With just over 400k jobs today, being a correctional officer is a pretty popular job. This might be, in part, due to the low barriers to entry. Unlike many other professions that require further education, this job requires a high school diploma. It also pays a decent salary of just under $48k per year on average. However, you will need to be fairly physically fit and disciplined to be successful in this position.
Because of the work environment, it is one of the most high-risk professions for injury or death, due to confrontations with inmates, and is, interestingly, one of the few professions where the number of workers is expected to decline in the next 10 years, at a rate of 10%. This guide will show you how to craft a strong correctional officer’s resume sample and give you some tips to make it stand out from the crowd.
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Correctional officers are in charge of individuals who have been arrested or sentenced to a term in jail. In this position, your tasks may include ensuring all rules and regulations are followed, searching inmates for contraband, escorting inmates, supervising inmates, etc. It can be a dangerous job and it is not very uncommon to hear of correctional officers being attacked or in some way injured on the job. You need to be well trained and alert in this profession to thrive and stay safe. Take a look at this resume sample.
This is a very hands-on job, and your resume needs to see what you can do on a practical level. Use your skills section to list the practical skills you have like patroling and firearms handling, and the tools you are experienced with, like handcuffs and body armor.
Make your resume easy and impressive to read by including impressive figures that show your achievements and skills. It helps you stand out from the crowd and show recruiters your capabilities at a glance. This applicant has done this very effectively.
Correctional officers are the police in prison and jail. It is their job to enforce all the rules and ensure that arrested or imprisoned people are safe and orderly. These officers are also present in courthouses or anywhere else inmates may be.
While education beyond a high school diploma may not be a requirement, you will need to be trained and pass whatever exams are needed in the state or country in which you want to work. Ensure those qualifications are clearly listed on your resume.
Almost everyone applying for a correctional officer job will have all the necessary certifications to be allowed to work in that position. Ensure you have those basic qualifications and then go a step further to get additional relevant qualifications. This applicant has a First Aid & CPR certification which boosts their resume.
Correction officers are given custody of individuals who are arrested and imprisoned. It is their job to ensure the individuals’ safety, supervise them and ensure they follow all rules and regulations. You must go through training and get the relevant certifications needed to be allowed to work in this profession. The position requires good interpersonal skills, physical strength, and discipline. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
If you are like this applicant who has had experience in other related positions, ensure your skills section speaks only of the skills needed for a corrections officer. The resume doesn’t use a long list of skills and instead prioritizes the most relevant skills for the job.
As a hiring manager who has reviewed countless resumes for correctional officer positions at institutions like the Federal Bureau of Prisons, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and CoreCivic, I've seen firsthand what makes a resume stand out. The following tips will help you craft a compelling resume that showcases your qualifications and increases your chances of landing an interview.
Correctional officers must be physically fit and capable of handling potentially dangerous situations. Emphasize your physical abilities and any relevant training you've received.
Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen resumes before they reach human eyes. To ensure your resume passes through these systems, keep your header simple and avoid using graphics, logos, or unusual fonts.
A clean, ATS-friendly header should look like this:
John Doe | Correctional Officer
Phone: (123) 456-7890 | Email: [email protected] | City, State
On the other hand, a header with excessive formatting or graphics may confuse the ATS and cause your resume to be rejected, like this example:
John Doe
Correctional Officer Extraordinaire
123 Main Street, Apt. 4B, City, State, ZIP
Call me: (123) 456-7890 | Email me: [email protected]
A resume summary for a Correctional Officer is optional, but can be a valuable addition if you have extensive experience in the field or are making a career change. It provides a quick overview of your qualifications and highlights your most relevant skills and achievements. However, avoid using an objective statement, as it is outdated and focuses on what you want rather than what you can offer the employer.
When crafting your Correctional Officer resume summary, focus on your unique selling points and tailor it to the specific job requirements. Emphasize your ability to maintain order, enforce rules, and ensure the safety and security of inmates and staff. Use metrics and specific examples to support your claims and make your summary more impactful.
As a correctional officer, your work experience section is the most important part of your resume. It's where you showcase your relevant skills, accomplishments, and career progression. In this section, we'll break down the key steps to write an effective work experience section that will grab the attention of hiring managers.
Action verbs help frame your accomplishments memorably and powerfully. They allow recruiters to skim through your resume and get an idea of your experience and capabilities. They are therefore an important part of your resume that you should pay particular attention to. As a correctional officer, your action verbs should indicate your experience with the various tasks assigned, from enforcement of rules to supervision to investigation of arrested or imprisoned individuals.
Here are some action verbs that are especially effective for your position. Use them to elevate your resume and catch recruiters’ attention.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Your skills section gives you the opportunity to clearly list out what you can do and the tools and techniques that you have used and that you bring to the table. Correctional officers require very specific, and often hands-on skills. They must be able to use very specific enforcement tools and will need to be qualified to use certain tools like firearms. Apart from these hard skills, you will need great communication skills and discipline.
List your hard skills in the skills section and use the experience section of your resume to allude to your soft skills. Here is a list that we have compiled of skills that recruiters would like to see in a correctional officer’s resume.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Correctional Officer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
