Eagle on your resume

[Trevorum]

Just wanted to share this with my Scouter friends - I have just completed the long process of interviewing job applicants for a new position at my firm and the top two candidates are both Eagles.

 

[eagle90]

NATURALLY!!

 

Dale

[resqman]

Not to downplay having Eagle on your resume is good...

 

Had you been a member of a faternity or some other organization and you saw the applicant is or had been a member of the same organization, you would likely look more favorably upon that applicant. If you saw that the applicant had been an officer or leader of any organization, you would more likely look more favorably upon that applicant.

 

Being an Eagle is a quick way of saying, I have led others and I have toiled for years to earn an award/accomplishment. Both good traits in an employee. We in scouting usually have a high opinion of Eagle Scouts. People outside of scouting often have been told to have a high opinion of Eagle Scouts because it is a difficult award to earn. Many "civilians" have no idea what a scout must do or endure to become an Eagle.

 

I encourage all scouts to earn the rank of Eagle. Not because it is good on the resume, but because it makes the scout a better person who should make a better employee.

 

 

[Eagle92]

This thread reminded me of a conversation I had with our Human Resources VP. Someone just out of college was applying for a position at the hospital had a very heavy background in Scouting: Eagle, Vigil, multiple years on camp staff, etc. The VP didn't know exactly what everything scouting related he put on the app was, and was a bit skeptical of some of the accomplishments and responsibilities for someone his age. So he asked me about it.

 

Reading the resume, I was very impressed and explained some of the stuff to the VP. He still couldn't believe some of the responsibilities and accomplishments for someone who's "just a kid." Had to tell him I had some of the same experiences at that age.

[chaoman45]

I don't remember where, but I heard some companies are now removing Eagle rank as consideration for job hiring. Pretty sad. Oh well... at least in this case it's a win-win.

[SeattlePioneer]

I don't know about others, but I'M impressed wen I see the Eagle Scout box check on a youth application by a father!

 

At our parent meeting a week ago, a Tiger Cub partner who was also an Eagle Scout volunteered to be our much needed new Committee Chair!

 

He's an engineer at Boeing.

[rjscout]

I have seen too many Eagle Dads who don't help out the Pack or Troop, other than to drop and run. It would be nice to have more Eagles working with the boys. Not a cut on non-Eagles, since I didn't stay in scouts as a youth long enough.

[Venividi]

Seattle Pioneer writes: I don't know about others, but I'M impressed wen I see the Eagle Scout box check on a youth application by a father!

 

My experience was different. Back when I was a new cubmaster, I was excited when I reviewed the tiger cub applications saw a number had marked life and Eagle.

To a man, all declined involvement as a tiger cub leader, even after several requests for assistance. Sometimes Eagle means that the holder was more interested in his own advancement and reward than in the team (i.e. patrol).

[SR540Beaver]

My thread from a month or two back called, "The Benefit of Being a Scout and Eagle".

 

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=368348#id_368348(This message has been edited by sr540beaver)

[WasE61]

Interesting topic. My findings are different.

 

HR in my two most recent employers has flatly stated that they cannot and will not make any additional consideration for mention of BSA or Eagle.

 

While "Eagle" may spark interest by managers or reviewers who are "in the club", it will not be considered as a factor between candidates.

 

The reason is the of course the discriminatory practices of BSA.

 

My wife and I actually had a long discussion about BSA and the impact it could have on our son's life. She's even gone to the point to talk to him about "morally straight" and exactly what that means. Unfortunately, I don't think she covered the impact of what other people think it means.

 

To be honest in the 100 or so resumes I've read over the past 25 years, I've never seen BSA mentioned a single time.

 

We came to the conclusion that on your generic college and employment application, stating BSA is now risky at best. If the reviewer is gay or lesbian, or a non-believer, or an ethnic minority; I think there is a high probability that the application is going to get circular filed.

 

 

[qwazse]

Well, Eng. statistically, if only 2% of scouts are Eagle only a small percentage of youth are scouts through HS, then you may not see an Eagle in 100 resumes.

 

If all a kids ever done was earn Eagle, then the resume would probably be pitched. That piece of bling is a starting point for a lot of boys. And "Eagle" is usually on the bottom of the resume because there have been a long list of accomplishments since then.

 

Like I've said before, I've had interviews where the employer was antagonistic toward some of my accomplishments (not scouting). Not a problem. It gave me an opportunity to talk about my personal growth and gave the employer a sense that I was the man in person who I said I was on paper. (And a willingness to be that way stems back to my Communications MBC.)

 

If some bigot along the way has tossed my app in the duster, I'm glad for the favor because I've wound up working for some good people who command my respect.

[SR540Beaver]

WasE61 - "We came to the conclusion that on your generic college and employment application, stating BSA is now risky at best. If the reviewer is gay or lesbian, or a non-believer, or an ethnic minority; I think there is a high probability that the application is going to get circular filed."

 

I hope that isn't the case. The black, hispanic, asian and indian kids I've worked with in scouting will be sorely disappointed that their peers tossed an application due to a hard earned personal accomplishment. but then like qwazse said, if some bigot wants to do that, it probably isn't the kind of person they would want to work for anyway.

[Sentinel947]

Funny you said that WAS. When I got hired at Lowes, my HR person (an older Black Woman) hired me because she knew Eagle Scouts could be counted on.

[Huzzar]

One of our recent Eagles approached a store owner for a weekend job. Owner says "tell me about yourself." Scout responds "My name is xxxx and I'm an Eagle Scout." Store owner asks when he can start.

 

I've told my son to put his Scouting accomplishments on apps for college and I'll say the same to my daughter re Venturing when the time comes.

 

The positives of Scouting far outweigh the perceived (by the left) negatives of Scouting by the employers and reruiters I've talked to.

[acco40]

I wouldn't put my 2nd grade perfect attendance award or my Baptist Sunday school award on my resum (I was never even a Baptist!).

 

However, if a high school age youth or seeking a entry level position, something like Eagle Scout award/rank would generally be neutral at worst.

 

But yes, think of it this way - if an applicant stated he was the captain of the wrestling team you'd either think this shows dedication, leadership and respect from others about the applicant or simply, oh well, another dumb jock.

 

In general, folks are cautioned about putting hobbies and certain "society" memberships on resum for certain types of positions.

 

As for myself, if I saw that a young man that I was interviewing for a prospective entry level engineering position fresh out of college had earned Eagle - it would be a conversation starter that I could use to determine how well spoken and how well the applicant's communication capabilities were.