As an EHS professional, it’s critical to keep your resume up to date, especially if you’re looking for a new job. This is one of the first things a potential employer sees from you, so make sure it reflects all of your important skills and experience, and provides a great first impression of you as a professional.

Here are five items you should include on your resume to increase your chances of getting called in for an interview — and being offered the job.

1. Safety Procedures Knowledge

Make sure your resume demonstrates that you have a solid grasp on standard safety systems and processes. Highlight that you have thorough knowledge of safety procedures that are conducted by individual workers, organization-wide processes like incident investigations, OSHA requirements and other safety concepts.

2. Human Error Understanding

It’s one thing to understand safety procedures, but it’s another to know why they work and sometimes they don’t. Human error is a factor in half of all incidents. Safety professionals have a higher risk of injury when they’re affected by states, such as frustration, hurrying, and fatigue. Showing that you’re aware of the factors that can cause people to make mistakes and impact their decisions is a significant benefit for EHS professionals. Potential employers are more likely to see you as a credible job applicant when you can demonstrate on your resume that you understand the connection between states of mind, personal awareness, and injury risk.

3. Certifications and Licenses

Earning a certification can give you a significant advantage when you’re looking for a job. Be sure to include any safety certifications and licenses that you’ve gained in your resume. These may even help you to negotiate a higher salary if you are offered the job. There are many prestigious certifications you could pursue. We provide a list of 10 of the best certifications that are in demand by employers in a previous Aarcher Institute blog post.

4. Education

Make sure to highlight your education in your resume, especially if you have a degree in an EHS field. Even if you don’t have a formal education in safety, there are many other degrees that are relevant to EHS. For example, engineering and management degrees are in alignment with the safety industry.

5. Leadership Traits

It’s important to include your leadership qualities in your resume because they could be a huge benefit to a company. Many organizations lack employees with safety leadership skills, so if you can demonstrate how you’ve successfully led a safety initiative, for example, that could be extremely helpful in securing a new job.

Even if you aren’t actively looking for a new job, you never know when a great opportunity could come your way. That’s why it’s essential to have an up-to-date resume that highlights your experience and skills, and demonstrates that you’re a talented EHS professional.

Adapted from: 6 Things to Include in Your EHS Resume, SafeStart Blog, SafeStart.com.