Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officersresume guide.
Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, state, or federal laws and ordinances. A strong Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers resume shows active listening, social perceptiveness and active learning, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office software.
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- 1Show how your calls ended.Mental health calls keep rising, and many departments now pair officers with clinicians. A share of calls that ended without arrest proves Active Listening and Social Perceptiveness, the top two skills in this guide.
- 2Count the recruits you trained and kept.Departments are short of officers and losing them early. Trainees who passed and stayed show you help fix that, and they show Coordination and Speaking in a way a job title cannot.
- 3Prove your reports hold up."Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities" is a core task here. Checking reports against camera footage, and how few came back from prosecutors, turns that task into a result.
- 4Give patrol work a number."Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators" becomes a response time against a goal and a DUI conviction rate, numbers a hiring sergeant already tracks.
- 5Name the systems you used on duty.This guide lists Spillman Technologies Records Management, the NCIC database and Computer aided dispatch software. Spell them the same way so a screener matches them on the first read.
- 6Spell out your peace officer certification.Give the full name, the state body that issued it and that it is active. An agency hiring a lateral officer checks state certification before anything else.
Sample resume. The candidate is fictional; the layout and templates are real.
01Also called
O*NET02Skills employers expect
O*NETImportance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | Very high | Advanced |
| Social Perceptiveness | Very high | Advanced |
| Active Learning | High | Intermediate |
| Critical Thinking | High | Advanced |
| Speaking | High | Intermediate |
| Judgment and Decision Making | High | Intermediate |
| Reading Comprehension | High | Intermediate |
| Coordination | High | Intermediate |
| Service Orientation | High | Intermediate |
| Persuasion | High | Intermediate |
03Knowledge areas
O*NET- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Telecommunications
- Computers and Electronics
- Geography
- Therapy and Counseling
04Common responsibilities
O*NETOrdered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.
- Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
- Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts.
- Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders.
- Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries.
- Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities.
- Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved.
- Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
- Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests.
- Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
- Investigate traffic accidents and other accidents to determine causes and to determine if a crime has been committed.
05Software and tools
O*NET27 tools across 13 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.
- Microsoft AccessHotIn demand
- Database software
- National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database
- Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System IAFIS
- Law enforcement information databases
- National Integrated Ballistics Information Network NIBIN
- Spillman Technologies Records Management
- SmugMug Flickr
- DesignWare 3D EyeWitness
- SmartDraw Legal
- The CAD Zone The Crime Zone
- Computer aided composite drawing software
- Microsoft OutlookHotIn demand
- Email software
- Web browser softwareIn demand
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Office softwareHotIn demand
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Microsoft ExcelHotIn demand
- IBM Lotus 1-2-3
- ESRI ArcViewIn demand
- Computer aided dispatch software
- Crime mapping software
- Microsoft WindowsHotIn demand
- Microsoft PowerPointHotIn demand
- Microsoft VisioHotIn demand
- Microsoft WordHotIn demand
06Education and preparation
O*NET07Putting it on your resume
ResumeXRays guidanceLead with the credential and the record. Job Zone 3 roles usually ask for training, a license or a few years of related experience. Put those on the first screen, then show what you did with them.
Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.
Show social perceptiveness and active learning, not just active listening. Social perceptiveness and active learning rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.
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