Skills I developed in the Navy that don’t go on the Resume

I’m a year out from finishing grad school and from applying for jobs again so I’m starting to think about the application game. I don’t think being a veteran is my most defining characteristic anymore, but it’s part of me and interesting to think about. I see many posts on hiring veterans because we’re great, but the truth is obviously we’re not all great and often under-credentialed. Veterans are a fairly representative sample from the US geographically and racially, skewing male and often more scattered job experience. Getting good resume advice is important as it’s hard to tell a coherent story with scattered job experience from jobs selected by a detailer, but what are the shared experiences that really do provide value? Below is a quick brainstorm of things that shouldn’t go on a resume, but maybe give some internal confidence and help in behavioral interviews. If you have more, please share.

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Log writing. Kept professional logs that had legal credibility for all watches stood. I still keep logs and track emails when faced with bureaucracy to have a clear presentation of facts when a decision maker is reached, or legal situation develops.

Policy creation with feedback. Created policy and then stood watch from 6-12 hrs daily with those affected by the policies. Watches can be characterized by long stretches of boredom with short moments of panic interspersed. Due to conversations filling boredom, all unintended consequences of policies were discussed to or in front of me.

Risk assessment. Regularly planned complex evolutions with many stakeholders that were potentially very dangerous. The planning required a high degree of clear, well documented communication and process understanding followed by elevated situational awareness throughout execution. The commanding officer in a unit owns risk and how they are informed of details is framed by that fact. I’ve used my elevated understanding of risk to pay myself a 6-figure investment salary every year for the past 10 years.

Cold calling. Regularly have to reach out to other units for coordination and help. Often other units are incredibly busy and there’s no incentive to help. I became an expert at finding how to create value for them or at least be minimally obtrusive and annoying, maximizing what could be considered conversions.

Executive briefing. Regularly had to brief to executives and large groups. If briefing was not concise, relevant, and clear, the briefer received feedback in an emotionally heightened and thus memorable state.

Emotional intelligence instilling. The Navy is a hyper social environment with very little personal space. Hygiene issues, annoying idiosyncrasies, etc. are ruthlessly stamped out, but at the same time understanding what people are going through and how to support each other is crucially important. We often emphasize our leadership during transition outside the Navy, but leadership and emotional intelligence are enmeshed, and emotional intelligence is often the perceived weakness. Perception of hierarchical order following or shows like The Last of Us where the soldiers completely ignore the deadly force triangle and use of force continuum in psychopathic ways don’t help.

Human resources competency. Not many human resource officers in the fleet, but the command is accountable for compliance and culture. Again, it’s often folded under leadership, but probably should be thought about separately.

Engineering competency. If you know how a ship works, the components involved are similar to those necessary to run a city. Engines, generators, breakers, fuses, valves, pumps, desalination, etc. Not everyone is an expert, but it’s hard to avoid exposure.