Security Guard Skills for a Resume
Employers hire security guards who are alert, reliable and calm when something happens. Show the sites you protect, the systems you use, your license and how you handled incidents.
Updated
13 skills at a glance
Hard skills
What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.
Patrol and observation
Show the site and the patrols you run.
Example bullet pointPatrolled a 12-acre industrial site on foot and by vehicle, logging every round.
Access control systems
Name the systems and the number of people you manage.
Example bullet pointManaged badge access and visitor passes for a building of 800 employees.
CCTV monitoring
Give the number of cameras you watch, and the incidents you spotted on them.
Example bullet pointMonitored 40 cameras and spotted a break-in attempt, alerting police within minutes.
Incident reporting
Show that your reports were clear and accurate enough for clients, insurers or police.
Example bullet pointWrote detailed incident reports that the client used in insurance claims and police follow-up.
Emergency and evacuation procedures
Show drills or real emergencies you handled.
Example bullet pointLed floor evacuations during fire alarms and accounted for every employee at the meeting point.
First aid and CPR
Mention your first aid and CPR training and a time you used it on duty.
Example bullet pointGave first aid to an injured visitor and kept them calm until paramedics arrived.
Crowd control
Give the kinds of events and crowd sizes you managed, and how you kept entry safe.
Example bullet pointManaged entry and crowd flow for concerts of up to 5,000 people.
Loss prevention
Show the theft you prevented or reduced, and how you did it.
Example bullet pointReduced shoplifting at a retail store by changing patrol patterns and working with staff.
Soft skills
Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.
Alertness
Show something you noticed that others missed.
Example bullet pointNoticed a propped-open fire door on a night patrol and secured it before anyone got in.
Calm under pressure
Describe an incident you handled calmly.
Example bullet pointCalmed an aggressive visitor and walked him off site without force.
Clear communication
Show your communication with staff, police or the public.
Example bullet pointGave clear directions to visitors and reported incidents to supervisors by radio.
Integrity
Show the trust you were given, such as keys, codes or cash handling.
Example bullet pointWas trusted with keys and alarm codes for a high-security site.
Reliability
Show your attendance and the shifts you cover.
Example bullet pointCovered night shifts for two years without missing one.
Licenses and certifications
Give them a section of their own, with who issued each one and the year or expiry date.
- State security guard license or registration
- Firearms permit, for armed roles
- First aid, CPR and AED
- Crisis prevention or de-escalation training
Keywords from security guard job postings
Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.
- patrol
- access
- cameras
- incident reports
- alarms
- de-escalation
- crowd control
- police
- visitors
Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.
Where to put your skills
- In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
- In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
- In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.
More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.
Questions
What skills should a security guard put on a resume?
Patrol, access control, CCTV monitoring, incident reporting, emergency procedures, first aid and CPR, crowd control and loss prevention, plus alertness, calm and reliability.
Should I list my guard license?
Yes, near the top, with the state and expiry date, and any firearms permit you hold.
How do I show results as a security guard?
Describe the incidents you handled, losses prevented and the size of the sites or events you covered.
Put them to work
Start from a security guard resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.