Correctional Officer Resume Examples
Land your desired job with help from our Correctional Officer resume examples! We’ve got high-quality samples, plus tips for organizing and writing each resume section.
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Correctional Officer resume
summary examples
Most hiring managers only do a seven-second scan of your resume. If they don’t see what they’re looking for in your professional summary, they’re probably skipping to the next person.
A professional summary is a two-to-three-sentence paragraph that sells your top achievements as a Correctional Officer and best qualifications for the job at hand.
Recent grads, career-changers and those without much work experience would be better served by writing an objective statement which mentions your goals for a position and the skills that you do have.
Below, we’ll share examples of Correctional Officer professional summaries for different job candidates.
Good example:
“ I am a highly experienced Correctional Officer with over 10 years of experience in maintaining order and security in correctional facilities. I have a proven track record of success in responding to emergencies, enforcing regulations, and supervising inmates. I am adept at utilizing the latest technology to ensure the safety of inmates, staff, and visitors, while also demonstrating a commitment to water efficiency and energy conservation.”
Why this example passes:
- Feature candidate’s success statistic to grab attention. Numbers add detail about how big the results you deliver are, e.g., test scores, passing rate and more.
- Shows career length, 11 years.
- Mentions employer-desired skills: student motivation and interactive lessons.
Bad example:
“ I have experience as a Correctional Officer, where I was responsible for maintaining order and security. I have a strong understanding of the law and am able to handle difficult situations. I am a reliable and hardworking individual who is dedicated to my job.”
Why this example fails:
- Doesn’t include any numbers that quantify correctional officer’s performance
- Uses vague descriptions and skills.
- Doesn’t include years of teaching experience.
The fastest way to write your
professional summary
Showcase your selling points as a Correctional Officer with an attention-grabbing professional summary generated by our Resume Builder! It’s an automated tool that will suggest best-use phrases and content-rich sentences you can customize.
- 1
Enter the details about the job title you held. The builder comes preloaded with auto-suggested phrasing written by resume experts.
- 2
Then, just pick from these suggested phrases that best frame your experience and customize them to your liking!
- 3
All you have to do is choose the summary phrases that best frame your experience. It’s like having a professional do it for you!
You’ll find content written by resume experts in our Resume Builder, but you can also take it above and beyond and employ our professional resume-writing services! Get ready for the job search by taking advantage of the resume-writing tools that are best for you.
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Correctional Officer resume work
experience examples
One of the most fundamental sections of your resume is the work experience. Including skills and accomplishments in your work experience section relevant to your Correctional Officer role is critical to writing a good resume. Compare these work experience examples to understand what information to include to make a job-winning resume.
Good example:
Rolling Meadows Middle School I Rolling Meadows, IL I 8/2018-current
- Monitored inmates and ensured safety of staff and inmates in a maximum security facility
- Developed and enforced regulations to maintain order and discipline in the facility
- Conducted searches of inmates and their living areas to ensure compliance with facility regulations
- Assisted in resolving disputes between inmates and staff, and provided counseling to inmates.
Why this example passes:
- Numbers and statistics add detail and quantify the results this correctional officer delivers: 4% improvement and a class size of 20-25.
- Good use of strong words and active language.
- References specialized value cahier provides with “individualized lesson plans.”
Bad example:
Emily Dickinson Elementary I Redmond, WA I 4/2022-present
- Worked as a Correctional Officer at the local jail
- Monitored inmates and ensured safety of the facility
- Supervised inmate activities
- Performed administrative tasks and paperwork
Why this example fails:
- Lacks numbers or statistics.
- Describes general tasks, not teaching achievements or career highlights.
- Uses active verbs, but doesn’t focus on results.
Correctional Officer resume skills examples
Here are 18 sample skills for correctional officer:
- Offender counts
- Offender supervision
- Inmate behavior modification tactics
- Behavioral disorders familiarity
- Records Management
- Emergency Response
- CCTV Monitoring
- Staff Management
- Emergency Management
- Crisis Management
- Contraband Seizure
- Product Knowledge
- Facility Security
- Prisoner Transport
- Evidence Preservation
- Background Investigations
- Crime Prevention
- Criminal Law
You should sprinkle skills and abilities throughout your resume. Include them in your professional summary, work experience blurbs and a dedicated skills section.
Examples of additional resume sections
Your Correctional Officer resume must include your contact information, professional summary, work experience, skills and education. You can further customize your resume with extra sections to showcase other qualifications.
Here are some examples of optional correctional officer resume sections that you could add to provide greater detail:
- References
- Certifications
- Additional skills
- Photo
- Overview
- Professional skills
- Soft skills
- Accomplishments
Only include additional sections that feature valuable information for your desired Correctional Officer job. If the information you want to add is irrelevant to the job, save that space for more relevant information.
Examples of resume formats
Every resume has a specific layout to organize all sections, also called a resume format. You’ll see examples of the three resume formats: chronological, functional and combination.
The main difference among them is whether or not they give more visual weight to your work history or to your skills section. The format you should select for your resume is based on your years of work experience as a correctional officer.
How to choose a resume format
0-3
Years of experience
Functional formats
- Focus on skills.
- Best for first-time correctional officer who lack work experience.
- Good for people re-entering workforce.
- May omit dates in the work history section.
Organization:
- Skills listed above work experience.
3-10
Years of experience
Combination formats
- Balance skills and work history.
- Ideal for mid-career correctional officer.
- Suitable for career changers and people seeking promotion.
Organization:
- Skills next to or above work experience.
10+
Years of experience
Chronological formats
- Put the most focus on work history.
- Best for correctional officer with a long, steady career.
- Most popular format.
- Preferred by recruiters.
Organization:
- Work experience listed above skills.
Once you know the best format for you, it’s easy to pick a correctional officer resume template. Templates are preformatted layouts created by design professionals to ensure your resume looks amazing!
Don’t forget your correctional officer cover letter
A cover letter works hand-in-hand with your resume to make a stronger case for why you deserve the job.
Communication is a foundational skill for any good Correctional Officer, and one excellent way to demonstrate it is with a cover letter.
A cover letter allows you to tell the story of how you’ve developed valuable skills and learned to overcome obstacles.
And you don’t even have to spend too much time writing a cover letter when you use our Cover Letter Builder!
The process is completely automated, and all you have to do is copy and paste the personalized content suggestions written by our professional resume writers.
Wrap everything up in a visually attractive design that conveys professionalism by picking any of our easy-to-customize cover letter templates.
For more tips on creating a compelling cover letter, check out our guide on How to Write a Cover Letter.
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