Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog

How I Write My Fitrep

Posted on January 14, 2018

O5 fitreps are due soon, so it is time for me to write my fitrep. How do I do it? Here are the steps I go through:

1. I get the Surgeon General’s priorities and the convening order for last year’s O6 board. (If you were an O4, you’d want the O5 convening order. If you are an O3, you’d want the O4 convening order.)
2. I read through them, highlighting the important language (similar to what I did in this very popular post). I do this because I use this exact language to take my accomplishments and frame them in the setting of strategic Navy initiatives. This allows me to demonstrate Navy-wide impact, which is the goal when you are trying to prove to people that you deserve to promote.
3. I take my CV, which is the document I use to track my accomplishments, and I edit it so that it only includes what I did during the time period covered by the fitrep. Here’s what was left, which is what I use to build my blocks 29 and 41.
4. I print out a copy of my last fitrep.
5. I download the Word template you use when drafting a block 41. This template eliminates some of the spacing issues you run into when printing your fitrep only to find that the last line of your block 41 narrative isn’t there anymore.
6. I boot up NAVFIT98A and I start writing the fitrep, as outlined in Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep.
7. Once I have a draft ready, I put it aside for 24 hours and/or have someone else who I trust read over it. Having a mentor or two take a look is always a good idea.
8. I read it one more time, ensuring that I spell checked it.
9. I submit it up the chain of command.

That’s it!