How to Write an FBI Agent Resume
Your resume has one purpose: to get you interviews for the job you want. You can ensure your resume serves that purpose if you focus on your most relevant skills and display them as clearly as possible. The tips below will help you draft a compelling FBI agent resume and show you how to align it with federal resume standards.
1. Write a clear profile summarizing your qualifications
The FBI’s own resume instructions aptly call the Profile summary “a roadmap for the rest of your resume.” Use this section to give hiring managers a bird’s-eye view of the career highlights and strength areas your document will cover. Doing so can make your overall resume more intriguing and accessible.
For instance, if teamwork is a common thread of several bullet points in your Experience section, consider adding a Profile line about your valuing collaboration with other agencies. Or if you have fluency in another language, you’ll want to cite that in a “Language” section toward the end of your resume, but you can also showcase it in your Profile by adding the line “Bilingual: Fluent in English and [Language].”
(Note, it’s usually easier to write your Profile after you’ve already built the other sections of your resume.)
Profile Example
Collaborative FBI Agent with 5+ years of experience. Skilled communicator who builds positive relationships with diverse agency personnel and members of the public. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.
2. Add an eye-catching experience section
When federal hiring managers look at your resume, they expect to see a comprehensive account of your relevant experience. As such, a federal resume can be much longer than a regular resume. It may also have extensive bullet points. If this is the case with your FBI agent resume, you may be struggling to format all your information.
Here’s a helpful trick. For each bullet point in your Experience section, put the first ten words or so in CAPS. This format separates your achievements from the other text and makes it easier for the hiring manager to quickly scan your work details on each page. (Note, you could achieve a similar effect by putting the text in bold or italics. But CAPS is a better format change because it won’t disappear in cases where you have to convert your resume to plain text, such as when copying your resume text into the USAJOBS site.)
Experience Example
- INTRODUCED 3 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR REGIONAL PERSONNEL. Programs offered more in-depth education on counterterrorism issues and interrogation methods, helping drive an 11% gain in staff retention and a 15% gain in new hire performance (per formal leadership assessment as of May 2022)
3. Include pertinent education and certifications
Your degree, license, and certifications are the basis for your work experience, and deserve a prominent spot on your resume. List each credential in a separate section right below your Experience section, and apply similar formatting. For instance, if in your Experience section you’ve italicized employer names, also italicize the school names appearing in your Education section.
Following are templates and examples to help you format your education and certification details:
Education
Template:
[Degree Name — Major], [School Name], [City, ST] | [Graduation Date] | [#.# GPA]
[Any academic honors]
Example:
Bachelor’s Degree – Criminal Justice, Stanford University, Stanford, CA | 2014 | 3.3 GPA
Certification
Template:
[Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [City, ST] | [Year]
Example:
Certified Professional Criminal Investigator (CPCI), National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers & Studies (NICCS), Stanford, CA | 2019
4. List relevant key skills and proficiencies
For an effective FBI agent resume, include a “Key Skills” section that gives the hiring manager a quick overview of your expertise and value. Consider including any of the terms below:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Complex Problem-Solving | Counterintelligence |
| Counterterrorism | Criminal Investigations |
| Cross-Agency Collaboration | Federal Law Enforcement |
| Fraud Prevention | Interview & Interrogation Methods |
| New Agent Training | Procedure Improvement |
| Reporting & Documentation | Staff Coaching & Mentoring |
| Task Prioritization | Violent Crime Prevention |
5. Include extra details for a federal application
While federal resumes have a lot in common with regular resumes, one key difference is you must give more details about each job you’ve held. These extra details include your salary, hours per week, and supervisor’s email or phone number. For a complete overview of this required information, see the FBI’s Federal Resume Guide. And for more on the FBI hiring process, see Special Agent Selection System: All You Need to Know to Apply.
Example
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Diego, CA | 08/2017 to Present
50+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: John Bergsen, (123) 456-7890
How to Pick the Best FBI Agent Resume Template
For government job applications, a clear and straightforward resume design is usually best. Choose a visual template that lets the hiring manager quickly and easily take in relevant information about you and your background. Avoid any template that calls undue attention to itself with more elaborate design elements.
FBI Agent Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
Years of Experience
- #1
- #2
- #3
Amar Singh
123 Santa Maria, San Francisco, CA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Top Secret Security Clearance | LinkedIn
Profile
Resourceful FBI Agent with 3+ years of experience. Demonstrated success promoting the safety and security of government agencies and local communities. Committed to professional integrity and excellence in all endeavors. Thrive in high-pressure work settings.
Key Skills
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Counterintelligence
- Counterterrorism
- Criminal Investigations
- Federal Law Enforcement
- Fraud Prevention
- Interview & Interrogation Methods
- Reporting & Documentation
- Task Prioritization
- Violent Crime Prevention
Professional Experience
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Francisco, CA | 08/2019 to Present
50+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: Jessica Lang, (123) 456-7890
- Help investigate alleged or suspected criminal activity violating federal law
- Praised for calm, focused response during nine high-risk investigation assignments
- Improved team’s interaction and partnership with 11 state and local agencies
Community Police Officer, San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco, CA | 06/2016 to 07/2019
40+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: John Smith, (123) 456-7890
- Patrolled assigned areas by foot, car, and bike to enforce laws and promote public safety
- Investigated and reported traffic accidents or criminal activity
Education
Bachelor’s Degree – Criminal Justice, Stanford University, Stanford, CA | 2014 | 3.3 GPA
Allison Rosenberg
123 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Top Secret Security Clearance | Veteran’s Preference: Yes (10 points) | LinkedIn
Profile
Collaborative FBI Agent with 5+ years of experience. Skilled communicator who builds positive relationships with diverse agency personnel and members of the public. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.
Key Skills
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Counterintelligence
- Counterterrorism
- Criminal Investigations
- Cross-Agency Collaboration
- Federal Law Enforcement
- Fraud Prevention
- Interview & Interrogation Methods
- Procedure Improvement
- Reporting & Documentation
- Task Prioritization
- Violent Crime Prevention
Professional Experience
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Diego, CA | 08/2017 to Present
50+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: John Bergsen, (123) 456-7890
- Investigate alleged or suspected criminal activity violating federal law
- Collaborate with supervisor to set clear goals and scope of work for each assigned case
- Played key role in uncovering and eliminating four high-profile cases of Medicare fraud
Community Police Officer, San Diego Police Department, San Diego, CA | 06/2014 to 07/2017
40+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: John Smith, (123) 456-7890
- Patrolled assigned areas by foot and car to help direct traffic, enforce laws, and ensure public safety
- Used Spanish fluency to help improve relations between police and the local Hispanic community
Education
Bachelor’s Degree – Criminal Justice (minor in Business Administration), University of California, San Diego, CA | 2014 | 3.7 GPA
Languages
Fluency in Spanish | Proficiency in Italian
Cameron Malfara
123 Windermere Rd., Seattle, WA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Top Secret Security Clearance | LinkedIn
Profile
Strategic and dedicated FBI Agent with 7+ years of advancement and experience. Equally effective in a leadership or hands-on role, with recent success developing new training resources for agents. Adapt readily to new work challenges and conditions.
Key Skills
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Counterintelligence
- Counterterrorism
- Criminal Investigations
- Federal Law Enforcement
- Fraud Prevention
- Interview & Interrogation Methods
- New Agent Training
- Reporting & Documentation
- Staff Coaching & Mentoring
- Task Prioritization
- Violent Crime Prevention
Professional Experience
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Seattle, WA | 06/2015 to Present
Special Agent in Charge, FBI-Seattle (08/2018 to Present)
50+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: Mina Sayed, (123) 456-7890
- Coordinate investigations of alleged or suspected criminal activity violating federal law
- Introduced three training and development programs for regional personnel. Programs offered more in-depth education on counterterrorism issues and interrogation methods, helping drive an 11% gain in staff retention and 15% gain in new hire performance (per formal leadership assessment as of May 2022)
Supervisory Special Agent, Olympia Resident Agency (06/2015 to 07/2018)
40+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: Sarah Johnson, (123) 456-7890
- Member of management group that updated core goals for task forces focused on public corruption and violent crime prevention
- Honed team’s standard procedures for documenting new cases, raising efficiency by 25% within first month of implementation
Patrol Sergeant / Community Police Officer, Seattle Police Department, Seattle, WA | 04/2012 to 05/2015
40+ hours per week | Salary: $XX per year | Supervisor: John Smith, (123) 456-7890
- Oversaw, motivated, and performance-managed a squad of officers
- Trained new officers on department policies and procedures and monitored progress
- Investigated crimes by interviewing witnesses, gathering physical evidence, and arresting and processing suspects
Education
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Master’s Degree – Organizational Management | 2012 | 3.6 GPA
- Bachelor’s Degree – Criminal Justice | 2010 | 3.4 GPA
Frequently Asked Questions: FBI Agent Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for FBI agent resumes? +
It’s easy to get stuck when writing your resume job descriptions. You may find yourself running out of action verbs to describe your work. To help you over the hump, we put together this list of strong resume verbs for an FBI agent. Consider using any of these as the first word of your bullet points in your Experience section:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Adapt | Collaborate |
| Create | Enhance |
| Interrogate | Interview |
| Investigate | Locate |
| Manage | Monitor |
| Oversee | Prevent |
| Prioritize | Protect |
| Pursue | Resolve |
| Safeguard | Secure |
| Serve | Streamline |
| Strengthen | Target |
| Uncover | Uphold |
NOTE: The above verbs are all in the present tense. Use the present tense to describe your current job duties. But use the past tense (e.g., “Created,” “Enhanced”) to describe any projects you’ve completed or achievements you’ve had in your current job. Also, use the past tense to describe both duties and achievements in all your previous jobs.
How do you align your resume with a job posting?+
The FBI employs more than 13,000 agents, with an average salary range of $78K-$153K.
When you find an FBI agent job posting that interests you, look closely at the required skills and credentials. Are there any you possess but haven’t featured on your resume yet? If so, mention that experience in your resume’s Profile or Key Skills section.
For example, say the job has a leadership aspect. In that case, add a line to your Profile about your leadership experience. Also, consider adding a second line about your approach to overseeing and motivating agents. This extra step will make your resume more relevant to the job and more likely to attract the hiring manager’s notice.
What is the best FBI agent resume format? +
In nearly all cases, you should opt for a Combination or Hybrid resume because they are the easiest for hiring managers to learn about your pertinent skills and experience — it’s also easiest for you to modify based on your job goals.
With the Combination format, you highlight your most relevant skills and experience in your Experience or Work History section and an intro section. (This combination of work history and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro may take the form of a Profile summary, Key Skills section, and/or Career Highlights section. By carefully choosing the details for these sections, you can (a) position yourself for your target job and (b) give hiring managers a clear, quick view of what you offer them.