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Investigator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

7 min read

Quoted experts

Gary LaFree,

Daryl Clemens

One of the most important hard skills an investigator can possess is preparing investigative reports because this will be a key aspect in solving issues of criminality. It's also important for investigators to have the hard skill of conducting high-level background checks. They may also need the hard skill of experience intervening in child abuse cases, depending on the industry.

When it comes to soft skills, investigators should have strong communication skills above all else. Investigator need to ensure the satisfaction of those whom they are working with, so excellent customer service skills are also crucial.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical investigator skills. We ranked the top skills for investigators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 6.5% of investigator resumes contained law enforcement agencies as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an investigator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 investigator skills for your resume and career

1. Law Enforcement Agencies

Here's how investigators use law enforcement agencies:

Collaborated with Federal/State law enforcement agencies/media/community.
Conducted all criminal investigations and cooperative investigations in conjunction with Federal, State, County and local municipal law enforcement agencies.

2. Management System

A management system is a set of policies, processes, and procedures taken by an organization or a business to ensure it can fulfill its tasks and achieve its objectives. A management system makes sure that the company excels financially and improves the user experience. The management system also takes care of the worker's and employees' needs and manages their workload and oversees their performance. Apart from interior matters of the company, a management system also deals with exterior matters like legislations, tax matters, and law issues.

Here's how investigators use management system:

Documented and reported investigation findings in the Case Management System and prepared reports to management as required.
Collaborated with Emergency Manager on Emergency Preparedness Plan, Incident Management System (ARCHER) implementation.

3. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how investigators use customer service:

Analyzed regulations, instructions, and procedures concerning all administrative issues and requirements to include budgeting, contracting and customer service.
Provided support for the Customer service and Investigations teams with the timely resolution of customer/internally generated queries as and when necessary.

4. Criminal Justice

Here's how investigators use criminal justice:

Utilize National Crime Information Center, Nevada Criminal Justice Information System and local criminal data basis to obtain criminal history.
Developed and cultivated partnerships with external private and criminal justice agencies.

5. Senior Level Management

Here's how investigators use senior level management:

Review and edit investigator reports prior to submission to senior level management officials.
Briefed senior level management with the use of office tools such as Microsoft Office Suite.

6. Child Abuse

When a child who is under 18 is mistreated by an adult, it is considered child abuse. There are many forms of intentional harm and mistreatment for example physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, medical abuse, and neglect in providing adequate basic life necessities.

Here's how investigators use child abuse:

Responded quickly in crisis situations involving children in an abusive/neglectful situation; investigated referrals/complaints relative to alleged child abuse and/or neglect.
Make determinations of appropriate actions necessary to resolve family emotional and/or physical stress situations which cause child abuse or neglect.

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7. Background Investigations

Here's how investigators use background investigations:

Conducted background investigations for the United States Office of Personnel Management on military and civilian federal employees requiring national security clearance.
Conducted federal background investigations under contract for United States Customs and Border Protection and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

8. AML

AML refers to the rules and systems set up by governments, financial institutions, or organizations to prevent fraudulent economic activities.

Here's how investigators use aml:

Analyze transactions and transactions patterns related to Private Bank client activity to identify specific and anomalous activity for AML purposes.
Research, analyze and investigate customer account behavior for potential Anti-Money Laundering (AML)-related suspicious activity.

9. Background Checks

Here's how investigators use background checks:

Conduct in-depth investigations involving sources, social media, criminal background checks and financial and restitution evidence; professional license verification.
Conducted background checks on individuals associated with the firm and its cases to uncover any potentially detrimental negative or derogatory information.

10. Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud refers to any willful illegal act committed with the intent to deceptively receiving payment from an insurer, insurance company, or agent for financial gain or advantage to which they are not entitled. Deceitful claims make up a significant proportion of all claims received by the insurers and cost enormous sums of money each year. This may include the exaggeration of otherwise justified claims, intentional misrepresentation of the facts, or complex organized manipulation of the claims process to achieve financial advantage where no actual loss has occurred.

Here's how investigators use insurance fraud:

Experience in security, strategic planning, communicating and implementation of corporate undercover, cargo theft and insurance fraud investigations.
Conducted undercover surveillance involving allegations of child molestation, insurance fraud, child custody and other family law investigations.

11. Investigative Reports

Investigative report are used in court to find facts, document certain subjects, to recover important records, or to recover certain file forms.

Here's how investigators use investigative reports:

Prepared investigative reports and make recommendations as to the appropriate action to be taken following an investigation including disciplinary penalties applied.
Complete time-sensitive documentation with thorough and extremely detailed investigative reports, affidavits and correspondence in compliance with policies and procedures.

12. BSA

Here's how investigators use bsa:

Monitored an internal report for potential BSA related money laundering and other suspicious activity.
Write a detailed case report, and attach all supporting documentation necessary to write up SAR's where necessary per BSA.

13. Child Safety

Here's how investigators use child safety:

Managed an investigation caseload of over thirty child safety cases, while utilizing Microsoft Outlook and organization skills.
Assessed family dynamics and utilized risk assessment tools to determine child safety.

14. Conduct Investigations

Here's how investigators use conduct investigations:

Conduct investigations under the New Mexico State Developmental Disabilities Waiver and New Mexico Administration Code guidelines to substantiate an alleged incident.
Conduct investigations of cases to determine any violations of the Virginia Criminal Laws and Virginia Union University Policy and Procedures.

15. Conduct Interviews

Conduct interview is the ability of an individual - the interviewer, to communicate formally or face to face with someone from whom the interviewer is gathering information. The interviewer controls the order of the questions and can ensure that all questions are answered. The purpose of conducting interview is to be able to assess the suitability of the candidate being interviewed for a specific position.

Here's how investigators use conduct interviews:

Conduct interviews with complainants, respondents, and witness to obtain information relative to alleged violations by an individual or organization.
Conduct interviews and investigations to establish facts, using supportive information from witnesses or tangible evidence to support complainant or accused.

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What skills help Investigators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What investigator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Gary LaFree

Chair and Professor, University of Maryland

In criminology, having statistical skills is very useful for either an academic career or a research career. Researchers in police departments are getting increasingly sophisticated. Many criminology positions, both in academia and in the private sector, also depend on statistical training.

What type of skills will young investigators need?

Daryl Clemens

President & Chairman of the Board, International Crime Scene Investigators Association

Primary skills for Crime Scene Investigation are: Photography, Fingerprint Processing, and the ability to sketch and measure a scene - think a floorplan or landscape diagram, not an artistic sketch. DNA is important, but DNA collection is dead simple.

Do you want to know more?

List of investigator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an investigator resume and required skills for an investigator to have include:

Law Enforcement Agencies
Management System
Customer Service
Criminal Justice
Senior Level Management
Child Abuse
Background Investigations
AML
Background Checks
Insurance Fraud
Investigative Reports
BSA
Child Safety
Conduct Investigations
Conduct Interviews
Subpoenas
Investigative Findings

Local Law Enforcement
Federal Laws
Secrecy
Insurance Claims
Bank Secrecy Act
SAR
Medicaid
Court Proceedings
Anti-Money Laundering
Due Diligence
Protective Services
Community Resources
FinCEN
Investigative Techniques
Government Agencies
Medical Professionals
OFAC

Crime Scenes
SIU
Administrative Hearings
Federal Agencies
Physical Evidence
Federal Regulations
Criminal Cases
Sexual Abuse
CCTV
Child Protective
State Agencies
Criminal Investigations
OPM
Financial Crimes
Law Enforcement Officials
Comprehensive Reports

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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