly. 

Most people assume the same to be true of resumes, which is why there are so many unsuccessful job applications out there. 

Your resume needs to be targeted to the job you’re applying for, no exceptions. Generic, copy-pasted resumes can only get you so far (if at all)—truly outstanding applications that have the best chance of success are tailored to the employer’s expectations. 

This will be most evident in the work experience section of a resume: with the right job descriptions, you can use it to prove to the employer that you have the exact set of skills they require. 

So, here’s how to write a tailored payroll manager job description: 

1. Review the job ad. What skills does the employer mention? Any specific tasks they need help with? Those act as keywords to use on your resume, both for the sake of the ATS and the recruiter. 
2. Brainstorm examples of when you used those skills to overcome challenges or achieve positive results. 
3. Turn those examples into achievement statements for your resume. Start each with a verb and include numbers where possible to quantify your performance. 
4. Use the achievement statements as bullet points on your resume, aiming for up to 6 for each of your jobs. 

This is how you build a tailored resume that shows the recruiter straight away that you’re the perfect fit for the job! 

You should mention keywords in the skills section of your resume, too—pick up to 10 most relevant skills that show the full extent of your value to the company. Here’s a list of ideas to help you choose your own: 

Payroll Manager Resume Skills

• Management skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Time management skills
• Leadership skills
• Computer skills
• Kronos
• PayForce
• OnPay
• Paycor
• TriNet
• Gusto
• ERP systems
• Oracle
• SAP
• Workday
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel
• Reviewing payroll policies
• Developing payroll processes
• Producing financial reports
• Benefit plans
• Hiring and onboarding
• Relevant legislation
• Analytical skills
• Risk assessment
• Decision-making
• Accounting
• Critical thinking skills
• Conceptual skills
• Communication skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Conflict resolution skills

Expert hint: If you have lots of experience, it’s likely you don’t have to put all of it in your application. The rule of thumb for how far back to go on your resume is up to 15 years—it’s assumed anything before that is no longer very relevant. If you do have some particularly valuable experience from 15+ years ago, though, feel free to give it a very brief mention. 

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4. Record the Details of Your Education

Education is secondary to experience when you’re applying for a manager job, sure. But it’s still an essential part of your application, so make sure you do it justice. 

Since you already have work experience, your education resume section only needs to cover the basics: your highest completed degree, the name of the college, and the years of attendance. 

Refrain from including details like extracurricular activities or relevant coursework on your resume—those are the hallmarks of entry-level candidates. You can put your GPA on your resume if you want to, but only do so if it’s 100% worth mentioning, i.e., if it was 3.7 or above. 

5. Complete Your Payroll Resume With Additional Sections

Who doesn’t like a bonus? Everything you’ve covered on your resume so far was base pay—indispensable. Now, add on some benefits.

In separate sections, list any other information that’s relevant to your application and shows your skills. Common additions include: 

• A licenses and certifications resume section with your relevant courses and CPP details
• Foreign languages you can speak—remember to indicate your level of proficiency
• A resume section for your volunteering experience
• Memberships in professional associations and your activities there (conferences, appearances, etc.)
• Publications and public appearances

As for mentioning interests on your resume, this—much like relevant coursework from college—tends to be an entry-level strategy. For management-level resumes, it’s best to refrain from including your hobbies. 

What you can (and should!) do, however, is to write a cover letter that highlights the skills that make you the ideal candidate for the role. You only need about 3–4 paragraphs, so it won’t take long, but it could give you the edge you need to get the job. 

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Key Points

Here’s a recap of how to write a payroll manager resume that gets jobs: 

• Format your document for clarity: use standard resume sections, an easy-to-read font, and section headings to make your resume easy to navigate. 
• Write a resume summary paragraph that showcases your professional value in 2–4 sentences. 
• Build your work experience section around the most relevant skills and accomplishments, ensuring you target your resume to each new job opening. 
• Finish off your resume with details on your education and any other relevant activities or knowledge. 
• Submit a cover letter with your resume to maximize your chances of getting hired. 

Thanks for reading! Do you have any questions about writing your payroll resume? Perhaps you can offer some advice of your own, what strategies worked for you in the past? Let us know in the comments section below! 

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