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Ask HN: Should I leave my military service off of my resume?

6 points by BRedSox ↗ HN
I am currently a junior in college and applying for internships in a software engineering role, for my senior year. With the current political climate, should I leave my military service off of my resume?

19 comments

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jim-jim-jim
Half the companies you're applying to are probably tied to the military industrial complex in one way or another.
BRedSox
I think my concerns are more on a lower level - such as the individual reviewing my resume.
Gibbon1
The vast majority of companies it is neutral to a positive.
wiml
Anecdotal, but I wouldn't expect it to count against you. I live in a traditionally lefty city (one of those "anarchist jurisdictions", heh), company culture skews left, etc., and I haven't observed any animus towards my ex-military coworkers, nor do they act like they expect any. Being in the military isn't in itself political. Your haircut or your accent will probably get you more unconscious biases (positive or negative, who knows) than that.
BRedSox
I appreciate the response. Thank you.
garmaine
Any competent hiring manager would see it as a plus. A military job, no matter the rank or role, involves discipline, good work ethic, and dealing with abrasive personalities (boot camp drill instructor if nothing else).

If your hiring manager doesn’t see that and instead inserts some dumb personal bias, congrats! You just dodged a bullet by filtering out a job you really don’t want.

Peroni
This is the best answer.

If your military service would count against you, is it really going to be a healthy environment for you to work in?

seotut2
I see this kind of answer frequently. In many places and situations, people are not so fortunate as to have a choice between healthy and non-healthy workplaces.

"If they reject you for that, you don't want to work there in the first place". Except if the alternatives are no job at all, or a minimum wage workplace with significantly worse conditions. That kind of answer assumes a certain privileged position.

garmaine
True, but this is HN. We’re all privileged here.
sarcasmatwork
>should I leave my military service off of my resume?

Did you do any software dev in your military service? Yes? Add it, if not then there is no need.

BRedSox
I do not. I added it a it explains a major gap which I was thinking was necessary.

Thank you for the response.

muzani
Many places do want to know about the gap. So I'd put it in. I've always been either questioned about gaps on my resumes in interviews or had it used against me.

Some will discriminate over it but they'll assume the worst if it's unexplained.

matt_s
Absolutely not. It clearly shows you can take direction, be able to get things done and put up with various personalities.
jfengel
No, but I'm curious about why you would think that the current political climate would disfavor people with military service.

There are always those who loudly support the military and those who loudly oppose it, but as far as I can tell the current political climate isn't really about the military one way or the other.

giantg2
I agree with most of this.

I would say leave it off the resume when applying to companies or areas suspected of having a negative bias. Add it to your resume for all other companies/areas.

dyingkneepad
If I saw that on a resume I'd totally ask about it in the interview and would decide if it's a positive or negative thing based on your comments about it.

Also remember that a lot of times the person responsible for hiring you is not originally from the USA, so they will likely have a very different view on military things compared do Americans.

p0d
Thank you for your service. I was at a school careers convention with my daughter and she was impressed with what soldiers earned. She had no idea me and my co-workers earn two or three times the salary of the Sergeant salary she was reading. The most dangerous thing that happened in my workplace was a colleague leaning back and falling off his chair. Put it in your resume.