What skills should a Compensation and Benefits Manager put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Compensation and Benefits Manager list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes !Trak-it Solutions !Trak-it HR, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, and Adobe Photoshop. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Compensation and Benefits Manager work?

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Benefits Manager, Compensation Director, Compensation Manager, and Benefits Coordinator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Compensation and Benefits Manager need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 76% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Compensation and Benefits Manager role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Compensation and Benefits Manager resume example

A resume for a Compensation and Benefits Manager needs to show the work itself: plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization. Day to day that means work like this: direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies; design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Benefits Manager
Compensation Director
Compensation Manager
Benefits Coordinator
Benefits Director
Compensation and Benefits Director
Employee Benefits Coordinator
Employee Benefits Manager
Payroll Manager
Benefits Admin
Wage and Salary Admin
Benefits Administrator
Benefits Advisor
Compensation Program Manager
Employee Benefits Account Manager
Employee Benefits Director
Global Compensation Director
Global Compensation Manager

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies.
Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements.
Fulfill all reporting requirements of all relevant government rules and regulations, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Analyze compensation policies, government regulations, and prevailing wage rates to develop competitive compensation plan.
Identify and implement benefits to increase the quality of life for employees by working with brokers and researching benefits issues.
Manage the design and development of tools to assist employees in benefits selection, and to guide managers through compensation decisions.
Administer, direct, and review employee benefit programs, including the integration of benefit programs following mergers and acquisitions.
Mediate between benefits providers and employees, such as by assisting in handling employees' benefits-related questions or taking suggestions.
Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.
Prepare detailed job descriptions and classification systems and define job levels and families, in partnership with other managers.
Develop methods to improve employment policies, processes, and practices, and recommend changes to management.
Formulate policies, procedures and programs for recruitment, testing, placement, classification, orientation, benefits and compensation, and labor and industrial relations.

22 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Fulfill all reporting requirements of all relevant government rules and regulations, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Analyze compensation policies, government regulations, and prevailing wage rates to develop competitive compensation plan, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

!Trak-it Solutions !Trak-it HR
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe PageMaker
Adobe Photoshop
ADP Employease
ADP HR/Benefits Solution
ADP Workforce Now
AdRelevance
Apex Business Software iHR
Apple iMovie
Ascentis HR
ASL HR Director
Asure Software HCM

86 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

10-key calculators
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Liquid crystal display LCD video projectors
Notebook computers
Optical disk drives
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Photocopying equipment
Scanners
Tablet computers
Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Oracle HRIS
supervise employees

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Reading Comprehension
03Speaking
04Writing
05Critical Thinking
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Active Learning
08Management of Personnel Resources
09Time Management
10Social Perceptiveness

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Personnel and Human Resources
English Language
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service
Economics and Accounting
Mathematics
Administrative
Law and Government

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

76%Bachelor's Degree
14%Master's Degree
10%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Compensation and Benefits Manager do?: Plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization. Day to day that includes work like direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies and Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements.
What skills should a Compensation and Benefits Manager put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Compensation and Benefits Manager list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes !Trak-it Solutions !Trak-it HR, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, and Adobe Photoshop. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Compensation and Benefits Manager work?: O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Benefits Manager, Compensation Director, Compensation Manager, and Benefits Coordinator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Compensation and Benefits Manager need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 76% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Compensation and Benefits Manager role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.