How to write a CV for a Dispatcher

A dispatcher answers and responds to any emergency and non-emergency calls to provide assistance or important information to different departments, often for emergency services. It’s their responsibility to retrieve information quickly, coordinate responses and maintain call logs. They need to be experts in prioritising and organising team activities.

The role requires multitasking and problem-solving skills, and the perfect CV will communicate this to the hiring manager to show that you can perform the role’s duties.

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Hiring managers want you to show you can manage many tasks simultaneously. Depending on the role, you may need to show evidence of decision-making in emergency situations. Or,

you may need to focus on your customer service skills and your ability to address customer needs. Whatever the role, the best CV will demonstrate that you have the interpersonal skills and communication skills necessary for a dispatcher job.

The main CV formats are the chronological format which emphasises work history. The functional format, showcases skills, and the combination format, highlights both. Depending on what your strengths are, choose the format which presents them best. Despite the CV format, the CV sections will be the same:

Header

Your header always sits at the top of your CV. This is where you’ll feature your contact information including your name, phone number, location and email address. That way, a recruiter can easily reach out to you for the next stage of the hiring process. It’s also good to feature links to your job networking profiles such as LinkedIn, to provide further information about yourself to the recruiter.

Professional summary or career objective

Your professional summary or career objective is a short paragraph detailing your career background. It should be clear and concise to share your highlights – but not longer than three sentences. Alternatively, if you lack relevant work experience, you can opt for a career objective. This is slightly different because it details your career goals and ambitions instead of experience. This is good if you want to show that your career goals align with your potential employer. Check out our tips for writing a clear career objective.

Skills

Your skills section is your opportunity to list hard and soft skills that will help you in your future role. If the role is an emergency dispatcher, you need to convey that you can deal with emergency responses in short time frames under extreme pressure to aid first responders and prioritise public safety. Dispatchers typically use a computer-aided dispatch system, so you should include skills that show you have the competencies needed to use the equipment. Remember to look in the job description for the specifics of the role – and use this to guide what you list in your skills section. Here are some of the skills that hiring managers are looking for:

• Excellent communication skills
• Organisational skills
• Time management skills
• Ability to work under pressure and multitask
• Knowledge of telecommunications
• Microsoft Office proficiency
• Knowledge of data entry tools
• Knowledge of dispatch systems

Be sure to list your skills in bullet points on your CV to keep them concise.

Work experience

Your experience section is your chance to display your previous relevant dispatch experience. List your previous jobs and highlight the duties for which you were responsible. Remember, the aim is to pinpoint your relevant experience. This could be:

• Law enforcement-related work
• Work as a customer service representative
• Any roles within the emergency services
• Any job handling phone calls
• Work as a truck dispatcher

The point here is that you don’t necessarily need years of experience to apply for the job title advertised. The key is to share any relevant experience that you do have and help make the connection for the recruiter.

Education

Typically, you only need a high school diploma plus some on-the-job training to be a dispatcher. However, certification requirements for a dispatcher position vary by state. You may even need EMS certification in some states. Emergency personnel dispatchers may also need a bachelor’s degree with a specific focus – in criminal justice or another related field.

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Here are some general guidelines for your dispatcher CV:

Do:

• Take the time to edit and review your CV. Make sure there are no spelling, punctuation or grammar errors.
• Use the job description provided. During your job search, you should always look for clues in the keywords used by the recruiter. This can help you tailor your CV to show you can excel at each skill and requirement for the role.
• Share relevant experience, but don’t overfill the experience section. If you have experience handling a two-way radio, that counts! You need to exercise judgement here depending on the role you are applying for and how many years of experience you have.

Don’t:

• Write your CV without getting expert help. That’s what CVHelp’s CV Builder and CV templates are for.
• Make anything up. If you don’t have the proper certifications, then don’t apply for the role. This will only waste everybody’s time.
• Overfill your experience section with non-relevant roles.