{"id":7337,"date":"2025-05-16T06:45:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T06:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/?p=7337"},"modified":"2025-05-16T06:45:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T06:45:18","slug":"how-to-get-a-job-in-payroll-with-no-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/blog\/how-to-get-a-job-in-payroll-with-no-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get a Job in Payroll With No Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<header><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong>Yes, believe it or not, some people prefer spreadsheets and numbers to other types of work. If you&#8217;re wondering how to get a job in payroll with no experience, you are probably one of those people.<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/header>\n<header><\/header>\n<header><\/header>\n<header>Good job, you&#8217;ve figured it out: the role of payroll clerk is actually a great foundation for a new career in human resources or accounting. Follow the steps of many before you who have transitioned from other industries and find out how to get into payroll.<\/header>\n<header><\/header>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\">\n<h2 class=\"toc_title\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"toc_list\">\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-hr-and-payroll\">What is HR and payroll?: Hard HR vs Soft HR<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-get-a-job-in-payroll-with-no-experience\">How to get a job in payroll with no experience?<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#highlight-relevant-skills\">Highlight relevant skills in your CV<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#learn-excel\">Learn and practice useful tasks in Microsoft Excel<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#underline-soft-skills\">Underline soft skills in a cover letter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#find-job-offers\">Find junior payroll specialist job offers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#consider-internship\">Consider an internship or a temporary work agency<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#take-course\">Take a payroll course<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#what-does-a-payroll-specialist-do\">What does a payroll specialist do?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-much-does-a-payroll-specialist-make\">How much does a payroll specialist make?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#summary\">Summary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#references\">References<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-hr-and-payroll\">What is HR and payroll?: Hard HR vs Soft HR<\/h2>\n<p>Hard HR involves administrative, human resources, and payroll. Payroll specialists take care of keeping employee salary records, processing paychecks, preparing and filing tax reports and more.<\/p>\n<p>Soft HR focuses on employee issues in terms of the quality of work performed, relying on direct contact with employees and watching over their development.<\/p>\n<p>Soft HR professionals handle recruiting, employee evaluations, training, conflict resolution and inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>The two types of HR require different abilities and personality traits and make up two separate career paths. But just because payroll is &#8220;Hard&#8221; HR, doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s hard to get a job in.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, payroll as a trade is known to be one of the friendliest to newcomers! Famous for its on-the-job trainings and sparing experience demands, let&#8217;s put the payroll industry&#8217;s reputation to the test and go through the steps to finding a job as a total beginner.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7336\" src=\"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/05\/young-job-applicant-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"a young woman applying for payroll jobs online\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" \/><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"how-to-get-a-job-in-payroll-with-no-experience\">How To Get a Job In Payroll With No Experience?<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike other types of HR work, jobs in payroll are often open to juniors and even applicants with experiences only from other industries such as retail, service or customer support.<\/p>\n<p>Before you start sending out resumes however, prepare the right tools and skills to make your application stand out.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"highlight-relevant-skills\">Highlight relevant skills in your CV<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>A lot of people get into payroll from other industries like service, retail, construction, manufacturing, government. Not only is that what the latest 2024 numbers of the Department of Career Development are showing, but stories from working payroll specialists who transitioned from other industries confirm it.<\/p>\n<p>One payroll specialist <a title=\"Reddit Discussion: Can I get into payroll without experience?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Payroll\/comments\/1abs7mp\/can_i_get_into_payroll_jobs_with_no_experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shares<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I left my serving job to work as a payroll assistant with 0 payroll experience. As an assistant, 80% of my job was just data entry and balancing spreadsheets, and the rest was basic HR-related tasks. My manager taught me everything about payroll, and I gradually moved up to the specialist role&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You can take advantage of your previous experience outside the payroll industry by describing in your resume roles that developed your skills in areas such as organizing, transactions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Take inventory of transferable skills from previous jobs:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Retail<\/strong>: Administrative and customer service skills<\/li>\n<li><strong>Administration<\/strong>: Strong organizational skills<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer service<\/strong>: Strong communication skills<\/li>\n<li><strong>Service sector<\/strong>: Experience with customer inquiries and payment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"learn-excel\">Learn and practice useful tasks in Microsoft Excel<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>The main task of a junior payroll specialist is managing data by entering, verifying, and updating employee details in spreadsheets or other organizational systems.<\/p>\n<p>Strong skills in Excel can be the ticket to get you hired in payroll without experience. Focus on the most commonly used functions:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Essential Excel skills for payroll specialists:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Data management: Conditional formatting, sorting, filtering;<\/li>\n<li>Data validation: Setting value criteria for sheet cells;<\/li>\n<li>Data analysis: &#8220;VLOOKUP&#8221;, &#8220;SUMIF&#8221;, &#8220;COUNTIF&#8221;, &#8220;AVERAGE&#8221;; &#8220;PivotTables&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>You can achieve a good level of proficiency in the <a title=\"15 Advanced Skills in Excel\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/advanced-skills-in-excel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">most important skills in Excel<\/a> on your own online or with the help of a practical course. Make sure to highlight your Excel know-how in your CV and cover letter!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"underline-soft-skills\">Underline soft skills in a cover letter<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Use a confident, natural tone in your cover letter to tell examples in your life and professional history where you displayed valuable skills and personality traits.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main rules of writing is &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint&#8221;. Believe it or not, this is very relevant to cover letters.<\/p>\n<p>For every job opening, there will be dozens of people who claim to be &#8220;quick learners&#8221;, &#8220;excellent communicators&#8221; and &#8220;skilled in organization&#8221;. Make sure to stand out and tell a convincing story rather than give a dull report.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s say you&#8217;ve previously worked in the customer service industry. You could include this in your cover letter in a way that highlights your ability to optimize processes, which happens to be one of the skills important for payroll specialists.<\/p>\n<p>As an example: &#8220;During my months in the customer service team at X company, I noticed response times were slow so I analyzed the workflow, identified several bottlenecks and brought this to the attention of my manager&#8221;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>The payroll industry values and rewards soft skills such as:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Attention to detail<\/li>\n<li>Communication skills<\/li>\n<li>Learning agility<\/li>\n<li>Process optimization<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"find-job-offers\">Find junior payroll specialist job offers<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Use both local and large-scale resources to find openings to apply to.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you&#8217;re wondering how to get a job in payroll with no experience in the UK, apply to entry-level positions in <a title=\"Indeed: Job search for junior payroll specialist positions\" href=\"https:\/\/uk.indeed.com\/q-entry-level-payroll-jobs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Indeed<\/a>, <a title=\"Reed: Job offers for entry-level payroll specialist positions\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reed.co.uk\/jobs\/entry-level-payroll-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Reed<\/a> and <a title=\"Indeed: Available jobs in payroll with little to no experience\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/jobs\/entry-level-payroll-jobs\/?currentJobId=4230188349&amp;originalSubdomain=uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Remote jobs are harder to get without experience. If you&#8217;ve set your heart on working from home, however, consider your first 6 months in payroll as an investment for a bright, office-free future.<\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve built up at least 6 months of experience, you will be better prepared to <a title=\"Remote jobs \u2013 opportunities, salary, where to look\" href=\"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/remote-jobs-opportunities-salary-where-to-look\/#where-should-i-look-for-a-well-paid-remote-job\">look for a well-paid remote job<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7334\" src=\"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/05\/people-waiting-for-payroll-job-interview-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"people waiting outside of an office to get a job in payroll\" width=\"669\" height=\"446\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"consider-internship\">Consider an internship or a temporary work agency<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>You could volunteer in human resources, do an unpaid internship in the payroll department, or start working as a receptionist. This will allow you to gain your first work experience.<\/p>\n<p>You can find job offers in temporary work agencies. In such companies, you will not earn much at the very beginning. However, the requirements for beginners are not high and often focus on personal skills (about which we write more below).<\/p>\n<p>A job like this will allow you to gain the credentials you need to start working in payroll.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"take-course\">Take a payroll course<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Practical courses are the leading trend in professional education in 2025. And for good reason!<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to building a career, niche experts have a real-world approach that academic educators just can&#8217;t match.<\/p>\n<p>Not all online courses are created equal though. Before you commit to one, do some research on the expert leading the course. Do they have positive feedback from other students? Do they have verified credentials?<\/p>\n<p>For more tips on how to find experts in payroll and other fields, <a title=\"How to learn from experts in your niche?\" href=\"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/why-learning-from-experts-is-so-valuable\/#how-to-find-experts-to-learn-from-in-your-field\">read here<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"what-does-a-payroll-specialist-do\">What Does a Payroll Specialist Do?<\/h2>\n<p>As an entry-level payroll specialist, you will normally work with more experienced HR staff to build know-how and confidence. That&#8217;s not to say you won&#8217;t have a piece of the action &#8211; the work of junior specialists is actually the foundation of payroll processing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The main tasks of junior payroll specialists include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Data Management\n<p><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Entering, verifying, and updating employee details in payroll systems, which could involve inputting new hires, recording changes to salaries, or maintaining leave balances.<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Processing Support\n<p><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Supporting the calculation of wages, benefits, and deductions, adhering to company policies and regulations.<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Record Keeping\n<p><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Maintaining accurate financial records and tracking payments to full-time, part-time, and freelance workers.<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Customer Service\n<p><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Answering employee questions about payroll and addressing discrepancies in paychecks.<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong><strong>Learning and Development\n<p><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Gathering and presenting payroll data for analysis, helping them understand broader payroll operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"how-much-does-a-payroll-specialist-make\">How Much Does a Payroll Specialist Make?<\/h2>\n<p>Payroll specialists in HR make more than workers in non-specialized industries but less than specialists in the IT field. However, payroll is a very safe profession to work in and this might be its biggest draw to newcomers.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;No matter what happens, people will need to be paid for the work that they carry out. Hence payroll is a very safe profession to work within, which is a massive relief, particularly in contemporary society, where there is a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty in the world of work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, UK<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The average salaries in 2025 for entry-level payroll specialists in the UK, the US, Europe and Brazil are shown in the table below.<\/p>\n<table style=\"font-size: calc(1em - 3px);\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Country<\/th>\n<th>Entry-Level Payroll Specialist<\/th>\n<th>Mid-Level Payroll Specialist<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>USA<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>$45,052 &#8211; $50,000 per year<\/td>\n<td>$54,312 per year (average);<br \/>\nup to $60,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>UK<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\u00a325,000 &#8211; \u00a328,000 per year (entry)<\/td>\n<td>\u00a333,700 &#8211; \u00a337,000 per year (average\/mid-level)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Germany<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>\u20ac17,540 &#8211; \u20ac20,460 per year<br \/>\n(0-5 years)<\/td>\n<td>\u20ac31,520 per year (5-10 years)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Brazil<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>R$16,920 &#8211; R$35,368 per year (entry\/associate)<\/td>\n<td>R$52,952 &#8211; R$101,113 per year (administrator II\/mid-level)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Poland<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>75,370 z\u0142 per year<br \/>\n(1-4 years)<\/td>\n<td>90,000 z\u0142 per year (5-9 years)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n<p>Some are calling the massive trend for career changes in 2025 &#8220;The Great Resignation&#8221;. If you&#8217;re stuck in an unrewarding industry, you are not alone.<\/p>\n<p>Should you want to transition to one with more stability, better pay and a welcoming work environment, payroll processing might be a good fit. Still wondering how to get a job in payroll with no experience?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a distinctive resume highlighting skills you picked up in previous roles<\/li>\n<li>Develop your skills in Microsoft Excel<\/li>\n<li>Prepare a convincing cover letter that reveals relevant soft skills<\/li>\n<li>Look for short-term internships and temporary jobs to gain quick experience<\/li>\n<li>Apply to entry-level positions<\/li>\n<li>Consider taking a practical payroll course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, a job candidate who&#8217;s eager to prove themselves is more valuable than an experienced one without motivation. Employers know this. The labour market might be more welcoming than you expect &#8211; only one way to find out!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2 id=\"references\">References<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget. (2025). <em>Industry Employment by Sector<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.milmi.org\/DataSearch\/Industry-Employment-by-Sector\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.milmi.org\/DataSearch\/Industry-Employment-by-Sector<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Talent.com. (2025). <em>Payroll Specialist Salary<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.talent.com\/salary?job=payroll+specialist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.talent.com\/salary?job=payroll+specialist<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Check A Salary. (2025). <em>Payroll Specialist Salary in the UK<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.checkasalary.co.uk\/salary\/payroll-specialist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.checkasalary.co.uk\/salary\/payroll-specialist<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Salary.com. (2025). <em>Payroll Manager Salary in Brazil<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salary.com\/research\/br-salary\/benchmark\/payroll-manager-salary\/br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.salary.com\/research\/br-salary\/benchmark\/payroll-manager-salary\/br<\/a><\/li>\n<li>PayScale. (2025). <em>Payroll Specialist Salary in Poland<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.payscale.com\/research\/PL\/Job=Payroll_Specialist\/Salary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.payscale.com\/research\/PL\/Job=Payroll_Specialist\/Salary<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals. (2025). <em>About Payroll as a Career<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cipp.org.uk\/payroll-careers\/career-resources\/about-payroll-as-a-career.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.cipp.org.uk\/payroll-careers\/career-resources\/about-payroll-as-a-career.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, believe it or not, some people prefer spreadsheets and numbers to other types of work. If you&#8217;re wondering how to get a job in payroll with no experience, you are probably one of those people.\u00a0 Good job, you&#8217;ve figured it out: the role of payroll clerk is actually a great foundation for a new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-growth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kempcenter.com\/pt-br\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}