It costs $22.83, plus shipping.

And it’s typical of many military medals (service people call them “decorations”). It’s the Air Medal. And, as Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, on 11 May 1942 describes it, “…the Air Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Armed Forces of the United States, shall have distinguished him or herself by meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

Those who have an Air Medal never talk about it. But their colleagues recognize the distinctive blue and gold ribbon. No amount of money can represent its value.

How then, should these military decorations be treated on a résumé? The answer lies in serving the job seeker and the target company well.

We must remember one of they key purposes (military members would refer to “roles and missions”) of that document. It’s designed to give the hiring decision maker clear and compelling proof he or she can deliver on a promise made to their boss. Specifically, the hiring decision maker got approval to spend company money to bring someone on board by promising the next person they hired in the specific career field the organization needs would make the company more money than it costs add him to the staff. Therefore, every word, every phrase, every sentence, every paragraph must match the applicant’s excellence in that career field with corporate needs in that same field.

Thankfully, there are no civilian positions that require “…meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.” And so, even though the member is justifiably proud of his or her decorations, they probably don’t belong on a résumé.

Some medals are given for more than a specific achievement. They are valued recognition of a person’s service during a specific assignment—typically about three years. The level of decoration aligns with the level of responsibility. Service members sometimes describe them, in typically self-deprecating language, as “bye-bye-buttons.”

How, then, should we accommodate a service member’s natural diffidence about medals? I suggest we dig a little deeper. Which problems did the member solve that were recognized by the decoration? We can fold that into the résumé while still meeting the criteria I’ve outlined above.

Consider this quote from a résumé I just completed for a separating Air Force officer:

Payoffs: Pulled together conflicting priorities and scarce resources, literally under hostile fire, to rescue the President of Afghanistan and some of his key advisors from an assassination attempt.

With only general guidance and limited information, grasped and leveraged what each of many “customers” needed in a very fluid situation. Recognized by senior leadership for his achievement.

Nowhere do I mention that he was award the Air Medal (with a “V-device” for valor). Rather, I concentrated on a capability any company would value (“…grasped and leveraged what each of many “customers” needed in a very fluid situation”).

I hope you find that approach the best bridge between the military culture from which some of our clients come and the civilian culture which needs them.