What skills should a Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official put on a resume?

O*NET rates Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Database software, Email software, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Horse Show Judge, Major League Baseball Umpire, MLB Umpire, and Referee. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official 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.

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official resume example

A resume for a Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official needs to show the work itself: officiate at competitive athletic or sporting events. Day to day that means work like this: officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed; inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements. 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.

Horse Show Judge
Major League Baseball Umpire
MLB Umpire
Referee
Sports Official
Basketball Referee
Diving Judge
Dressage Judge
Football Referee
Soccer Referee
Softball Umpire
Athletic Events Scorer
Baseball Umpire
Basketball Scorekeeper
Clerk of Scales
Clocker
Dance Critic
Equestrian Events Judge

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.

Officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed.
Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements.
Resolve claims of rule infractions or complaints by participants and assess any necessary penalties, according to regulations.
Signal participants or other officials to make them aware of infractions or to otherwise regulate play or competition.
Teach and explain the rules and regulations governing a specific sport.
Inspect sporting equipment or examine participants to ensure compliance with event and safety regulations.
Report to regulating organizations regarding sporting activities, complaints made, and actions taken or needed, such as fines or other disciplinary actions.
Confer with other sporting officials, coaches, players, and facility managers to provide information, coordinate activities, and discuss problems.
Judge performances in sporting competitions to award points, impose scoring penalties, and determine results.
Verify scoring calculations before competition winners are announced.
Start races and competitions.
Compile scores and other athletic records.

16 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.

Officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Resolve claims of rule infractions or complaints by participants and assess any necessary penalties, according to regulations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Signal participants or other officials to make them aware of infractions or to otherwise regulate play or competition, 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.

Adobe Acrobat
Database software
Email software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Video editing software
Web browser software
Word processing software

Tools and equipment

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

Air gauges
Announcement systems
Ball inflators
Communications headsets
Countdown timers
Digital video disk DVD players
Elbow pads
Electronic display boards
Elliptical trainers
Equipment scales
Exercise bicycles
Fitness treadmills

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.

coach others
Video editing
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint

What this job rates as most important

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

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

Knowledge areas

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

English Language

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.

43%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
24%Less than a High School Diploma
14%Bachelor's Degree

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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official do?: Officiate at competitive athletic or sporting events. Day to day that includes work like officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed and Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements.
What skills should a Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official put on a resume?: O*NET rates Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Database software, Email software, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Horse Show Judge, Major League Baseball Umpire, MLB Umpire, and Referee. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% 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 Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Official 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.