Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Communication is an essential skill for every military officer. Their jobs are accomplished through communication as they motivate soldiers and sailors, who in turn physically accomplish the diverse missions of the military. Junior officers in the Navy and Marine Corps hold key and challenging positions in any ship or unit. While they rarely originate any major initiatives or missions, they almost always give the final order or direction. Therefore they must be able to accurately communicate both up and down the chain of command. While communicating comes easily to some junior officers, many struggle with it, and most have room for improvement. The USNA recognizes the important role that it can play in developing junior officer communication abilities. One of the Academy's strategic initiatives is Oral and Written Communications Excellence. The focus of this thesis is oral communications. This thesis will identify what type of oral communications are prevalent in the fleet, what the important communication skills are that a junior officer must master, and how the Naval Academy and other institutions can help develop these skills in the future leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps. / Lieutenant, United States Naval Reserve

Med en allt hårdare konkurrens om arbetstillfällena för fartygsbefäl krävs det att den arbetssökande att sticker ut ur mängden vid en arbetsansökan. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vad den svenska sjöfartsbranschen värderar av innehållet i ett CV och personligt brev vid anställning av nyutexaminerade svenska fartygsbefäl. Detta har undersökts genom intervjuer med nio rekryterare från olika rederier och managementbolag som anställer svenska juniorbefäl. Genom att söka efter tidigare studier som gjorts angående rekrytering skapades en bredare förståelse av ämnet och dess relevans. Litteratursökningen visade att det finns en kunskapslucka angående hur ett nyutexaminerat svenskt fartygsbefäl bör skriva sitt CV och personliga brev för att vara rekryterare i sjöfartsbranschen till lags. Resultatet av studien visar på vissa mönster i svaren från respondenterna, gemensamt är att det efterfrågas korta CV samt personliga brev med innehåll som är relevant för den sökta tjänsten. Samtidigt visar resultaten att en arbetsansökan tolkas subjektivt och därför i viss mån bör skräddarsys för varje enskild tjänst. / As the competition for employment toughens amongst deck officers high effort is required in order to stand out from the crowd regarding job applications. The purpose of this study has been to investigate what content the Swedish shipping industry values most in CVs and cover letters. This was achieved by interviewing nine recruiters from different shipping companies and management agencies that recruit Swedish junior officers. A literature search regarding previous studies concerning recruitment provided a wider understanding of the subject and its relevance for maritime science graduates. The literature search also revealed a knowledge gap regarding recruiters in the Swedish shipping industry preferences about CVs and cover letters. The results of the study show some patterns and tendencies amongst the respondents, common to all of which is a preference of short and concise CVs and cover letters with content that is relevant for the applied position. The results also show that a job application is interpreted subjectively and therefore to some extent must be tailored to each individual employment opportunity.