What does a public records officer do?
Public records officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public records officer resumes:
- Manage alumni database, and communication with other departments and alumni.
- Develop PowerPoint presentations; organize and reconcile shared drive templates, database, and files; coordinate records management binders.
- Provide editorial support to neighborhood liaisons working with residents and businesses impact by construction.
Public records officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Public Records Officers are proficient in Press Releases, Law Enforcement, and Fire Safety. They’re also known for soft skills such as Empathy, Good judgment, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Public Records Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Press Releases, 25%
Coordinated press conferences and press releases for various MEPI programs.
- Law Enforcement, 14%
Studied assigned materials pertinent to the case, interviewed, photographed and conducted joint investigations with law enforcement.
- Fire Safety, 13%
Provided the Village of Rock Springs WI with the knowledge and tools for fire safety.
- Facebook, 11%
Developed and maintained organization Facebook page.
- Press Conferences, 10%
Organized press conferences and network press interviews for high-level State Department officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- Promotional Materials, 8%
Designed promotional materials and advertised annual intercollegiate fusion show.
Common skills that a public records officer uses to do their job include "press releases," "law enforcement," and "fire safety." You can find details on the most important public records officer responsibilities below.
Empathy. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a public records officer to have is empathy. Their role and responsibilities require that "police officers need to understand the perspectives of a variety of people in their jurisdiction and be willing to help the public." Public records officers often use empathy in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assist in veterans' educational assistance clearance for veterans' private information understanding of ferpa regulations"
Good judgment. Many public records officer duties rely on good judgment. "police and detectives must be able to determine the best way to solve an array of problems.," so a public records officer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways public records officer responsibilities rely on good judgment: "manage press materials, create presentations and talking points for city elected officials and department heads and foster good media relationships. "
Physical strength. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of public records officers is physical strength. This skill is critical to many everyday public records officer duties, as "police officers must be strong enough to physically apprehend suspects and to assist people in precarious situations." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked with engineering product managers and trade media on new product release announcements and trade editorial maintained physical and online press library"
Communication skills. For certain public records officer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a public records officer rely on this skill, as "police and detectives must be able to speak with people and to express details in writing about an incident." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what public records officers do: "conducted truancy investigations, gang activity and maintained constant communication and public relations with law enforcement and community organizations. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in public records officer job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what public records officers do. Public records officer responsibilities rely on this skill because "police officers must be comfortable with being a highly visible member of their community, as the public looks to them for help in emergencies." You can also see how public records officer duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "organized high-level press conferences for the un secretary general and unmeer leadership. "
The three companies that hire the most public records officers are:
- Morgan Stanley2 public records officers jobs
- City of Seattle1 public records officers jobs
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Compare different public records officers
Public records officer vs. Identification technician
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a public records officer are more likely to require skills like "press releases," "law enforcement," "fire safety," and "facebook." On the other hand, a job as an identification technician requires skills like "afis," "fingerprint cards," "criminal justice," and "identification system." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Identification technicians tend to reach similar levels of education than public records officers. In fact, identification technicians are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Public records officer vs. Field identification specialist
Each career also uses different skills, according to real public records officer resumes. While public records officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "press releases," "law enforcement," "fire safety," and "facebook," field identification specialists use skills like "crime scenes," "fingerprint cards," "afis," and "computer system."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Field identification specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than public records officers. In fact, they're 7.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public records officer vs. Accident investigator
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, public records officers are more likely to have skills like "press releases," "law enforcement," "fire safety," and "facebook." But a accident investigator is more likely to have skills like "traffic accidents," "patrol," "public safety," and "vehicle dynamics."
Accident investigators typically earn lower educational levels compared to public records officers. Specifically, they're 6.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public records officer vs. Latent print examiner
Updated January 8, 2025
