What does a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers do?

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers. Day to day that includes work like take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts and Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.

What skills should a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Social Perceptiveness 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 First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Electronic Monitoring, Email software, Guardian RFID, Jail management software, and Microsoft Access. 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 First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers work?

O*NET records 13 titles for this occupation, including Correctional Officer Captain, Correctional Supervisor, Correction Officer Supervisor, and Correction Warden. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 59% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers 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.

First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers resume example

A resume for a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers needs to show the work itself: directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers. Day to day that means work like this: take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts; maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws. 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.

Correctional Officer Captain
Correctional Supervisor
Correction Officer Supervisor
Correction Warden
Correctional Case Records Supervisor
Detention Director
Detention Supervisor
Guard Chief
Guard Supervisor
Juvenile Justice Supervisor
Prison Guard Supervisor
Shift Supervisor
Ward Supervisor

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.

Take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts.
Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.
Maintain knowledge of, comply with, and enforce all institutional policies, rules, procedures, and regulations.
Respond to emergencies, such as escapes.
Supervise and direct the work of correctional officers to ensure the safe custody, discipline, and welfare of inmates.
Supervise or perform searches of inmates or their quarters to locate contraband items.
Monitor behavior of subordinates to ensure alert, courteous, and professional behavior toward inmates, parolees, fellow employees, visitors, and the public.
Restrain, secure, or control offenders, using chemical agents, firearms, or other weapons of force as necessary.
Carry injured offenders or employees to safety and provide emergency first aid when necessary.
Complete administrative paperwork or supervise the preparation or maintenance of records, forms, or reports.
Supervise activities, such as searches, shakedowns, riot control, or institutional tours.
Conduct roll calls of correctional officers.

23 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.

Take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain knowledge of, comply with, and enforce all institutional policies, rules, procedures, and regulations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Respond to emergencies, such as escapes, 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.

3M Electronic Monitoring
Email software
Guardian RFID
Jail management software
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word

Tools and equipment

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

Air-supplying respirators
Closed circuit television CCTV surveillance systems
Cut resistant gloves
Data collectors
Desktop computers
Electroshock weapons
Emergency fire extinguishers
Expandable batons
Fire detection systems
Fire suppression blankets
Handheld metal detectors
Laptop computers

What this job rates as most important

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

01Active Listening
02Coordination
03Critical Thinking
04Monitoring
05Social Perceptiveness
06Speaking
07Management of Personnel Resources
08Reading Comprehension
09Negotiation
10Persuasion

Knowledge areas

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

Public Safety and Security
Law and Government
Administration and Management
Psychology
English Language
Administrative
Computers and Electronics
Education and Training

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.

59%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
23%Associate's Degree
11%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers do?: Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers. Day to day that includes work like take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts and Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.
What skills should a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Social Perceptiveness 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 First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Electronic Monitoring, Email software, Guardian RFID, Jail management software, and Microsoft Access. 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 First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers work?: O*NET records 13 titles for this occupation, including Correctional Officer Captain, Correctional Supervisor, Correction Officer Supervisor, and Correction Warden. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 59% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a First-Line Supervisor of Correctional Officers 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.