INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Police Officer positions are at a 7% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 795,000 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 51,700 to 846,700 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Police Officer jobs was $67,290 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $39,130, and the highest 10% more than $113,860.
Our conclusion? The Police Officer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Police Officer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Police Officer resume experience section
Police Officer Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Police Officer resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Police Lieutenant - serve in the capacity of Watch Commander and organize and direct subordinates to ensure the effective operation of the watch..
- Police Sergeant - served in the capacity of patrol supervisor, responsible to the Watch Commander and direct police officers and civilians to ensure the effective operation of the watch.
- Police Officer - variety of tasks to serve and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
- Improved soldier retention by 12% for the unit
- Provided security details for VIP’s and State Officials
- Successfully led teams of soldiers in combat scenarios
- Responsible for assisting & organizing all administrative aspects of the Police Department including organizing meetings and events, answering phones, completing audits, and completing multiple projects simultaneously assigned by the Police Commissioner.
- Worked collaboratively with over 20 Special Police Officers to enforce local city laws, ensure crowd control, and to protect the City of Long Beach.
- Founded the Operation Commendable Kids Campaign which encourages positive relationships between children, police officers and the entire community.
- Participated in ride-alongs and station communication
- Daily patrol calls, reports, and department meetings
- Completed 2016 Use of Force Memorendum
- Completed 2016 Police Officer Training Survey
- 480 hour internship
- Responded to calls for service from community members.
- Enforced Colorado State laws as well as municipal ordinances.
- Used problem solving skills and initiative to work independently.
- Conducted thorough investigations and completed detailed reports.
- Managed a team of 4 - 15 multi skilled officers, response for staff appraisals, coaching and mentoring staff to ensure skills are developed within the organisation.
- Leading at numerous critical incidents and implementing crises management techniques to ensure normality of service is returned as soon possible while balancing the needs of the investgation
- Reviewing security and policing plans including stakeholder security plans to maximise impact of limited resources
- Implementing joint working operations with various private security to reduce loss and ensure staff safety is maintained while limiting impact on customers
- Staff safety engagement, including how to prevent assaults and minimise loss to the organisation and personal
- Maryland Police and Training Commission Certification
- Certified NHTSA Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)
- Uniformed police officer, patrol division
- Crime scene investigations / Traffic enforcement / Collision investigations / Criminal & Civil calls-for-service response
- Proactive policing of neighborhoods in collaboration with community members, addressing elevated crime enforcement/awareness and promoting both life-safety and community relations
- Special Branch Linguistic specialist to police the EuroTunnel
- Station Officer for Sevenoaks and then Margate/Ramsgate area
- Police Firearms trained and certified
- Received Commissionaires Commendation for Excellence in Policing by arresting a serial arsonist who enjoyed setting old peoples homes on fire in the middle of the night whilst residents slept
- Building a rapport with the community to give a voice and deter crime.
- Analyze crime patterns to ensure patrolling is proactive.
- Enforcing the law to maintain public order and safety.
- Respond quickly to incident and take appropriate actions
- Gathered preliminary investigation information as first responder to incident.
- Investigate reported crimes.
- Observe and take appropriate action in the event of suspicious activity.
- Wrote reports on arrest made and activities performed.
- Ability to perform long hours shift work
- Ability to lead and guide those under him.
- Possess Police Class 3 licence.
- Promoted to the rank of SSGT.
- Monitored and investigate suspicious persons and situations and unusual activities.
- Directed and control crowds at parades, funeral processions and sporting events.
- Preserved peace and order, preventing crimes and protects life and property.
- This department is focused on protecting the airport from terrorist attacks and enhancing security
- Working on team with 20+ Colleagues
- Communication with people from all over the world. It helps to recognize what are their intentions
- Monitored and investigate suspicious persons and situations and unusual activities.
- Directed and control crowds at parades, funeral processions and sporting events.
- Preserved peace and order, preventing crimes and protects life and property.
- Demonstrated ability to resolve complex disputes, deescalate high-threat situations, and manage critical incident scenes.
- Selected by Maryville Police Department command staff to serve as a field training officer.
- Served as a member of the Maryville Police Department Honor Guard, Motorcycle Unit, and SWAT Team.
- Selected by the State of Tennessee to train police officers statewide on advanced enforcement techniques.
- Served as the Officer-in-Charge of a uniformed patrol shift in the absence of the shift commander.
- Investigated crimes, wrote reports, issued citations, made arrests, and testified in court.
- 2013 Outstanding Service Award
- 2013 HERO Award
- 2012 HERO Award
- 2012 East Tennessee Police Officer of the Year
- Responsible for assisting and organizing all administrative aspects of the department including organizing meetings and events.
- Worked collaboratively with 20 Special Police Officers to enforce local city laws, ensure crowd control, and to protect the City of Long Beach.
- Founded the Operation Commendable Kids campaign which encourages positive relationships between children, police officers and the entire community.
- Went through police training to carry out policing duties while on duty
- Maintain peace and security of posts that was being assigned to ensue SOPs are being adhered to
- Was deployed to Woodlands Checkpoint and also Jurong Island
- Proficient in crowd control, protecting financial instituitions as well as handling counter terrorism activities
- Manage a group of men operationally and admistratively
PRO TIP
Include quantitative data throughout your Police Officer resume to impress the hiring manager. Real facts and figures that show off your competency as an audit manager go a long way. Did you reduce the costs of audits? Manage a large team? Boosted efficiency? Show off the real numbers!
Action Verbs for your Police Officer Resume
Recommended reads:
Police Officer Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Police Officer resume
Legal Knowledge
Reporting
Weapons Skills
CPR and First Aid
Computer Skills
Driving
Self-Defence
Active listening
Conflict resolution
Empathy
Compassion
Adaptability
Nonverbal communication
Critical thinking and observation
Building trust
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Recommended reads:
Police Officer Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Police Officer Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Police Officer resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Police Officer Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Police Officer resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Police Officer resume
How to Become a UK Police Officer
The Definitive Guide to Becoming A UK Police Officer - Also Great For Special Constable Applications
Police Legitimacy, Procedural Justice & Community Relations
The Courage to Lead Change
Constitutional Oriented Policing
Making Criminal Justice Effective Again
StudiGuide 20: Use of Force in California
Study Guide for the California Police Academy (P.O.S.T.) Written Examination
How to get that job in the Police or CJS
Right choices and application process guides
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Police Officer. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Police Officer Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Police Officer Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Police Officer resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Police Officer resume:
Police Officer Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Police Officer resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Police Officer Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
