Beautiful, agreeable, and empty

These sentences cannot be argued with because they do not claim anything. Nobody has ever read one and learned a single fact about the person who wrote it.

• Results driven HR leader with a passion for people.
• Strategic business partner who drives organizational excellence.
• Proven track record of success in fast paced environments.
• Champion of culture and employee engagement.
• Trusted advisor who builds strong relationships at all levels.
• Dynamic leader with exceptional communication skills.
• Committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Adept at aligning people strategy with business objectives.
• Change agent who thrives in ambiguity.
• Dedicated professional with a strong work ethic and attention to detail.

The test. Would anyone claim the opposite? Nobody writes that they lack passion or resist change. If the reverse is unthinkable, the sentence is decoration.

The grocery store manager problem

Every grocery store manager in America hires, fires, trains, schedules, and handles customer complaints. All of it is true. None of it separates one manager from the four hundred others applying. HR resumes do the same thing, usually with one buzzword dropped in to make it sound senior.

• Managed full cycle recruiting for hourly and salaried positions.
• Responsible for employee relations, investigations, and corrective action.
• Administered benefits, open enrollment, and leave of absence programs.
• Partnered with leadership on workforce planning and organizational design.
• Ensured compliance with federal, state, and local employment law.
• Oversaw performance management and annual review processes.
• Facilitated training and development initiatives across the organization.
• Maintained HRIS data integrity and generated reports for leadership.
• Supported union environment including grievances and contract administration.
• Drove talent strategy in alignment with business goals.

The test. Cover your name and hand the page to a stranger. If five hundred other people with your title could sign it without changing a word, it is a job description, not a resume.

A number and what happened

Same work as the level above. The difference is that something got counted. These lines start conversations, because a hiring leader reads one and immediately wants to know how.

• Led labor relations across four contracts, settling all four with no work stoppage and wage increases held at 3.1 percent.
• Built hourly staffing for a peak season ramp, 212 hires in 90 days with 84 percent still there at day 90.
• Created a frontline onboarding program on two shifts, cutting turnover from 34 percent to 12 percent in 14 months.
• Led investigations for a 480 employee site, closing 41 cases in 12 months with none reopened.
• Built an attendance program with supervisors, dropping no call no shows from 19 a week to 4.
• Managed open enrollment for 3,500 employees across six states, 97 percent enrolled with no missed deadlines.
• Led HR due diligence on four acquisitions, closing every integration inside the 90 day plan.
• Created a succession plan for 42 leadership roles, filling 71 percent of openings internally over three years.
• Managed a third shift startup with the Plant Manager, staffing 96 people in six weeks.
• Built a comp structure for 180 hourly roles, cutting agency spend by $340,000 in one year.

The test. Can anyone else on earth put their name on this sentence? If the answer is no, it belongs on your resume.

This is one real thing that happened at one plant. Watch what survives.

The first two are what AI writes when it does not know you. The third is what you tell someone at a bar when they ask how work is going. That version is the one that belongs on paper.