HR generalist job description template: scope, headcount, certifications and screening questions

An HR generalist posting usually reads like the table of contents of an HR textbook: recruiting, onboarding, benefits, payroll, compliance, employee relations, training, culture. Every candidate who has worked in HR can say yes to it, and none of them can tell what the job is. The questions that decide whether someone will succeed are narrower: how many employees, in how many states, with what support, and which parts of HR this person runs alone. Below is a copy-ready HR generalist job description template, the certification, classification and EEO lines with sources, how each must-have becomes a screening question and scorecard row, and the mistakes that blur the role. The general method is in how to write a job description that screens.

Scope the generalist role before you write

BLS describes the job simply: human resources generalists handle all aspects of human resources work (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, last modified August 27, 2026). In practice, no generalist does all of it equally. Fill in this grid with the hiring manager and put the result in the posting.

Two more facts belong in the summary: the headcount and locations supported, and whether this is a team of one or part of a larger HR function. A first HR hire at a 60-person company and a generalist on a 12-person HR team at a hospital need different people, and the same posting cannot attract both.

The HR generalist job description template

HR Generalist, [business unit or location]
[Company], [city, state] — [On-site / Hybrid: days / Remote within:
states]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per [year / hour], plus [bonus, if any].
[Benefits summary, if required.]

SUMMARY
You will be the HR contact for [N] employees across [N locations] in
[states]. You will own [onboarding, leave administration and employee
relations] and support [benefits / recruiting / payroll], working with
[HR manager title / an outside PEO / a benefits broker]. You will
report to [title].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Run onboarding for new hires, including Form I-9 completion on
  time and [state] new-hire paperwork.
- Manage leaves of absence and accommodation requests from first
  request to return to work, with [third-party administrator, if
  any].
- Take employee concerns, conduct [or support] investigations, and
  document findings.
- Answer policy, pay and benefits questions; escalate to [title]
  when policy needs to change.
- Keep employee records and the HRIS ([system]) accurate; produce
  [headcount and turnover] reports.
- [Support open enrollment / coordinate recruiting for [N] roles a
  year / prepare payroll changes.]

YOU MUST HAVE
- Handled leaves of absence from request to return, including
  [FMLA / state leave] if you are in a covered setting.
- Taken employee complaints and documented an investigation or
  supported one.
- Run onboarding for new hires, including employment eligibility
  verification.
- Explained a policy to an upset employee or manager and held the
  line.
- [Multi-state roles: worked with employees in more than one state.]

NICE TO HAVE
- SHRM-CP, PHR or similar certification.
- Experience with [HRIS], [payroll system].
- [Industry: unionized workforce, healthcare, manufacturing.]
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

FIXED CONDITIONS
- [Travel to N sites, N days a month.]
- Access to confidential employee and medical information; [training
  required].

[EEO STATEMENT]
If you need an adjustment to apply or interview, email [address].

Name the I-9 duty concretely because it has a hard deadline. USCIS says the employer must complete Section 2 within three business days of the employee's first day of work for pay (USCIS). A candidate who has owned onboarding will know that without being told.

Certification, classification and pay lines

Certifications. BLS says HR certification is usually voluntary, though some employers prefer or require it. The two common ones have different entry points. HRCI's PHR requires professional-level HR experience: at least one year with a master's degree, two years with a bachelor's, or four years without a degree. SHRM positions the SHRM-CP for people whose HR work is operational, such as implementing policy and serving as the day-to-day HR contact. Either fits a generalist; list them as "SHRM-CP, PHR or similar" rather than naming one.

Exempt or non-exempt. The regulation draws the line by duties: HR managers who formulate, interpret or implement employment policies generally meet the administrative exemption duties test, while personnel clerks who screen applicants against minimum qualifications set by others generally do not (29 CFR 541.203(e)). A generalist who mostly processes paperwork may be non-exempt; one who interprets policy and decides leave and discipline questions may be exempt. The salary must also meet the standard level, which the Department of Labor lists as $684 per week as of October 2026 (DOL), and some states set higher thresholds.

Pay range and EEO statement. Post the approved range from the requisition and check pay transparency laws by state; an HR posting that misses a pay transparency rule is an awkward look. For outside reference, BLS publishes wages for Human Resources Specialists (SOC 13-1071) in the OOH profile above; this page does not quote figures. Close with your EEO statement; the EEOC lists the federal protected characteristics that the statement should cover.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

HR candidates are good at describing process in the abstract. Ask for one specific case each time and listen for what they did, what they escalated and what they wrote down.

The fuller set, with follow-ups and red flags, is in HR generalist screening questions. For the later rounds, the interview guide for HR roles uses the same competencies. If the role is closer to a manager, compare it with HR manager screening questions, and use the 30-60-90 day plan for HR business partners as a starting point for the new hire's first quarter.

Common mistakes in HR generalist job descriptions

The whole HR textbook as must-haves

Listing every HR function as required describes a department, not a person. Mark what the role owns, what it supports, and what someone else handles, as in the grid above.

No headcount, no states

"Support our growing workforce" is not a scope. "Sole HR for 140 employees in Texas and Colorado" (an invented example) is. Multi-state work is a skill in itself, so name the states.

A certification gate

Requiring SHRM-CP or PHR filters out experienced generalists who never took the exam and, for PHR, anyone short of the experience requirement. Prefer it; do not require it unless policy demands it.

Hiding the confidentiality load

Generalists see medical notes, investigation files and pay data. Say so, and screen for how they have handled sensitive information, rather than relying on a "discretion" adjective.

Calling a clerk role a generalist

If the job is mostly data entry and filing, title and classify it honestly. A generalist title on clerical duties disappoints candidates and can misclassify the role for overtime.

Before you publish

• Headcount, locations, states and the HR team around the role are in the summary.
• The owns, supports and not-in-role grid is reflected in the duties.
• Certifications are preferred unless policy requires them.
• Exempt status was checked against the duties, and the pay range is approved.
• The EEO statement and an accommodation contact close the posting.

Interview Signal can build the screen's question guide from this posting and quote the candidate's own account of the leaves and investigations they handled in the scorecard.