Junior Officers
Junior Officers
Posted on Apr 21, 2020
Fellow prior enlisted officers: When creating a CV for future assignments, how much info did you include from your enlisted service?
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I am currently serving as a BDE physical therapist, which is my first assignment as a PT. When putting out “feelers” for my next assignment I was asked to put together a CV. I don’t have a lot of experience in my current job, but I was enlisted for more than a decade and I also spent a couple years on the civilian side before heading back into the Army as an officer/PT. I don’t want to put a bunch of “fluff” on my CV, but I think some of that experience is relevant. I’m also not sure what awards I should include. I can’t imagine I would include things like the Army Service Ribbon, but I’m assuming I should probably include things like MSMs, ARCOMS, etc, plus service ribbons from deployment. I’m not trying to overinflate my experience level, but I think it’s important to show that I do have a good amount of general military experience. I’m definitely open to any suggestions you all may have. LTC Charles Blake
Officer
Junior Officers
1LT
CPT
Resume
Edited 4 y ago
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 16
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I hate to be brutal, but no one cares (anymore) about your medals. Like, probably not even the Medal of Honor. They just want to know, “How are you going to fit in my company?” If the resume bullet doesn’t answer that—omit it. I’ve seen the wackiest horsecrap on military resumes. Swim Qual? In an office environment? Not relevant. Letter of Commendation? For an especially good base clean-up project? No one cares. Online annual courses taken? SERIOUSLY?!? My favorite: quoting (inflated) evaluation bullets in your resume. Wow.
A lot of a resume is designed to highlight either consistent work history, and/or gaps in work. Very technically, you could sum it all up with “U.S. Army 2010 - 2020” and be done with it. If there’s something SPECIFIC you’d like to highlight, sum it up in one sentence. If you had a job (“Food Service, 2 years”) which has nothing to do with helping your administrative office job, you could omit it. Ask yourself, “Will this information compel them to call me for an interview?” If no, omit it. A high rifle score? “No court-martials”? Omit. “Named ______ Of The Year”? Maybe. Depends what it is.
IF YOU HAVE ANY VOLUNTEER SERVICE—INCLUDE IT. It really tells them who you are, and might set you apart.
Obviously, any qualifications you have which would help the future employer—include. It’s just an online course? Include it anyway. It’s not like you’re lying about it.
You’d be better off having a half-resume that’s full of RELEVANT stuff, than making them weed through a full one-page resume that’s clearly padded full of meaningless crap and makes them say, “All that? To tell me you’re not qualified?”
Fill some of the space with job references. That’s possibly your saving grace. Skip the cumbersome military titles; use things like “manager” and “supervisor” rather than “assistant deputy automated platoon vice-commander.” Because no one knows what that means.
And because you’re specifically in the Army, for the love of god, please don’t use, not even once, a single MOS code!! None of the rest of us have any clue what a 78 Delta is.
Good luck to you!
A lot of a resume is designed to highlight either consistent work history, and/or gaps in work. Very technically, you could sum it all up with “U.S. Army 2010 - 2020” and be done with it. If there’s something SPECIFIC you’d like to highlight, sum it up in one sentence. If you had a job (“Food Service, 2 years”) which has nothing to do with helping your administrative office job, you could omit it. Ask yourself, “Will this information compel them to call me for an interview?” If no, omit it. A high rifle score? “No court-martials”? Omit. “Named ______ Of The Year”? Maybe. Depends what it is.
IF YOU HAVE ANY VOLUNTEER SERVICE—INCLUDE IT. It really tells them who you are, and might set you apart.
Obviously, any qualifications you have which would help the future employer—include. It’s just an online course? Include it anyway. It’s not like you’re lying about it.
You’d be better off having a half-resume that’s full of RELEVANT stuff, than making them weed through a full one-page resume that’s clearly padded full of meaningless crap and makes them say, “All that? To tell me you’re not qualified?”
Fill some of the space with job references. That’s possibly your saving grace. Skip the cumbersome military titles; use things like “manager” and “supervisor” rather than “assistant deputy automated platoon vice-commander.” Because no one knows what that means.
And because you’re specifically in the Army, for the love of god, please don’t use, not even once, a single MOS code!! None of the rest of us have any clue what a 78 Delta is.
Good luck to you!
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1LT Manus O’Donnell
I list my highest rank, years in service and any pertinent information that could BRIEFLY describe and be of interest to the interviewer. I interviewed hundreds of people and reviewed thousands of C.V. & resumes. Don’t make your resume more than two pages, one if possible. To keep it to 1 or 2 pages always say “references available on request”. Make sure you briefly are highlighting your skills & major accomplishments. If the interviewer wants to know more, they’ll ask questions. Agree with don’t list military awards.
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CVs are the document you list more detail. The advice you’re getting on resumes is accurate. If you are doing a CV your adult life is relevant. So are awards, certs, licenses and decorations
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Suspended Profile
Maybe not to be quite as brutal as the Maj below...but he is mostly correct. Having been in the civilian workforce now for about 16 years and having been one to have to review resumes and make hiring decisions, I will tell you that I would look for what is relevant to the job you are applying for. Your marksmanship medals/ribbons really don't matter if you are applying for a job that doesn't include shooting.
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