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Lieutenant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.,

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical lieutenant skills. We ranked the top skills for lieutenants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.6% of lieutenant resumes contained public safety as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a lieutenant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 lieutenant skills for your resume and career

1. Public Safety

Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.

Here's how lieutenants use public safety:

Analyzed various sources of information, and identified high-crime target areas within the appropriate jurisdiction to improve public safety initiatives.
Collaborate with administrators, public safety, and security directors of area colleges to investigate on-campus assaults.

2. Patrol

Here's how lieutenants use patrol:

Post Commander responsible for administration, personnel and operational effectiveness of a Highway Patrol Post in various southwestern Ohio Counties.
Patrol supervisor Teach, learn and investigate Member Southeast Minnesota Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team Supervised and trained Hostage Negotiations Team

3. Direct Supervision

Direct supervision is a term used to indicate that a person is supervising a certain task or a certain person while being physically present or in close proximity. It refers to the presence of a person and the availability of their supervision in something if it is needed.

Here's how lieutenants use direct supervision:

Direct Supervision of correctional officers assigned to specialize housing unit and managed program activities for incarcerated inmates and youth.
Provided direct supervision and coordination of three to eleven firefighter paramedics on a daily basis.

4. Security Procedures

A security procedure is a verification protocol used to check if an electronic signature, record, or performance belongs to that specific person. It is a set of necessary procedures that need to be performed to maintain security. These procedures are step-by-step guidelines on how to implement, enable, or enforce security.

Here's how lieutenants use security procedures:

Provide guidance and expertise to staff from other departments in the implementation of correctional security procedures.
Establish automation systems administration and security procedures for automation hardware and software.

5. Incident Command

Here's how lieutenants use incident command:

Assumed role of Incident Commander during the resolution of numerous emergency situations and additionally tasked with Station Captain Responsibilities as needed.
Engaged as Incident Commander with Honda Manufacturing of Alabama and other emergency agencies during unified command structures to resolve the situations.

6. Criminal Justice

Here's how lieutenants use criminal justice:

Graduated Kentucky Criminal Justice Executive Development Program 2015.
Served as Security guard Lieutenant for Naval Air Station Whiting Field-- Certificate from the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security.

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7. Emergency Response

Here's how lieutenants use emergency response:

Planned and scheduled work operations such as projects on a consistent basis with consideration to unknown emergency responses
Operate radio equipment to communicate with fellow firefighters and emergency personnel during emergency response and support operations.

8. Security Operations

Here's how lieutenants use security operations:

Assess and identify potential security threats and deficiencies and implement policies and procedures that correct any deficiencies in security operations.
Provide oversight of security operations during official functions to ensure that adequate security coverage is provided.

9. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how lieutenants use cpr:

Maintained all volunteer firefighters CPR training with Palomar Medical Center.
Administer first aid, emergency medical care, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

10. Law Enforcement Agencies

Here's how lieutenants use law enforcement agencies:

Interfaced with other law enforcement agencies in initiating, developing, and successfully completing long-term investigations for state and federal prosecution.
Liaised with federal law enforcement agencies on complex investigation that resulted in the dismantling of large-scale organized gang activity.

11. Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary actions refer to a corrective measure taken against an employee for unsatisfactory behavior. Many work environments have a tiered system for disciplinary action, where the first warning is verbal and the second is written. Disciplinary action may be given after a weak performance review, a violation of company rules and policies, or a poor customer review.

Here's how lieutenants use disciplinary actions:

Prepared disciplinary and termination correspondence, conduct performance evaluations, as well as counsel officers pertaining personnel disciplinary actions.
Provided management with input into decisions concerning employee performance ratings, disciplinary actions, and job assignments.

12. Emergency Situations

Here's how lieutenants use emergency situations:

Oversee and direct the activities of six-to-ten firefighters/paramedics, including all training, preparedness and emergency situations.
React to emergency situations and security incidents in a collected and professional manner.

13. Correctional Facility

A correctional facility is a place where people who commit crimes and have been lawfully arrested are kept for some time. The facility is also reserved to correct bad behaviors in citizens of a particular region. A correctional facility can be a prison, jail, penitentiary, detention center, or any other building exclusive for housing incarcerated people (people sentenced to jail terms by law).

Here's how lieutenants use correctional facility:

Performed responsible supervisory and administrative functions on a shift at a correctional facility.
Supervised prisoners, provided external security to confinement and throughout the correctional facility.

14. Incident Reports

An Incident Report, in a medical facility such as hospitals and nursing homes, is a type of paperwork filled out immediately after and in the case of an incident of some sort, with the goal of describing the incident and its consequences, as well as the measurements taken after or during the incident, as well as any other information relevant to said incident. Such an incident might be a patient acting out or a patient being injured.

Here's how lieutenants use incident reports:

Provided performance reviews, coordinated additional training for the crew, supervised emergency scenes, wrote and reviewed detailed incident reports
Reviewed incident reports for accuracy and communicated any safety, or risk concerns to senior management.

15. EMT

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provide urgent and emergent patients who enter the emergency medical services (EMS) system for out-of-hospital emergency medical treatment and transportation. EMTs are trained to stabilise and evacuate patients in a variety of situations, from non-emergency to regular hospital transports to life-threatening emergencies. Under the supervision of a physician, EMTs work as part of a robust EMS response scheme.

Here's how lieutenants use emt:

Provided fire suppression and EMT support after Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina as part of national response under FEMA.
Earned Firefighter I & II Certifications, EMT certification and deepened knowledge of OSHA safety standards and procedures.

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What skills stand out on lieutenant resumes?

Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg

Police officers need many skills to be successful on the job. The most important are written and oral communication skills and the ability to make ethical decisions with limited information quickly. Written communications skills are crucial. If a police report is poorly worded or incomplete, it can derail a criminal case. Police officers also need to talk to people of all ages from all walks of life in any circumstance. Often, police meet people on what may be the worst day of their lives when emotions are running high. Police need to be able to help calm a person while gathering information. Police need to be able to use their words and body language to empathize with someone who has been victimized, and they need to project authority, so people making poor decisions obey their commands.
This may be common sense, but research has demonstrated that communication and ethical decision-making skills are important for police officers. (See the research article published in 2017 in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, entitled "An assessment of the relative importance of criminal justice learning objectives," by Baker and colleagues.) Baker and colleagues asked students, professionals, and college professors to rate the skills of hypothetical job applicants. These participants rated the following as the most important characteristics for criminal justice applicants (including law enforcement officers):

Ethics
Oral communication
Critical thinking
Sensitivity to diversity
Written communication skills

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

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic apparently has brought uncertainty to the job market, and job opportunities, especially in some of the social sciences, are reduced. There is an old Turkish saying, "bread is in the mouth of the lion" (ekmek aslanın ağzında) that sums it up nicely. It implies that it is a struggle to make a living. Life after college is not easy. There is too much competition in the job market. Suppose graduates need to take a gap year. In that case, they need to continue to learn after graduation—an extra set of skills that can put them ahead of other applicants—learning another language can put the graduates on the top of other candidates since there are plenty of applicants just like them. Becoming fluent in a second language can bring graduates several advantages.

They can also apply for internship programs of local and federal criminal justice agencies during a gap year. The graduates can observe a criminal justice agency's working environment and the culture of a specific community. They can decide if they want to serve in the organization and the community. They should also consider international organizations' internship programs, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) or Office of Counter-Terrorism internship programs. The UNODC has an office in New York. This internship program provides a framework for students (enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a bachelor's level or equivalent degree programs) to develop their professional skills and gain practical work experience in an international environment. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants may be requested to undertake the internship online.

Do you want to know more?

List of lieutenant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a lieutenant resume and required skills for a lieutenant to have include:

Public Safety
Patrol
Direct Supervision
Security Procedures
Incident Command
Criminal Justice
Emergency Response
Security Operations
CPR
Law Enforcement Agencies
Disciplinary Actions
Emergency Situations
Correctional Facility
Incident Reports
EMT
Field Supervision

EMS
Logistics
Federal Laws
Hazardous Materials
Performance Evaluations
Combat
Fire Prevention
Fire Suppression
Hazmat
Emergency Calls
Medical Care
Training Programs
Medical Services
Medical Emergencies
Firefighting
CCTV

Crime Scenes
Lieutenants
Internal Investigations
Physical Security
Metal Detectors
Administrative Functions
Criminal Investigations
Patrol Division
Professional Development
Operational Readiness
Advanced Life Support
Public Education
Crime Prevention
Federal Agencies
Resuscitation

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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