What does a Public Safety Telecommunicator do?

Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Day to day that includes work like provide emergency medical instructions to callers and Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.

What skills should a Public Safety Telecommunicator put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, and Critical Thinking 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 911 system information databases, Computer aided dispatch software, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, Geographic information system GIS systems, and Intrado SchoolMessenger. 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Communications Officer, Communications Operator, Public Safety Dispatcher, and Telecommunicator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Public Safety Telecommunicator need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 63% 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator 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.

Public Safety Telecommunicator resume example

A resume for a Public Safety Telecommunicator needs to show the work itself: operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Day to day that means work like this: provide emergency medical instructions to callers; question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed. 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.

Communications Officer
Communications Operator
Public Safety Dispatcher
Telecommunicator
911 Dispatcher
Communications Specialist
Emergency Communications Dispatcher
Emergency Communications Operator
ECO
Police Dispatcher
Dispatch Tech
EMD
ETD
911 Emergency Dispatcher
911 Emergency Services Dispatcher
911 Operator
911 Telecommunicator
Alarm Operator

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.

Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
Enter, update, and retrieve information from teletype networks and computerized data systems regarding such things as wanted persons, stolen property, vehicle registration, and stolen vehicles.
Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.

18 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.

Provide emergency medical instructions to callers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city, 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.

911 system information databases
Computer aided dispatch software
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
Geographic information system GIS systems
Intrado SchoolMessenger
Law enforcement information databases
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft SharePoint
Microsoft Word
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database

18 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.

Automatic call distributing ACD consoles
Base station radios
Desktop computers
Digital recording equipment
Intercom systems
Mainframe computers
Mainframe terminals
Mobile data computers
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Radio scanners
Switchboards

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.

maintain security

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
03Social Perceptiveness
04Coordination
05Critical Thinking
06Service Orientation
07Reading Comprehension
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Complex Problem Solving
10Active Learning

Knowledge areas

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

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

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.

63%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
11%Some College Courses
11%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Public Safety Telecommunicator do?: Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Day to day that includes work like provide emergency medical instructions to callers and Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
What skills should a Public Safety Telecommunicator put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, and Critical Thinking 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 911 system information databases, Computer aided dispatch software, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, Geographic information system GIS systems, and Intrado SchoolMessenger. 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Communications Officer, Communications Operator, Public Safety Dispatcher, and Telecommunicator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Public Safety Telecommunicator need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 63% 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 Public Safety Telecommunicator 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.