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Parole Officers

Experience, Skills, and Personality Traits

Parole officers begin gaining experience through criminal justice classes in college. When hired as a parole officer trainee, they generally will be mentored or supervised by a more seasoned professional.

Required skills include social perceptiveness, active listening, complex problem solving, coordination, judgment and decision making, and speaking. A probation officer must also have knowledge of law and government, public safety, psychology, security, customer service, counseling, sociology, and anthropology. Successful probation officers also have good clerical skills and the ability to use basic computer programs to perform their duties. To be a successful parole officer, you should be patient, have good communication skills, and have the ability to work well with and motivate other people.