First jobs, apprenticeships and graduates · Mid level · UK conventions

Service leaver moving into a civilian logistics or operations role: resume example, explained

This fictional example shows a service leaver with eleven years in a military logistics and transport role applying for a logistics coordinator post at a fictional building-materials distributor: every task written in civilian terms with the scale in numbers, rank and unit names left out, and civilian qualifications dated. Each decision is explained, three weak bullets are rewritten from their evidence, and the editable download lets you replace every detail. Nothing here describes a real person, unit or employer.

Illustrative example. An illustrative, invented service leaver with eleven years in logistics and transport, most recently supervising a stores and vehicle section, leaving the armed forces in March 2027 and applying for a logistics coordinator role at a fictional distributor. No real unit or operation is named; every employer, date and figure is fictional.

Editable version of this example (.docx)

Jordan Whitcombe-Osei

Logistics Coordinator · stock control, fleet scheduling and team supervision · 11 years in military logistics

Swindon, Wiltshire · 07700 900 859 · jordan.whitcombe-osei@example.com

Profile

Logistics supervisor with 11 years in military supply and transport, most recently running a stores and vehicle section of 14 people, 3,200 stock lines and 22 vehicles. Holds a Category C (LGV) licence, a forklift counterbalance certificate and a Level 3 certificate in logistics operations. Leaving the forces in March 2027.

Experience

Stores and Transport Section Supervisor — Armed forces (logistics and transport specialisation; unit not named)

April 2023 – present · Section of 14 people, around 3,200 stock lines and 22 vehicles, supporting a 600-person organisation.

Supervise a team of 14 across stores, vehicle scheduling and driving for around 3,200 stock lines and 22 vehicles, setting the weekly work plan so that around 40 vehicle moves a week run to time.
Run the quarterly full stock check of around 3,200 lines and monthly spot checks, investigating every discrepancy to a written finding; accuracy at the last three quarterly checks was above 99%.
Plan vehicle and driver schedules for 22 vehicles against servicing dates and driver hours; no scheduled move was cancelled for an unserviceable vehicle in the past year.
Train and assess new team members on the inventory system, manual handling and vehicle checks; 11 people signed off in two years.

Logistics Specialist, then Team Leader — Armed forces (logistics and transport specialisation; unit not named)

February 2016 – April 2023

Issued and received stock on an electronic inventory system, around 150 transactions a day at peak, and prepared consignments for road movement.
Led a team of six for five months running a stores point for 200 people in a remote location, with weekly resupply by road.

Education

Level 3 Certificate in Logistics Operations, fictional training provider, 2026 (resettlement course)
Forklift counterbalance operator certificate, 2025
Category C (LGV) driving licence, 2017

Resettlement and transition

Career Transition Partnership workshops (Resume and interview), 2026; leaving date March 2027, available for interview now

Skills

Stock control and cycle counting on an electronic inventory system · Vehicle and driver scheduling against servicing dates and driver hours · Team supervision (14 people) and on-the-job training · Consignment paperwork and road movement planning · Discrepancy investigation and written reporting

Why it is written this way

Every line is written for a reader who has never served

The logistics coordinator advert will be read by a transport or warehouse manager, so the resume uses their words: stock lines, vehicle moves, driver schedules, discrepancies, a team of 14. Rank, unit, trade names and abbreviations are left out, including from the employer line. If a term would need explaining at interview, it does not appear.

Scale is stated in numbers a civilian employer can compare

A service leaver's responsibility is often larger than the civilian job title suggests, but the reader cannot see that unless it is counted: 3,200 stock lines, 22 vehicles, 40 moves a week, 200 people supported. Numbers also replace rank as the signal of level, because rank means nothing to a civilian employer and can be read as either too senior or too junior.

Supervision is described as what was done, with no assumption of seniority

A resume that says 'commanded' or 'led' and expects the reader to infer management ability is making a rank-based assumption. Here supervision is shown as setting a weekly work plan, scheduling 22 vehicles and training and signing off 11 people; those are the activities a logistics coordinator job description lists.

Civilian qualifications and resettlement courses are dated and placed near the top

The Category C licence, the forklift certificate and the Level 3 logistics certificate are the credentials a distribution employer screens for, so they appear in the profile and education with dates. The resettlement workshops sit under their own heading because the Career Transition Partnership is the official resettlement service for the armed forces; the leaving date answers the timing question.

Bullet rewrites, and the evidence behind them

Each rewrite was produced by asking an evidence question and using only the (fictional) answer. No number appears in a rewrite that is not in its evidence.

Before
Section commander responsible for stores and vehicles.
Evidence question
How many people, how much stock, how many vehicles, and what did you actually do each week?
Evidence (fictional)
Team of 14 across stores, vehicle scheduling and driving; around 3,200 stock lines; 22 vehicles; set the weekly work plan so around 40 vehicle moves a week ran to time.
After
Supervise a team of 14 across stores, vehicle scheduling and driving for around 3,200 stock lines and 22 vehicles, setting the weekly work plan so that around 40 vehicle moves a week run to time.
Before
Conducted stocktakes and accounted for equipment.
Evidence question
How often, how many lines, what happened to discrepancies, and what was the accuracy?
Evidence (fictional)
Quarterly full check of around 3,200 lines plus monthly spot checks; every discrepancy investigated to a written finding; accuracy above 99% at the last three quarterly checks.
After
Run the quarterly full stock check of around 3,200 lines and monthly spot checks, investigating every discrepancy to a written finding; accuracy at the last three quarterly checks was above 99%.
Before
Deployed overseas and ran a forward supply point.
Evidence question
For how many people, for how long, with what team, and how was it resupplied?
Evidence (fictional)
Five-month overseas deployment; team of six; stores point for 200 people in a remote location; weekly resupply by road.
After
Led a team of six for five months running a stores point for 200 people in a remote location, with weekly resupply by road.

Try it on your own bullets with the bullet workbench, which asks the same questions and never adds a figure you did not supply.

Transferable skills in this example

Planning people and vehicles against constraints
Evidence: Weekly schedules for 22 vehicles and 14 people against servicing dates and driver hours, with no move cancelled for an unserviceable vehicle in a year.
Where it helps: Transport planning, fleet coordination, warehouse shift management and field-service scheduling.
Stock accuracy and investigation
Evidence: Quarterly checks of 3,200 lines above 99% accuracy, with every discrepancy written up.
Where it helps: Inventory control, stores management and quality roles in distribution and manufacturing.
Training and signing off new staff
Evidence: Eleven people trained and assessed on systems, handling and vehicle checks in two years.
Where it helps: Team leader and supervisor roles, training coordinator posts and health and safety roles.
Working to deadlines in difficult conditions
Evidence: A stores point for 200 people run for five months with weekly road resupply.
Where it helps: Any operations role with hard delivery deadlines, including events logistics and utilities.

Occupation notes

Hard requirements

Driving licence and equipment certificates as the advert states them. Logistics coordinator adverts frequently list a full driving licence and sometimes a Category C or forklift certificate; state the category you hold and the year, and leave out service permits a civilian employer cannot interpret.
Right to work. GOV.UK states that you need to prove your right to work in the UK to your employer before you start working for them; a verified employer may check it during recruitment, not from the resume. For references, name a line manager equivalent who has agreed to speak in civilian terms.

Vocabulary that belongs on the page

Stock lines (SKUs), cycle count, stock check, discrepancy, shrinkage
Fleet, vehicle moves, driver hours, servicing schedule, walk-around checks
Consignment, delivery note, proof of delivery, road movement
Warehouse management system, inventory system, goods in, goods out
Logistics coordinator, transport planner, stores manager (civilian titles for this work)
Resettlement, Career Transition Partnership (CTP), service leaver, leaving date

Pitfalls specific to this occupation

Keeping rank, unit names and abbreviations on the resume; a distribution manager cannot compare 'section commander' with other applicants' titles, but can compare 'supervised 14 people and 22 vehicles'.
Describing deployments as events ('deployed to...') rather than as work with a scale and an outcome; the reader needs the people, the stock and the deadline, not the location.
Letting rank do the work of evidence: 'commanded' assumes the reader will infer management skill; describe the planning, training and reporting that made up the supervision.
Listing service training courses by their internal names and codes instead of the civilian equivalent you hold, such as the driving licence category or a named first-aid certificate.

UK and US differences

UK: GOV.UK states that the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is the official resettlement service for the armed forces, that resettlement is an MOD entitlement available to all regular and full-time service leavers through the CTP, that the type and amount of support depends on length of service and personal circumstances, and that its courses cover transferable skills, resume development and interview techniques.

US: US veteran resumes follow the same translation rule: civilian terms with numbers, no rank or unit identifiers, 'resume' as the heading, and military occupational titles replaced by the civilian role they map to.

Common questions

Should a service leaver's resume include rank?

Not as a signal of level. Rank means little to a civilian hiring manager and can be read as either too senior or too junior; show the level through what you supervised and planned, with numbers. If an application form asks for service history, give it there.

How do I describe a deployment on a civilian resume?

As work: how many people you supported or led, for how long, what you ran and how it was supplied, in plain words. Leave out the operation name and location detail; the reader is assessing planning, pressure and outcome, not geography.

Sources

Career Transition Partnership (GOV.UK, Ministry of Defence)Ministry of Defence · UK · checked 3 November 2026
Prove your right to work to an employer (GOV.UK)GOV.UK · UK · checked 3 November 2026

Published 6 November 2026 · Every person, employer and figure in this example is fictional. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards.