How to write an emergency management resume that will get you noticed and hired! A presentation for the Jacksonville State University student chapter for the International Association of Emergency Managers.

1. WRITING A
WINNING
RESUME
H O W T O G E T N O T I C E D A N D G E T H I R E D

2. ABOUT ME
• Sarah K. Miller, MPA, CEM
• Emergency Manager
• 2002 JSU MPA/EM graduate
• Current adjunct faculty for JSU,
FEMA’s EMI, and NDPTC.
• Vice Chair of IAEM Region 10 and
the Emerging Technology Caucus
• Previously hiring manager and
recruiter
• Contact me on Twitter @scba

3. RESUME FORMAT
• Use a 11 or 12 point font that’s
professional and easy to read and
scan
• Use ¾” to 1” margins (strive for 1”)
• Limit to 2 pages
• Keep the format simple!
• Separate key items visually
• Keep the language simple
• Don’t use ridiculous fonts like
Comic Sans
• Don’t use background images
or electronic “stationary”.
• Don’t use overly long sentences

4. RESUME CONTENT
• Contact Information
• Education
• Experience
• Training
• Certifications
• Professional Development
• Service Activities
• Leadership Activities
• Honors and Awards
You don’t need to use them all, so pick the ones that apply to you.

5. WHAT ABOUT OBJECTIVES?
• Unless you’re going to be very specific about your objective, for each
job, leave it off.
– Most objectives end up translating to “I need a job that pays
money‘”.
• Use the space for something more useful!
• Your cover letter is the best place for your objectives.
• If you’re going to post your resume publically (like on Indeed.com), an
objective is a good idea, again with it being specific.

6. WHAT ABOUT REFERENCES
• Don’t put your references on your resume
• Don’t put “references available upon request”.
– Of course they are!
• Use the space for something more useful!

7. STRUCTURE
• Include your name and contact information at the top of the first page,
but don’t make it the focus of attention.
• If you’re going to use an objective, lead with it and keep it short (one
line, maybe two).
• Follow with your next strongest area, typically education or experience.
• Finish with the remaining areas, in a way that makes a logical flow.

8. EXPERIENCE
• Use action words that are specific
– “wrote”, “organized”, “analyzed”, “supervised”, etc.
• Don’t use “assisted”
– Can mean anything from “took out the trash” to “did all the work”.
• If you’re looking for a first job, be broad in your job descriptions
• If you’re looking for an upgrade, focus your experience on the things that
apply to the job you want
– If you’ve always done mitigation, but you want to move to recovery,
don’t focus your experience on mitigation!
• Include internships!

9. EDUCATION
• Only include schools where you received degrees or did significant
coursework
• Include degrees and dates
• Include school names
• Include topics of significant research you did
• Only include your GPA if it was outstanding AND if you’re looking for
your first job.
• You may want to include school related Service, Leadership, and
Awards/Honors here, or you may want to save those for their own
sections.

10. TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS
• List relevant training and certifications
• Don’t confuse certifications with certificates
– Certification is a process that includes credentials, testing, portfolios,
etc. Examples includes: Certified Emergency Manager (CEM),
Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), ISO 22301 Lead
Implementer, etc.
– Certificates are pieces of paper you get when you complete training!
• Your resume should not include a laundry list of every training you’ve
ever taken.
– It should list any that are required or preferred in the job description
you’re applying for

11. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• This would be a place to include participation in significant professional
development activities.
– FEMA’s Advanced or Executive Academies, conferences, continuing
education, etc.
• Might be used in place of Training, Service, Leadership as you progress
through your career.
• The point is to show that you are staying involved and engaged in the
profession.
• Probably not appropriate for entry-level resumes.

12. SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP
ACTIVITIES
• Include active membership in community and professional organizations
• Include leadership positions in those organizations
• If you worked on specific projects as part of these organizations, note
that.

13. PRO TIPS
• Get a professional e-mail address.
– Nobody wants to hire sexykitten738 or superstud365!
• Tailor your resume (or application) for every position.
– Read the position requirements and preferred qualifications
– Make sure your resume explicitly lists those qualifications
– Your resume will likely be reviewed by somebody in HR who has little
or no knowledge of emergency management. They might not
recognize that ICS and Incident Command System are the same thing.
• Keep a running log of all of the things you do that you might want to
include on a resume someday
– Bonus: it can help you with those pesky background investigations too!

14. DON’TS
• Never include personal details like salaries or supervisor names unless
they are specific asked for.
• Never include personally identifying information such as:
– Social security numbers, age, date of birth, hobbies, martial status,
etc.
– Basically, anything that could be used in a discriminatory fashion
shouldn’t be listed.
• It can invalidate an entire hiring process!
• Don’t send in your resume without having somebody proofread it for
spelling and grammar.
– That somebody should someone who’s very good with spelling and
grammar!

15. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
• Create a LinkedIn profile
– Keep it current and use an engaging profile picture
• Consider uploading your resume to Indeed.com’s resume database and
making it public.
– Be sure to take your home address and maybe your phone number
off of it first!
• Save a backup copy of all of your job hunting materials on the cloud
somewhere.

16. A FEW MORE DETAILS
• Check out my blog post on LinkedIn
– https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/demystifying-
emergency-management-resume-application-
sarah-k-miller?published=u