Payroll Manager Resume Examples

As the name suggests, a payroll manager’s role includes overseeing and directing payroll procedures for an organization’s employees. A payroll manager is responsible for preparing and managing all payroll distribution and related records for their employer.

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, compensation and benefits managers made an impressive annual average salary of $122,270 in 2019, and the number of these jobs is only expected to grow in the coming years. If you’re looking to fill one of these sought-after positions yourself, LiveCareer can help. Study our payroll manager resume example to learn what hiring managers look for in applicants for this role.

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What is a Payroll Manager ?

A payroll manager is a HR and finance professional who manages all employee payments within an organization. In other words, they’re responsible for preparing and maintaining payroll records, factoring in things like base salary, allowances, taxes, deductions and non-taxable wages. Payroll managers are also responsible for issuing the paychecks themselves via physical check or direct deposit to employee bank accounts.

As of 2019, there were 18,000 “compensation and benefits managers” employed in the United States. By 2029, another 500 of these positions are expected to be filled in the U.S.

What Makes This a Great
Payroll Manager Resume Example?

Creating a well-written resume is an essential first step toward catching a recruiter’s attention. To land the role of a payroll manager, you need to know what hiring managers look for on candidates’ resumes.

Here are few of the key ways our payroll manager resume example demonstrates how to showcase your qualifications, skills and experience to employers:

  • Expert-crafted content: Our resume examples are written by certified resume writers who know what kinds of resumes recruiters want to read. They use industry-specific phrases, like “Excel proficiency” and “bi-weekly payroll”in the example above, to show how to signal you’re an expert in your field. For extra assistance, you can also borrow pre-written text suggestions from our Resume Builder.
  • Appropriate format choice: Choosing the right resume format is vital to highlighting your qualifications correctly. The example here uses a chronological format to foreground the candidate’s experience in reverse-chronological order, thanks to their many years of industry experience. Candidates with less experience may be wiser to opt for a combination or functional format instead.
  • Picking a fitting resume template: Payroll managers, like most members of finance teams, are likely to find work in more traditional office environments. Our experts built this example with one of our traditional resume templates for this reason, but you can choose whichever template from our wide selection best suits the role you’re after.

3 Payroll Manager Professional Summary Examples

Payroll manager applicants should use their professional summary to show recruiters they have the senior-level skills and experience needed to succeed in the role. Study our payroll manager resume example, or use our Resume Builder’s pre-written, customizable suggestions for help in writing your professional summary.

Below are three examples of payroll manager professional summaries you might consider for your resume:

  1. Highly qualified and dynamic payroll manager with extensive knowledge of federal, state and local tax policy. Three-time winner of finance department awards, well-versed in filing numerous tax forms and preparing payroll records. Possess excellent organizational and teamwork skills.
  2. Meticulous payroll manager with more than 10 years of experience. Committed to accurate disbursement of employee compensation and benefits. Efficient multitasker; successfully interviewed, hired and trained 12 new payroll associates and managers while simultaneously handling primary duties.
  3. Dedicated payroll manager with five years of experience managing all payroll functions at a large agricultural firm. Strong communication and leadership skills. Capable problem-solver comfortable contributing to healthy and productive employee interactions. Proven track record of creating and maintaining four companies’ payroll data.

3 Payroll Manager Work Experience Examples

Your work experience plays a vital role in illuminating concrete ways you contributed to previous employers. Follow our payroll manager resume example or take advantage of our Resume Builder’s customizable content to learn how to weave these quantifiable accomplishments into descriptions of your past duties.

Below are several work experience examples than guide you when writing your own resume:

  1. Oversaw and assisted junior payroll managers to process in-house payroll functions for a company of 3000 employees.
  2. Oversaw payment disbursal during bi-weekly pay periods and quickly resolved and payment-related issues raised by employees.
  3. Prepare and process monthly payroll for over 300 employees at Quinton Foods while also maintaining employee data to ensure accurate disbursal.

Top Skills for Your Payroll Manager Resume

It’s important to selectively highlight the precise kind of job-relevant skills hiring managers look for on a resume. Both our payroll manager resume example and Resume Builder offer suggestions of sought-after skills handpicked by our certified resume writers.

Here’s a handful of skills they might suggest for your resume:

Hard Skills

  • Navigating payroll software
  • MS Excel
  • Strong mathematical skills
  • Federal and local tax codes

Soft Skills

  • Strong communication skills
  • Problem-solving capability
  • Attention to detail
  • Empathy and maintaining confidentiality

Building Your Payroll Manager Resume with Our Builder:

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Payroll Manager FAQs

What are the minimum educational qualifications required to be a payroll manager?

When hiring payroll managers, employers usually prefer candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree in a field like finance, business management, human resources or accounting. Having also earned a master’s degree in one of these fields, as well as any additional and relevant certifications, can give you an edge over other applicants in terms of hireability.

Can I get a job as a payroll manager even if I have no prior experience?

Usually, a payroll manager’s role requires at least some experience. However, the experience required for any job varies from employer to employer. If you’re an entry-level applicant, it may be wiser to apply for a role as a payroll clerk if you possess the required experience and skills. For any of these positions, you’ll need solid communication and mathematical skills, along with sound knowledge of any relevant tax codes.

How do I know if becoming a payroll manager is a good career option for me?

A career in payroll management involves more than just paying employees. It’s a multidisciplinary role in which you’ll need to know about finance, human resource management, IT, data analysis and compliance management. If you are interested in learning more about these individual and overlapping disciplines, as well as in working with people, becoming a payroll manager might be a good career goal for you.