Obtaining References from PRES duty

[PTE Gruending]

Hello,
I am currently releasing from PRES Infantry to the supplementary reserve and I have a bit of a problem. Being in the Army for 3 years has left with me with a 3 year 'gap' on my resume of Army only work. Because of the inherent nature of military service, ie: no supervisors consitently and whatnot, I would like to have something to present potential future employers as a record of my performance.

Are there any records (ie: Exercise evaluations and course reports) I can access to get copies of to serve as references to future employers?

Thanks in advance...

 

[pbi]

My advice is to start with the Commanding Officer of your Res unit. Explain clearly that you want a letter of reference for a civilian employer. The CO (a Res himself) will understand that the letter should be free of "Army-speak", most of which means exactly nothing to civilians. The letter should clearly emphasize the broader human traits such as dedication to duty, functioning well as a member of a team, taking direction successfully, functioning with minimum supervision, ability to perform well under demanding conditions, etc rather than a list of technical skills, some of which may have little civilian value  My impression is that most employers are desperately looking for reliable, hardworking employees who can be team players: they can teach you the job skills. These human traits are, in my opinion, what make military people good employees.

As far as course reports go, what value do they really have to employers? Do they even understand them? Better to go with a proper letter from your CO.

Cheers

 

[Infanteer]

When you release from the reserves, you should get your Unit Employment Record (UER) from your BOR.  It'll have copies of all the courses/exercises/operations/PDRs-PERs that you've received in the Army.  That should be lots of stuff to show to an employer.