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Clergy resume example

A resume for a Clergy needs to show the work itself: conduct religious worship and perform other spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faith or denomination. Day to day that means work like this: pray and promote spirituality; prepare and deliver sermons or other talks. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Minister
  • Pastor
  • Priest
  • Rector
  • Bishop
  • Chaplain
  • Children's Minister
  • Imam
  • Rabbi
  • Worship Pastor
  • Administrator Pastor
  • Brother
  • Campus Minister
  • Campus Pastor
  • Cantor
  • Catechist
  • Catholic Priest
  • Chancellor

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Pray and promote spirituality.
  • Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks.
  • Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran.
  • Organize and lead regular religious services.
  • Instruct people who seek conversion to a particular faith.
  • Share information about religious issues by writing articles, giving speeches, or teaching.
  • Counsel individuals or groups concerning their spiritual, emotional, or personal needs.
  • Administer religious rites or ordinances.
  • Prepare people for participation in religious ceremonies.
  • Visit people in homes, hospitals, or prisons to provide them with comfort and support.
  • Train leaders of church, community, or youth groups.
  • Plan or lead religious education programs.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Pray and promote spirituality, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Read from sacred texts, such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Organize and lead regular religious services, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Email software
  • Event scheduling software
  • Facebook
  • GroupMe
  • Membership databases
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Twitter
  • Web browser software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Cordless microphones
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Multiline telephone systems
  • Multimedia presentation projectors
  • Passenger vehicles
  • Tablet computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • Event scheduling
  • GroupMe

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Speaking
  2. 02Active Listening
  3. 03Social Perceptiveness
  4. 04Instructing
  5. 05Service Orientation
  6. 06Judgment and Decision Making
  7. 07Persuasion
  8. 08Reading Comprehension
  9. 09Time Management
  10. 10Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Philosophy and Theology
  • English Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Education and Training
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Communications and Media
  • Psychology

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 48%Master's Degree
  • 18%Bachelor's Degree
  • 15%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Clergy do?
Conduct religious worship and perform other spiritual functions associated with beliefs and practices of religious faith or denomination. Day to day that includes work like pray and promote spirituality and Prepare and deliver sermons or other talks.
What skills should a Clergy put on a resume?
O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Instructing, and Service Orientation among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Clergy list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Email software, Event scheduling software, Facebook, GroupMe, and Membership databases. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Clergy work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Minister, Pastor, Priest, and Rector. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Clergy need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 48% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Clergy role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.