Resume Tip Sheet for Criminal Justice
As a criminal justice graduate, you can create a CHRONOLOGICAL resume if you have relevant work experience through required internship or other experience in the criminal justice field. (See the aticles Easy Steps for a Chronological Resume)
Or you can create a COMBINATION resume if you would rather emphasize your categories of skills, along with your education and your required internship. (See the article Easy Steps for a Combination Resume)
Tips for creating key sections of a criminal justice graduate’s resume:
A. Heading
Create your heading like this:
Harley Mitchell
Street Address, City, MI 00000
(000) 000-0000
hmitchellemail@gmail.com LinkedIn Profile/Customized URL
B. Key Qualifications
Begin your resume with a summary of your key qualifications. To write the bulleted statements in this section, be sure to use keywords, requirements and preferences mentioned in the job posting. (For more information see the following articles: Developing Your Qualifications Summary and Beating the ATS.) Below is an example:
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
• Solid abilities in organization, data management, and supervision of multiple projects simultaneously
• Skilled in research and verbal or written communication, including report writing
• Meet Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) physical requirements
C. Internship Experience
A criminal justice graduate’s internship experience gives important examples of professional experience. Follow your internship experience (listed in reverse chronological order) by the EDUCATION section. List your internship experience using this format:
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
MacArthur Foundation Chicago, IL Spring 2021/Hours: 150
Criminal Justice Intern
• Passed background check through Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN)
• Followed all ethical standards of privacy and other protocols to keep identities and information confidential
• Consistently built rapport and respect with clients, offenders, and victims while communicating or gathering required information
D. Education
Place your education information directly after INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE. You may include any colleges at which you have completed courses or from which you have obtained a degree. See the example below which shows how to list your degree:
EDUCATION
Baker College Owosso, MI Expected graduation 05/2022
Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice Honors: Dean’s List
Criminal Justice Studies*
* Other possible concentration: Law Enforcement Academy
Other optional information can be listed: organizations, honors, and GPA if 3.5 +.
E. Licenses/Certifications
List licenses or certifications granted by a governing body. If they are listed as requirements in the job posting, choose the optimum place on the resume for this information. Below are examples of possible certifications:
LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS
Basic Life Support/First Aid, American Heart Association Expires 00/2023
MCOLES Pre-Academy Certification Expires 00/0000
Michigan Corrections Academy Certification, Department of Corrections Obtained 00/0000
(or) Michigan Police Academy Certification, Department of Corrections Obtained 00/0000
Valid (Name of the State) Driver’s License Expires 00/0000
F. Work Experience
List general work experience with two to three bullets which highlight soft skills. Also, be sure to list related criminal justice experience outside of your internship experience which would be desirable to the employer (e.g., Security Officer, Asset Protection Associate, Records Keeper, Clerical Staff) and highlight transferable skills.
G. Optional Sections
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Volunteer Tour Guide, Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center 2019-2020
Volunteer Clean-up Crew, Sierra Club Year–Year
National Police Association-Volunteer Bike Patrol
Community Church Volunteer Staff, Children’s Ministry
• Be sure to list volunteer hours in the community, such as clean-up crews, parade staff, or non-profit service.
• Depending on the length of your resume and your goals, the VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE section can simply be a list of your titles and the organizations or can include duties/achievements as in the KEY QUALIFICATIONS section.
RELEVANT COURSEWORK
This section may be placed after your EDUCATION section and should only include specific coursework required for or desirable for the job you are targeting. Do not list common CRJ courses from your program.
Revised 10 May 2021
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