What skills should a Private Detectives and Investigator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Private Detectives and Investigator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Computer imaging software, Email software, Facebook, LexisNexis, 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 Private Detectives and Investigator work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Investigator, Loss Prevention Detective, Loss Prevention Officer, and Private Investigator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Private Detectives and Investigator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 38% 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 Private Detectives and Investigator 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.

Private Detectives and Investigator resume example

A resume for a Private Detectives and Investigator needs to show the work itself: gather, analyze, compile, and report information regarding individuals or organizations to clients, or detect occurrences of unlawful acts or infractions of rules in private establishment. Day to day that means work like this: write reports or case summaries to document investigations; conduct private investigations on a paid basis. 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.

Investigator
Loss Prevention Detective
Loss Prevention Officer
Private Investigator
Asset Protection Detective
Field Investigator
Loss Prevention Agent
Loss Prevention Associate
Loss Prevention Investigator
Special Investigator
AML Investigator
BSA Investigator
Alarm Investigator
Anti Money Laundering Investigator
Background Investigator
Bonding Agent
Bank Secrecy Act Investigator
Case Investigator

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.

Write reports or case summaries to document investigations.
Conduct private investigations on a paid basis.
Search computer databases, credit reports, public records, tax or legal filings, or other resources to locate persons or to compile information for investigations.
Conduct personal background investigations, such as pre-employment checks, to obtain information about an individual's character, financial status, or personal history.
Expose fraudulent insurance claims or stolen funds.
Obtain and analyze information on suspects, crimes, or disturbances to solve cases, to identify criminal activity, or to gather information for court cases.
Testify at hearings or court trials to present evidence.
Question persons to obtain evidence for cases of divorce, child custody, or missing persons or information about individuals' character or financial status.
Observe and document activities of individuals to detect unlawful acts or to obtain evidence for cases, using binoculars and still or video cameras.
Confer with establishment officials, security departments, police, or postal officials to identify problems, provide information, or receive instructions.
Investigate companies' financial standings, or locate funds stolen by embezzlers, using accounting skills.
Perform undercover operations, such as evaluating the performance or honesty of employees by posing as customers or employees.

14 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.

Write reports or case summaries to document investigations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Conduct private investigations on a paid basis, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Search computer databases, credit reports, public records, tax or legal filings, or other resources to locate persons or to compile information for investigations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Conduct personal background investigations, such as pre-employment checks, to obtain information about an individual's character, financial status, or personal history, 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.

Computer imaging software
Email software
Facebook
LexisNexis
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft operating system
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Operating system software
Web browser software

15 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.

35 millimeter cameras
Biological evidence collection kits
Compact digital cameras
Computer data input scanners
Desktop computers
Digital audio recorders
Digital video cameras
Fingerprint evidence kits
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Handguns
High powered binoculars
Laptop 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.

balance receipts
Computer imaging
LexisNexis
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel

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

Knowledge areas

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

English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Law and Government
Computers and Electronics
Administrative
Administration and Management
Public Safety and Security
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.

38%Bachelor's Degree
25%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
16%Associate'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 Private Detectives and Investigator do?: Gather, analyze, compile, and report information regarding individuals or organizations to clients, or detect occurrences of unlawful acts or infractions of rules in private establishment. Day to day that includes work like write reports or case summaries to document investigations and Conduct private investigations on a paid basis.
What skills should a Private Detectives and Investigator put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Private Detectives and Investigator list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Computer imaging software, Email software, Facebook, LexisNexis, 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 Private Detectives and Investigator work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Investigator, Loss Prevention Detective, Loss Prevention Officer, and Private Investigator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Private Detectives and Investigator need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 38% 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 Private Detectives and Investigator 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.