Private Investigator Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Private Investigator resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
A private investigator is a detective who specializes in cases that are often under-the-radar or high-profile. They’re hired by individuals or organizations to look into situations that are too sensitive or risky for the police to handle.
Private investigators might work on cases involving fraud, theft, identity theft, insurance scams, embezzlement, or other white-collar crimes. They might also be hired to follow someone suspected of infidelity or to conduct background checks.
To succeed in this field, you need to be able to think on your feet and stay calm under pressure. You’ll need strong investigative skills and an eye for detail. And you’ll need to be able to communicate effectively with clients, law enforcement, and other members of your team.
Here are some tips and an example to help you write a fantastic private investigator resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write a Private Investigator Resume
Here’s how to write a private investigator resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. But rather than simply listing your duties and responsibilities, you can use bullet points to tell a story about your work. For example, rather than saying you “conducted surveillance on subject,” you could say you “conducted surveillance on subject for domestic violence investigation, resulting in successful prosecution of suspect.”
The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what the job entailed and the outcome of your work. And it provides specific details about the case, which makes it easy for the reader to understand how your work contributed to the outcome.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as a private investigator, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. The ATS will look for keywords related to the job like “surveillance” or “investigations” in order to determine whether your skills are a match for the position. If your resume doesn’t have enough of the right terms, your application might not make it past the initial screening.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of commonly used private investigator keywords on your resume:
- Private Investigations
- Surveillance
- Investigation
- Criminal Investigations
- Law Enforcement
- Criminal Justice
- Crime Prevention
- Interrogation
- Public Safety
- Police
- Evidence Collection
- Security Operations
- Physical Security
- Criminal Law
- Executive Protection
- Police Investigations
- Fraud Investigations
- Security
- Homeland Security
- Background Checks
- Loss Prevention
- Corporate Investigations
- Research
- Matrimonial Investigations
- Corporate Security
- Surveillance Detection
- Due Diligence
- Personal Security
- Threat Assessments
- Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM)
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Private investigators need to be proficient in a variety of technologies in order to do their jobs effectively. Programs like Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, and GPS tracking software are all commonly used by private investigators. Additionally, private investigators need to be familiar with law enforcement databases, such as the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), and reporting software, like Crystal Reports.