HR Director CV examples

At the HR Director level, your CV isn’t just about listing achievements – it’s about demonstrating vision and leadership. The content should make it clear that you drive business performance through people.

This guide walks through every section of your CV, helping you tailor each part to reflect your impact at the strategic level and writing a CV which positions you as a trusted boardroom contributor.

When applying for senior HR leadership roles, clarity and professionalism are essential. Your CV should feel like an executive summary – high-level and easy to navigate. If recruiters struggle to navigate through an unclear structure, they’re just going to move straight onto the next candidate: so make your expertise easy to understand.

Here’s the layout to follow:

• Name and contact details – Ensure your name and contact details are easily visible at the top. A photo is optional and depends on the role.
• Profile – Craft a short introduction that showcases your professional background and key accomplishments.
• Core skills – Provide a quick overview of your top skills that show why you’re a great fit.
• Work experience – Outline your career progression in reverse order, emphasising your contributions and successes.
• Education – Provide details on your academic background, including certifications or specialised training.
• Additional info – You can add hobbies or activities here that reflect your enthusiasm for the industry.
  

Use clean section headings to divide your content, and break up longer blocks of text using bullet points. Stick to a professional font and ensure your layout feels clean and spacious – white space can be just as impactful as content. Keep it two pages long, and focus every section on your business impact, not just your responsibilities. A well-presented CV format at this level signals both professionalism and communication skills.

A well-written CV profile immediately positions you as a credible senior leader. It’s your chance to show that you understand people and business – and know how to align both to deliver results.

Use it to highlight your role in shaping organisational culture, leading through change, and supporting business growth through effective HR leadership. Recruiters should immediately understand what makes you the right fit, and see a reason to read the rest of your CV.

Include the following:

• Where you worked – Mention the types of organisations you’ve led HR functions for – from global firms to fast-growth scale-ups or public sector bodies.
• Your top qualifications – Note any degrees, HR certifications, or chartered status with CIPD or SHRM.
• Essential skills – Point to your expertise in areas like transformation, employee engagement, or workforce planning.
• Strategic focus – Refer to your work influencing senior leadership, aligning HR to business goals, or leading enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Value delivered – Show how your leadership improved business outcomes – from staff retention to profitability or reputation.
  

At this level, your CV needs to communicate strategic ability, not just operational knowledge. The core skills section is where you show the depth and breadth of your capabilities – but the focus should remain on hard, tangible competencies that line up with the role specification.

Don’t list generic qualities here. Instead, concentrate on high-level expertise that’s expected of a board-ready HR leader, keeping it sharp and relevant to the needs of a modern organisation.

This section is where your leadership story comes through. Employers want to see what you’ve built, what you’ve transformed, and how you’ve led others through complexity. The focus here isn’t just on HR outputs – it’s on business outcomes.

Walk the reader through your work experience in reverse order, starting with your most recent. For each one, write a short paragraph summarising the company, the scope of your role, and your key reporting lines. Then use bullet points to describe your strategic contributions and achievements – particularly when tied to performance metrics or enterprise-wide initiatives.

• Outline – Give an overview of your role, the size and structure of the company, and the scope of your responsibilities. Include any board-level collaboration.
• Responsibilities – Use action words like “led” and “orchestrated.” For example: “led global talent strategy across 14 countries” or “orchestrated HR due diligence during a major acquisition.”
• Achievements – Highlight measurable results – reductions in turnover, improvements in engagement, cost savings, or accelerated growth tied to people strategy. Use numbers wherever possible.

At HR Director level, formal qualifications help reinforce your credibility – especially if you’re applying to regulated or multinational organisations. Include your degree(s) along with any postgraduate HR training, leadership programmes, or relevant certifications.

Write your education section clearly and concisely, without listing every module. If you’re chartered with the CIPD or a member of another governing body, include it here too.