How To Write A Police Officer Resume

Getting a job as a police officer can be a rewarding career path, but you must first get an interview.

Making a good first impression requires a polished resume tailored to what city and county government employers are looking for.

Your resume should reflect your brand and who you are as a person, just as a police officer reflects the brand of a municipality.

This is your first chance to highlight the skills and experience that set you apart from the competition.

At all times, a police officer must be knowledgeable, professional, and calm. It is necessary to have prior experience dealing with and surviving difficult and dangerous situations.

To make it easier for recruiters to find you, emphasize these qualities on your police officer resume. As a police officer, you must also be knowledgeable about police procedures, capable of assessing situations and possess a personality that is conducive to restoring order.

When it comes to writing a police officer resume, the best practices include quickly stating your qualifications and emphasizing your experience in the field.

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Police Officer Resume Format

Consider the following when writing your resume:

Make sure that the font, margins, and line spacing on your resume are all correct. The following are the standard layout guidelines that you should strictly adhere to:
The number of pages – Resumes should only be one page long.
Use the following fonts: Choose a font that will be familiar to recruiters, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
Fonts to stay away from: Using a font like Alex Brush or Mistral will distract the recruiter from reading the content of your resume.
Margins: All sides should be 1 inch.
Spacing between lines: 1.15 or 1.
Size of the header: The point size should be 14-16.
Size of the text: The point size should be 11-12.

It is strongly recommended that you send your resume as a PDF file unless you are specifically asked to send it as a Microsoft Word file. No matter who you send it to, a PDF file will retain all of the stylistic elements you had in your resume.

In contrast, depending on which version of MS Word the recipient uses, the stylistic elements in an MS Word file can easily shift around.

Furthermore, if you imported them from a source other than MS Word, some elements may appear to be missing to the recruiter.

For example, except their version of MS Word also has that font, a recruiter may not be able to see any text written in a font you installed from a third party.

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How to Write a Police Officer R + Templates

Your resume, like you, should exude calm, authority, and precision. This can be accomplished by using succinct language and emphasizing your experience and policing philosophy.

It’s your job to persuade hiring managers that you’re the best candidate for the job. Not only do you have the extensive legal knowledge, but you also have excellent people skills and the ability to remain calm under pressure.

Your resume will be more convincing if you use strong descriptive language without crossing the line into bragging territory.

Check Out: How To Write An Executive Assistant Resume

Here are some samples of a police officer resume;

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

Sample 4

How To Write A Police Officer Resume | Full Guide

Knowing what to include in your resume is crucial to crafting a flawless law enforcement resume. If you want to make an ideal police officer resume, you should include the following sections in your resume:

Header
Personal Information
Summary/Objective
Work History
Education
Key Skills
Acquired certifications (if any)
Additional information (if any)

Unless you’re a career changer or have a lot of experience in a specific field, the tried-and-true format of reverse chronological order is the best way to go for your police officer resume.

This format places your present position at the top of your work experience section, making it easy for prospective employers to see what you’re doing right now.

1. Header:

In simple terms, the header of your resume is your name. It appears at the very top of your police resume.

Putting your name at the top of your resume gives it its personality. A recruiter can tell who you are from your resume just by looking at it.

This is why you should use the largest font size possible when writing your resume. Try to use 16-20 point font and leave a single space between your first and last names.

2. Personal Information:

The personal details section of your police resume is the section that displays your contact information.

A recruiter contacts you using the information provided in this section. This section should ideally include the following details:

Phone Number
Email Address
Location

Note: Consider the resume requirements for the country you’re targeting in terms of personal information. Once you’ve found them, make the necessary changes to your police resume.

3. Resume Summary / Objective:

The summary of your police officer resume is a synopsis of your entire resume. It gives the recruiter a preview of what your police resume will contain.

As a result, your task is to write a succinct resume summary. Identify yourself with a strong professional summary and a list of the skills you bring to the position.

One or two sentences about how you handle conflicts or a situation you’ve successfully handled. That’s one sentence about your proudest accomplishment or crime-fighting statistics that show how effective your policing techniques are.

A resume summary can only be written if you have worked for more than three years.

Only professionals who are writing an entry-level police officer resume should write a police officer resume objective.

To put it another way, only write a law enforcement officer resume objective if: You are a recent graduate writing an entry-level police officer resume. You are an entry-level worker with no professional experience, or you have very minimal work experience of fewer than three years.

Rather than mentioning a list of what you’re looking for, your police officer resume objective should focus on the value you can bring to the organization.

4. Work History:

This section of your resume is the most important because it contains information about your work experience, such as where you worked, how long you worked there, and your seniority level.

In this section, you describe your job responsibilities and accomplishments in plain, simple language. Make a list of all the jobs you’ve held that are related to public safety, and think about your responsibilities and accomplishments in each one.

Then, as you begin writing, concentrate on the results of your actions and the issues you resolved. Consider the skills you gained on the job and try to demonstrate a growing understanding and ability to handle more challenging situations.

Here are a few useful verbs to include in your work history section:

Negotiate
Command
Resolve
Investigate
Defuse
Asses
Enforce
Interpret

5. Education:

All of your degrees and certifications are listed in your education section. Add it here as well if you have completed the police academy and therefore are looking for your first job.

The following information is communicated in the education section of your police officer resume:

Name of the school or university where you studied.
The names of the courses you’ve taken.
Your school’s or university’s location.
Dates for enrolment and graduation

While your educational background may not affect the momentum of your job application, having relevant degrees will increase your chances of being shortlisted over someone who does not.

Having any concerns, the following responses should help;

1. How do I include a minor on my resume?

Minors are frequently included in a resume’s education section if they are relevant to the target job. If that’s the case, put it under a “Coursework” subheader.

2. When should coursework be included on a resume?

On a resume, only include coursework as part of your education if:

The applicant is a recent graduate.
The target job description specifies it as a requirement.
It’s relevant to the job you’re looking for.

3. How do you list education that is still in progress on a resume?

Place your education section at the top of the page.
Dates should be written in the “- Present” format.

6. Key Skills:

A hiring committee is most interested in your abilities. You pass the first qualification test and prospective employers take the necessary steps to further evaluate your resume once you have the necessary skills.

As a result, this section is just as important as the work history section; perfecting this section is crucial because it encourages a recruiter to look at your entire resume.

This is why you must meticulously endorse your police officer resume skills, as it is a reflection of the abilities you have acquired over time.

While you may want to emphasize your understanding of the law, first aid, and tactics in your resume skills section, keep in mind that police officers also need qualities that command public regard.

Attempt to divide them into two types of abilities:

Hard Skills

Squad supervision
Following up on leads
Interrogating suspects
Dispute resolution
Developing anti-crime programs
Investigating criminal activity
Keeping antisocial behavior at bay

Soft skills

Skills in negotiating
Assertiveness
Ability to solve problems
Ability to communicate
Teamwork abilities
Meticulousness
Ability to remain calm

After you’ve found a good balance of both types of skills, it’s time to work them into your resume as effortlessly as possible.

7. Certifications:

This section should ideally convey a list of your most relevant training and certifications, which should include:

Name of the certification course
The affiliation institute’s name
The affiliation institute’s location
Enrollment and course completion dates

Arrange the following points in the following order:

‘Name of certification’ | ‘Affiliating Institution’ | ‘Location’ | ‘Date’ (in month & year format)

For specialists writing an entry-level police officer resume, the certification training section is extremely useful. In other words, the certifications section can help you write an entry-level police officer resume. A candidate with relevant certifications is almost always chosen over one who does not. So, if you’ve completed any noteworthy certifications that are relevant to your target job, include them in this section. Some types of common certifications that can help you improve your resume are:

Public Notary
CPR
Assistive Technology
Forklift Certified
ServSafe
Assistant to a Doctor
License for Insurance

8. Additional information:

In the additional information section of your police resume, include important details about yourself, such as your hobbies and multilingual abilities. This section of your resume is the miscellaneous section, where you can include information about yourself.

Template

Using pre-arranged templates on “resume build” and “livecareer”, create your police officer resume using the below links:

What are some ways to make your resume different?

The police force is a fiercely competitive profession, especially as you advance through the ranks. There are only so many job openings at any given time, so you’ll have to work hard to get hired. Here are some tips to help your resume stand out:

Provide as much detail as possible:

On your resume, general statements that anyone could have written will not help you stand out. Avoid using generalizations when talking about yourself and your experiences. You can personalize your resume by using specific examples.

If you know another language, put it in bold:

Police officers must be able to communicate with people from all walks of life, including those who do not speak English as a first language. That’s why it’s important to mention if you can speak and/or write in a language other than English. If it’s widely used in the area where the police department you’re applying for is located, you’ll get bonus points.

Waffling on your resume is a no-no:

Officers are characterized for being direct and to-the-point. Given how they always have a lot to do and not adequate time to do it, it stands to reason! This means they won’t waste time trying to figure out what’s on your resume. Keep it brief and avoid rambling at all costs. Remember that there’s a big difference between providing important information about yourself and stuffing your resume with irrelevant data and words. In police officer resumes, brevity is highly valued, so don’t lose out on a job because you’re too wordy!

Conclusion

Even while there is a strong need for police officers, it does not mean that getting one is easy.

The hiring process should still be treated seriously, and you should put forth the effort necessary to create an excellent resume.

Looking for a job can be a frightening experience, but if you know what you’re doing and what recruiters are looking for, the fear will fade quickly.

It’s just a matter of putting in the effort now that you’ve seen the tips and techniques and know everything you need to.

References

hiration.com – How to List Education on Resume: 2023 Guide with 10+ Tips
myperfectresume.com – Police Officer Resume Example + Salaries, Writing tips and Information
resumebuild.com – Police Officer Resume Examples
hiration.com – Police Officer Resume: 2022 Guide with 10+ Samples & Examples
indeed.com – Police Officer

How To Write A Police Officer Resume | Full Guide + Template

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Police Officer Resume Format

How to Write a Police Officer R + Templates