Would you say your Officer/NCO evaluation is similar or different from your civilian resume? Please explain?

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:01:25 -0400

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 9:08 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:08:47 -0400

I would say similar in the aspect that you are taking ALL of your evals, rolling them up, putting it into civilians "lingo", and make a finished product.
I know when I was(and still am refining) my resume I sat down with ALL my evals, schools and awards and "pieced" together my entire career into a 2 page resume.
Challenging (and rewarding) task.

Response by MGySgt James Forward made Jun 10 at 2016 9:12 AM

MGySgt James Forward — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:12:21 -0400

Totally different. An evaluation only covers a short period of time, say 1 year. Your resume will cover at least a decade. I would not use an eval to create a resume, you should be able to highlight your major responsibilities and accomplishments: that's what get your foot in the door. Semper fi.

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Jun 10 at 2016 9:33 AM

CPT Aaron Kletzing — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:33:02 -0400

Very different

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 9:52 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 09:52:54 -0400

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR Though my actions are what go into my NCOER, I was not the author of my NCOER. So though I could influence the end product of the NCOER, I was not the master of my fate. Withe the resume, I am in complete control of what goes on and what stays off. I am my own PR rep.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jun 10 at 2016 10:00 AM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:00:31 -0400

Entirely different animals. The evaluation usually cover 1 year, while your resume covers your entire body of work. You can most likely use items from your evaluations when creating your resume but that's where the similarity ends.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Jun 10 at 2016 10:26 AM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:26:28 -0400

Well, they both have my name and some admin data on them. They both have one or more jobs I have done on them, along with some responsibilities and accomplishments.... But, other than that, they are totally different.

They serve wildly different purposes.

The resume is a marketing document, created by me, to advertise why I am the right guy for this job, etc. It is customized to highlight the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences that *I* want people to see.

The OER is a review document, created by my boss (at least in theory), to objectively (at least in theory) report my performance and potential within a given organization (the Army). The closes analog to the civilian world would be a performance evaluation (which, in my experience, is a different beast in execution).

It is true that the ARMY often uses OERs/NCOERs in the same vein that civilians use resumes, but it doesn't happen (or work) the other way. The ONLY reason that the Army (or Navy, etc) can pull that off - at least marginally - is because all the jobs are "in the same company." It should be noted that at higher levels, they start demanding a "military bio" or "military resume", which at least starts to move in the direction of a real resume - but with the inevitable military guidance and standards.

Oh, and there ain't no such than as a "Referred Resume." ;-)

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 10:28 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:28:52 -0400

My FITREPS attempted to take a period of employment and summarize it for the purpose of promotion, progression, or retention. My Resume is a self-styled document that summarizes a lifetime of professional achievement in an attempt to "sell" myself to a prospective employer. The prior was a "concrete" part of how one keeps their "job"...the latter is largely forgotten as soon as HR files it.

Response by SSG Patrick H. made Jun 10 at 2016 2:51 PM

SSG Patrick H. — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 14:51:38 -0400

When I left active service and sought civilian employment, I used my NCO evaluation reports as a reference for creating my resume drawing from the descriptions of my past duties, skills and experience referenced there. However, I ultimately had to create my resume myself, with that I had more control to reflect my work skills and life experiences which the employer may be seeking from me as a potential employee. One nice thing about having a long career in the military and having evaluation reports as a reference, is it gives you another form of documentation of your job performance you can present to a employer if requested. If you are seeking employment with anyone who does any kind of real background or checking of references, they may have difficulty in making contact with former supervisors from the military as they frequently move. They are a great resource. This is why service members and really any workers should always keep copies of evaluations, orders, awards, etc. You never know when you will need it down the road.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 4:39 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:39:35 -0400

I would say that it is very different. I had to work my resume three to four different times before I finally got it to where it needed to be. First, we have to get away from the terminologies that are used. I believe if the military used common terms then it would be easier to transfer. Second, evaluations focus on action words which can translate to keywords in the civilian resume world, but you would be better off searching job listings and developing your own. Third, a lot of the statistics and things that we get evaluated on as military members need to be translated and redefined in order to fit a civilian resume. So basically, they do both shine a light on your performance, but they are completely separate beasts.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 7:49 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:49:47 -0400

There are some superficial similarities in that both offer highlights of accomplishments. However, a resume is nothing but an advertisement of your ability to go a job with the potential employer as the target. It is, by design, a snapshot of your most relevant accomplishments and positive attributes as they relate to a given job. What a resume is not, is a performance review.

An NCOER/OER is a performance review. It is not designed to get you a job, but rather, to evaluate your career progress in annual increments.