7 finance, legal and HR resume examples

The people who hire for these jobs are usually careful readers themselves: a controller, a supervising attorney, an HR director. They look for evidence that you are exact, not claims that you are detail oriented.

• Credentials where they are seen. A CPA license, an NMLS ID, a SHRM or HRCI certification or a paralegal certificate belongs near the top, not after your education.
• Volume and accuracy together. Accounts reconciled each month and days to close, loans closed and the share that closed on time, matters supported and deadlines met, roles filled and time to fill. Volume shows capacity; accuracy shows why you can be trusted with it.
• Systems and rules by name. QuickBooks or an ERP system, a loan origination system, e-filing and document management, an HR information system. Where the work follows rules, such as GAAP, court deadlines or Form I-9 verification, say which ones you apply.
• Discretion. Payroll, lawsuits and employee files are private. Describe what you handled in general terms and never put client or employee details on a resume.

One page suits most of these jobs. The example pages allow two for controllers, HR managers and senior paralegals with long records.

Two jobs here come with government licensing, the CPA for accountants and the mortgage loan originator license for loan officers; the rest rely on optional certifications. Each example page explains its credentials and links the official source. In short:

• Accountant: many accounting jobs need no license, but the CPA separates candidates for audit, senior and management roles. Each state's board of accountancy sets its own education and experience rules (NASBA lists every board), and every candidate takes the same Uniform CPA Examination. The CMA and the IRS Enrolled Agent credential suit corporate and tax roles.
• Bookkeeper: no license. The Certified Bookkeeper from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and QuickBooks certifications from Intuit are among the ones employers recognize.
• Loan officer: under the federal SAFE Act, anyone who takes home loan applications or negotiates their terms for pay must be licensed or registered as a mortgage loan originator. Loan officers at banks and credit unions register through NMLS; those at other lenders need a state license, which as of September 2026 takes at least 20 hours of approved education, a passing score on the SAFE MLO Test, a background check and a credit report. Every originator has an NMLS ID that anyone can look up on NMLS Consumer Access.
• Paralegal: no national license. National certifications come from NALA (Certified Paralegal), the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (Registered Paralegal and CORE Registered Paralegal) and NALS (Professional Paralegal).
• Legal assistant: none required. NALS offers the entry-level Accredited Legal Professional and the advanced Certified Legal Professional.
• Human resources: no license, so certification is how HR people show tested knowledge. SHRM offers the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP; HRCI offers the aPHR, PHR and SPHR.
• Recruiter: optional. The Certified Personnel Consultant from the National Association of Personnel Services is most common among agency recruiters, and the SHRM-CP or aPHR suits in-house recruiters.

Choose the example for the job in the posting. When two titles are close, these notes help:

• Bookkeeper or accountant? A full-charge bookkeeper takes the books from daily entries through payroll and reconciliations, to the point where an accountant takes over. If you prepare financial statements, handle audits or are working toward a CPA, use the accountant example; otherwise start from the bookkeeper one.
• Paralegal or legal assistant? Government statistics count them as one occupation, but many firms use legal assistant for administrative support to attorneys and paralegal for substantive work such as research and drafting. Copy the example that matches the title on the posting: the paralegal example is a corporate paralegal, the legal assistant example supports litigation partners.
• Generalist or recruiter? The human resources example belongs to the only HR generalist at a 450-employee company, so it covers every part of HR. The recruiter example focuses on hiring alone, for someone moving from a staffing firm to an in-house team.
• Just starting. The recent graduate guide uses a finance graduate applying for a junior financial analyst job, and the career change guide helps if you are moving into one of these fields from another.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in business and financial occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035, with about 886,600 openings a year and a median annual wage of $82,660 in May 2025. Employment in legal occupations is projected to grow about as fast as the average, with about 82,600 openings a year and a median annual wage of $102,500. The median for all occupations was $50,980.

Those group figures cover many jobs, so compare each role in the table above. Bookkeepers, for example, are counted with office and administrative support workers, not in the business and financial group.