Careers and Internships

Criminal justice careers can encompass a variety of jobs and typically welcome people with backgrounds in criminal justice, criminology, sociology, political science, psychology, social work, and other liberal arts and human services disciplines. The employment possibilities within the traditional police, courts, and corrections areas are being expanded with opportunities in private business. Persons currently enrolled in a college or university should always check with their on-campus career services program as one step in searching for employment. Career services programs typically assist students with resume writing and in developing interviewing skills.

Click here for Criminal Justice Internship Opportunities - Spring 2008

Criminal Justice Career Opportunities

After assuring yourself that you know about the many different types and titles of criminal justice employment, it's time to start finding out who is hiring. As you can imagine, it is difficult to keep current with what is happening at all the agencies throughout the country --- but a few web sites are trying.   The ones listed below emphasize criminal justice positions:

• Government Jobs has to be one of your first stops. This web site concentrates on public sector jobs (cities, counties, and states) and can be searched by job type (see the criminal justice listings ) or by state . You can sign up to receive an email when job listings change.
• Web Sites for the College of Criminal Justice (University of South Carolina) is a wonderful listing of key sites in general but is especially helpful in identifying career related sites. An especially nice feature is the bullet identification of those sites that have actual job listings or hot links to such sites.
• Govtjob.net has a section on public safety and criminal justice employment that lists current openings around the country.

Sites listed below tend to be more area specific (e.g., police, paralegal, corrections)

• Federal Jobs Digest includes a section of law enforcement jobs with hot links to the hiring agency. Requires registration!
• Jobs4police provides daily updates on jobs across the country as well as offering technical prep classes and study guides.
• Law Enforcement Links allows you to post your resume in their online resume database.
• LawEnforcementJob.com is becoming a premier place for employment information and an interesting variety of other law enforcement products and links.
• The National Directory of Emergency Services (NDES) is a job listing service, requiring membership fees, with immediate opportunities in many police and fire departments across the country and around the world. The database also contains regional demographics of the community served by each department you select. You can determine the size of a department, its specialized services and the types of equipment it uses. Also provides tips on passing the written, oral, and physical agility exams.
• CopSource at Copnet.org promises to become an international clearinghouse of information on law enforcement jobs. At last check there is only the announcement at the page, but keep checking to see if postings have begun.
• Although not quite as interactive as other sites, CopCareer.com has a very good listing of current positions
• For careers in corrections you will not do much better than the careers page at the Corrections Connection.
• The National Association of Legal Assistants has a very impressive career service at their CareerNet page.

For general information, consider purchasing the Federal Law Enforcement Careers Employment Guide (about $10) from the policeemployment.com web site, or track down the information on your own by visiting the home pages for the agencies in which you are interested. A good source for identifying the primary agencies is the University of Northern Florida's Federal Agency Employment site as provided by the Student Criminal Justice Association.

USA Jobs is the U.S. Government's official site for jobs and employment information. Current federal job openings are also posted here.

Employment opportunities in the private sector use to have a less-than-respectable image as people tended to think about the "rent-a-cop" positions. Today, however, private security (also called loss prevention or asset protection) is a much more respected -- and quite often very well paid -- occupation. Growing just as rapidly are positions with businesses involved in corrections. Either in operating facilities or in running prison alternative programs. Some of the better known companies are listed below.

• Visit Wackenhut's Recruitment Center for detailed information about employment opportunities with this worldwide enterprise.
• The Corrections Corporation of America provides an employment page with information about careers with this leading private sector provider of detention and corrections services to all government levels.
• Cornell Corrections , a leading provider of privatized institutional, pre-release and juvenile services in the United States, offers information about career opportunities via a link from the company's home page.

General Resources

For a quick and general idea about the variety of opportunities available in criminal justice, check the information and job titles that have been gathered at the University of North Carolina - Wilmington " what can I do with. . . " site; the Cedar Valley College Careers in Criminal Justice site; and at Scranton University's Criminal Justice Related Careers site. Also, Michigan State University's Career Services and Placement is designed specifically for MSU criminal justice students, but it has helpful information for other people as well.

For more complete information, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook online for social workers (the category under which probation, parole, etc. is placed, human service workers, and paralegals. and protective service occupations (e.g. police, correctional officers), social workers (the category under which probation, parole, etc. is placed), human service workers , and paralegals .

A few "one-stop" sites are good places to get a quick overview of all the Internet has to offer job hunters. It is hard to beat the material at the Princeton Review's Career site where you can learn how to spruce up your resume, handle phone interviews, and how to dress for success. But, since one site can't really provide everything, you should also check College Grad Job Hunter , which includes interviewing tips, links to resume templates, and other job preparation aids. If your still looking for other general resources, check out Quintessential Careers , which has the goal of providing job-seekers with the best resources on the web.

Resume & Cover Letter Writing

Career Placement Centers on college campuses typically provide assistance to their students and alumni on topics like resume writing. There are also a variety of books on resume writing . But, since you obviously enjoy using a computer, you may find some of the resume writing software programs to be easy to use and helpful. Check your college bookstore or local software shop.

Some web sites to look at include:

• Create a resume quickly at 10 Minute Resume

• The Princeton Review's Career Assistance page (click on "Your Resume")

• At the Career Lab you'll find the Cover Letter Library to be especially helpful

• Yahoo Careers includes an easy-to-use resume builder

• You'll find a detailed resume builder at JobBankUSA

Interviewing

• Interviews for police officer positions are rather unique among job interviews. Rather than a traditional one-on-one interview or a phone interview (although some departments use either of those), interviews for law enforcement are often before a panel of department officers. The "grilling" conducted at the oral boards in difficult to prepare for and there is not much information on the web or other places to get advice. Your best bet is to ask current officers in the department about the process. You may also find helpful the book How to Pass Your Police Oral Interview , which suggests answers for many of the more frequently asked questions at the oral board interviews.

For information on the more traditional interview, check these web sites:

• Job-Interview Information on all aspects of an interview, from tips on what to wear to what is the best time of day for an interview. Also has a Mock Job Interview.

• EmployU.com has a very helpful essay on interviewing techniques and a good list of what not to do.

• Interviewing Tips Check out these tips offered at the MyJobSearch site.

Listed below are some of the more popular Interned-based employment services. Keep in mind that these sites are for all career areas.  At most of the sites you can narrow your search to particular geographic areas and can ask to be notified when jobs meeting your criteria are posted. Just because these are general career sites does not mean you will not find criminal justice related positions. Sometimes, however, you will have to be creative when deciding what career area you look under (e.g., "human services," "government," "public safety," etc.).

• America's Job Bank Sign up to receive emails about jobs that meet your criteria - Good section on human services positions like probation officers and other careers in corrections
• Career Builder This is what the Internet is all about. Fill in the career information you're looking for then let Career Builder's search engine find jobs meeting your criteria.
• CareerCity An interesting site that includes links to virtual job fairs in many cities across the country.
• Career Shop The "personal job shopper" browses databases and emails you new job listings.
• Careers in Government Since this site is specifically devoted to public sector employment, it should be a primary source for many criminal justice positions.
• Cop Career A website providing free Law Enforcement career information (Nationally) for those seeking Law Enforcement Careers, those seeking lateral transfers, or those seeking careers in private industry when they retire. Also it serves as a great free resource for Police Agencies looking to promote their job openings.
• HR Job Opportunities Focuses on employment within the Human Services area. Could be helpful for persons seeking jobs in corrections.
• JobDirect Specifically designed to help college students and recent graduates find internships, part-time jobs and "real jobs."
• Monster.com It's hard to imagine someone not familiar with this original employment service for the Internet. But, if you haven't taken advantage of all that Monster.com has to offer, get over there and do so.
• My Job Search Check classified ads in your local paper and compare salaries in different occupations.
• Public Sector Jobs This site, which is dedicated to local, state, and federal government positions, allows you to search a database and to post your resume.
• Yahoo Careers Good search capabilities by job term, job title, job type, etc.

If none of these services quite meets your needs , go to Career Resource Center , which is web's directory of career directories. If you can't find what you need there it probably isn't on the Internet yet.