How to Write a Resume for a Chaplain Job

by Faizah Imani

Many organizations, including hospitals, the U.S. military, prisons, police and fire departments, have in-house chaplains. These chaplains are responsible for providing spiritual guidance and counseling to those in the organization, including patients, inmates, families and staff members. To be a successful chaplain, you must be able to minister to people with various religious backgrounds. When seeking employment as a chaplain, put together a professional resume that highlights your qualifications as a spiritual leader. If potential employers like your qualifications, they will contact you to discuss employment opportunities.

1. Add your name and contact information to the top of your resume. Include your ministry credentials behind your name. Don't wait until the end of your resume to list your credentials, as an employer may not read the document all the way through. As an example, if you have a master's in divinity, write “John Doe, M.Div.”

2. Create a special-skills section. Instead of listing generic skills that apply to any job, list skills that are relevant to a chaplain's position. Examples of good skills to list include grief counseling, conflict resolution, spiritual guidance, leading support groups, leading worship services and ministering to the sick and shut-ins.

3. Add a professional skills section that highlights your ministry and chaplain experience. As an example, include experience with outreach ministry, volunteer ministry with a church and counseling. Be specific when describing your duties for each job. To help make your resume stand out from others, stress your accomplishments. As an example, instead of just saying you pastored a church for 10 years, you could say, “Grew a church congregation from 20 members to 1,500 members over a 10-year period.”

4. Include an education and certification section at the end of your resume. If you attended seminary, list the name of the seminary, along with your degree earned and the date of issuance. It's OK to list your undergraduate college degree and high school diploma here. However, ministry degrees, diplomas and certifications take precedence over all others. As an example, if you have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's in divinity, list the master of divinity degree first. If you're an ordained minister, list your ordination, along with the name of the ministry responsible for ordaining you and your date of ordination.

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