Skills by role family · Q3 2026
Most requested skills for HR and recruiting jobs in Australia
Measured from 1,020 tracked Australian job ads in this family.
Most requested skills
- 01Stakeholder management386 ads, 38%
- 02Employee relations174 ads, 17%
- 03Process improvement165 ads, 16%
- 04Recruitment164 ads, 16%
- 05Performance management159 ads, 16%
- 06Continuous improvement155 ads, 15%
- 07Microsoft Office149 ads, 15%
- 08Workforce planning144 ads, 14%
- 09Stakeholder engagement143 ads, 14%
- 10Onboarding139 ads, 14%
- 11Employee lifecycle management117 ads, 11%
- 12Industrial relations110 ads, 11%
- 13Change management107 ads, 10%
- 14Data analysis104 ads, 10%
- 15Microsoft Excel102 ads, 10%
- 16Employee engagement97 ads, 9.5%
- 17Employee records management92 ads, 9.0%
- 18HR reporting91 ads, 8.9%
- 19Customer service85 ads, 8.3%
- 20Talent acquisition81 ads, 7.9%
- 21Employment law77 ads, 7.5%
- 22Project management77 ads, 7.5%
- 23Payroll processing76 ads, 7.4%
- 24Workday76 ads, 7.4%
- 25HRIS74 ads, 7.2%
| Skill | Ads | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder management | 386 | 38% |
| Employee relations | 174 | 17% |
| Process improvement | 165 | 16% |
| Recruitment | 164 | 16% |
| Performance management | 159 | 16% |
| Continuous improvement | 155 | 15% |
| Microsoft Office | 149 | 15% |
| Workforce planning | 144 | 14% |
| Stakeholder engagement | 143 | 14% |
| Onboarding | 139 | 14% |
| Employee lifecycle management | 117 | 11% |
| Industrial relations | 110 | 11% |
| Change management | 107 | 10% |
| Data analysis | 104 | 10% |
| Microsoft Excel | 102 | 10% |
| Employee engagement | 97 | 9.5% |
| Employee records management | 92 | 9.0% |
| HR reporting | 91 | 8.9% |
| Customer service | 85 | 8.3% |
| Talent acquisition | 81 | 7.9% |
| Employment law | 77 | 7.5% |
| Project management | 77 | 7.5% |
| Payroll processing | 76 | 7.4% |
| Workday | 76 | 7.4% |
| HRIS | 74 | 7.2% |
Experience asked for
Stated in 26% of this family’s ads · n = 261 stated values · Q3 2026
Work rights in these ads
n = 1,020 ads. Cells below the publication threshold are omitted.
| Requirement | Ads | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Citizenship required | Not published | — |
| Permanent residency required | Not published | — |
| Security clearance required | Not published | — |
| Sponsorship offered | Not published | — |
| Sponsorship possible | Not published | — |
Read the Australian job application glossary for the terms.
Work arrangement
| Arrangement | Ads | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Onsite | 90 | 8.8% |
| Hybrid | 269 | 26% |
| Remote | 74 | 7.2% |
| Flexible | 79 | 7.8% |
| Not stated | 508 | 50% |
How to use this on your resume
Open a role example to see these ideas in Offer Underway’s Modern resume template. Its mint highlights show matching terms from that role’s job-ad data. In your own application, use the actual employer’s ad and evidence from your experience.
- Mirror the exact skill names you can support with evidence.
- Put the top skills you can demonstrate in your Skills section and in experience bullets.
- Do not list skills you cannot evidence.
- Check a specific ad with the Australian job ad checker.
The ATS resume keywords guide shows how to choose wording without claiming experience you do not have.
Browse Australian resume examples for worked examples of evidence-based bullets.
Method and limitations
How this data is collected. OfferUnderway tracks job ads from Australian employer career sites and job boards. Each ad is counted once, even if it appears on several sites. Fields such as role family, skills, work arrangement and work-rights requirements are extracted from the ad text by an AI model and checked against the ad; some extraction errors are possible.
What it covers. Ads with an Australian location that were live at any point between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026. It is not every job ad in Australia: coverage depends on the sources OfferUnderway tracks, and some industries are better covered than others.
Thresholds. A breakdown is shown only when it is based on at least 30 ads; a skill is listed only when it appears in at least 15 ads and 3% of the relevant group.
Snapshot. Generated 17 October 2026. Figures are not revised after publication; corrections are noted on this page.
Questions about these skills
Which skills appear most often in HR and recruiting job ads?
Across 1,020 Australian HR and recruiting job ads tracked by OfferUnderway in Q3 2026, the most requested skills were Stakeholder management (38%), Employee relations (17%), Process improvement (16%), Recruitment (16%), Performance management (16%). These figures describe the tracked catalogue, not every job ad in Australia.
Are these skills mandatory for every role?
Frequency is not proof that a skill is mandatory for a particular job. Read the employer’s ad and distinguish requirements from preferences. Only include skills you can support with your own experience.
How many ads is this based on?
This family includes 1,020 active Australian job ads tracked by OfferUnderway in Q3 2026. Families need at least 200 ads; small cells and infrequent skills are suppressed.
Build a resume for a real HR and recruiting job
Use the frequency list as a starting point, then tailor your resume to the employer’s actual requirements and your own experience.