What does a Intelligence Analyst do?

Gather, analyze, or evaluate information from a variety of sources, such as law enforcement databases, surveillance, intelligence networks or geographic information systems. Day to day that includes work like validate known intelligence with data from other sources and Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.

What skills should a Intelligence Analyst put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Writing 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 Intelligence Analyst list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Amazon Simple Storage Service S3, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, and Apache Kafka. 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 Intelligence Analyst work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Crime Analyst, Criminal Analyst, Crime Intelligence Analyst, and Criminal Intelligence Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Intelligence Analyst need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 65% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Intelligence Analyst 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.

Intelligence Analyst resume example

A resume for a Intelligence Analyst needs to show the work itself: gather, analyze, or evaluate information from a variety of sources, such as law enforcement databases, surveillance, intelligence networks or geographic information systems. Day to day that means work like this: validate known intelligence with data from other sources; gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases. 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.

Crime Analyst
Criminal Analyst
Crime Intelligence Analyst
Criminal Intelligence Analyst
Intel Analyst
Intel Research Specialist
Intelligence Research Specialist
Anti-Terrorist Analyst
Crime and Intelligence Analyst
Criminal and Intelligence Analyst
Crime Research Specialist
Criminal Research Specialist
Investigative Intel Analysts
Investigative Intelligence Analysts
Police Crime and Intel Analyst
Police Crime and Intelligence Analyst
Terrorism Research Specialist
AI Consultant

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

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Crime Analyst (Criminal Analyst)
Crime and Intelligence Analyst (Criminal and Intelligence Analyst)
Crime Intelligence Analyst (Criminal Intelligence Analyst)
Crime Research Specialist (Criminal Research Specialist)
Intel Analyst (Intelligence Analyst)
Intel Research Specialist (Intelligence Research Specialist)
Investigative Intel Analysts (Investigative Intelligence Analysts)
Police Crime and Intel Analyst (Police Crime and Intelligence Analyst)

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.

Validate known intelligence with data from other sources.
Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.
Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members.
Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records.
Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity.
Prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data.
Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities.
Link or chart suspects to criminal organizations or events to determine activities and interrelationships.
Establish criminal profiles to aid in connecting criminal organizations with their members.
Identify gaps in information.
Design, use, or maintain databases and software applications, such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and artificial intelligence tools.
Predict future gang, organized crime, or terrorist activity, using analyses of intelligence data.

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.

Validate known intelligence with data from other sources, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records, 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.

Amazon Simple Storage Service S3
Amazon Web Services AWS software
Apache Hadoop
Apache Hive
Apache Kafka
Apache Pig
Apache Spark
Arrival Departure Information System ADIS
Automated Targeting System ATS
Bing
Biometric Storage System BSS
C++
Chatbot software
Computer Linked Application Information Management System CLAIMS

84 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

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

Color copiers
Color laser printers
Computer laser printers
Desktop computers
Digital still cameras
Digital video cameras
Document scanners
Laptop computers
Laser facsimile machines
Multimedia presentation projectors
Plotting printers
Smart phones

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.

Apache Pig
Arrival Departure Information System ADIS

What this job rates as most important

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

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Speaking
05Writing
06Active Learning
07Complex Problem Solving
08Monitoring
09Coordination
10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

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

English Language
Law and Government
Public Safety and Security
Administrative
Computers and Electronics
Communications and Media
Customer and Personal Service
Telecommunications

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.

65%Bachelor's Degree
13%Master's Degree
9%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Intelligence Analyst do?: Gather, analyze, or evaluate information from a variety of sources, such as law enforcement databases, surveillance, intelligence networks or geographic information systems. Day to day that includes work like validate known intelligence with data from other sources and Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.
What skills should a Intelligence Analyst put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Writing 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 Intelligence Analyst list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Amazon Simple Storage Service S3, Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, and Apache Kafka. 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 Intelligence Analyst work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Crime Analyst, Criminal Analyst, Crime Intelligence Analyst, and Criminal Intelligence Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Intelligence Analyst need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 65% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Intelligence Analyst 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.