Soldier to Civilian

Where do I start?

I guess a little background would be good. I served in the British Army from 2014 to 2019 as Royal Military Police. I thoroughly enjoyed my time until towards the end of my career. I did go to a few places but never managed to go on tour. I reached the rank of Corporal (yes, I did find it in a cereal box for all you other soldiers out there!)

So what do I want to talk about?

This really was to demonstrate my transition from being a Soldier to a Civilian.

You'll never find a job on civi street - 22 year Staff Sergeant (Who has never worked on civi street)

Leaving the British Military is a daunting process, you have a 1 year notice period, work life changes as you are no longer considered for courses or 'the fun stuff' (wether that should be the case or not - in reality it is, your career stops), you are treated differently by seniors and peers but most of all... How do you even sign off!? What are those 7 clicks?!

The first hurdle

So yes, when I signed off it was a struggle. I was no longer offered my promotion course, which was wrong, as that is classed as career fouling - you may want to sign back on in that year period, if you don't get to do career courses your career stand still. I agree, a controversial topic but is a policy in the forces nonetheless. Standing my ground, I managed to get myself loaded onto my promotion course and successful promote. Why? I wasn't planning on hanging about so why bother? I was thinking on No.1, this would look better on my CV ultimately and hopefully make me more employable. My first real hurdle after signing off *tick*. Courses from then on were few and far between but hey, I didn't mind at this point. What I will say is, use your SLCs and ELCs!! Once you sign off, they no longer have to be used for courses that benefit your corps!

Making the best out of a rubbish situation

What happened next? The long slog to the finish line. I was moved from my regular role to an archiving role... wooo! Go me! In all honesty, I did not mind as it gave me some white space to focus myself on my future. I took this 'crappy management decision' in my stride and ran with it. This new role I accepted, except from when it suited the management, at that point i'd be expected to perform all roles again... What is the point of me highlighting this? Is it a rant? - Not really, I mean, at the time I was bitter but as the months ticked down, these silly tasks that only seemed to come my way became fun?! I enjoyed these mundane terrible tasks because I was so much more relaxed and less stressed about the outcome (that being said, it does not give you right to slack off and do things half-hearted... thats how that 'signed off, switched off' phrase came about). SO, my initial point.. persevere! - It's obviously not forever, no matter how long it feels, and if you take a different stance, it actually becomes fun for the last year of your career.

Take the plunge!

What now?... I have a year, no real idea of what role I wish to pursue, and none of my military qualifications are accredited, what do I do? Not to mention the previous, but will an employer even hold a position for a year? Will there be any vacancies when I am nearing the end of my notice period?

This is what I did and what i would suggest. Apply, apply, apply... apply for all jobs, ones that you think may be out of your skill set/qualifications, ones that are closing tomorrow... apply for them all! Interview practice is so valuable and you will see how professional/non-professional some interviews are, how they are not that scary and what the buzz words are. Interview practice is worth while in your arsenal.

Go to events. I was interested in Cloud computing and software development so I went to any and all tech/software/talk events I could find. The networking opportunities gained were incredible. You can gain precious contacts at theses events... I ended up talking to an MD of a company and selling myself to him in an informal 'chat', where at the end of the event he offered me an interview for a position he was currently recruiting for.

Dress Smart - At any and all events dress smart. This comes with a caveat. Tailor it to the environment. If you expect everyone to be wearing jeans and a top, wear a shirt and trousers without a tie. This goes for events, talks, meets. I had a 'meet the team' following a successful interview and was advised (and great advise it was) not to wear a suit. NOT WEAR A SUIT?! But I was a soldier who only knows combats or suits. The meet the team was a less formal step in the process and I had to win them over. The person who gave me the advice added this:

Sometimes a suit comes across too authoritative and could put people off or put them on edge... it may make them feel like you're already a 'boss'

This was so true, so I wore some black smart skinny jeans/trousers and a polo shirt. Now... on the back of this... INTERVIEWS.. ALWAYS dress your smartest... at least you know at that point, you did your all.

Recruiters can be your best friend. Use them. Use them all. Get in touch with as many recruiters in the industry you fancy going into. They do the leg work for you, they sell you to their client and secure you an interview. It's a step through the door or even a new networking opportunity.

LinkedIn became my best friend. I never knew how useful LinkedIn actually was. It was a bit of a pain setting it up, trying to remember all of my experiences and certifications, education and awards but its worth it... and is so much easier to maintain once you have done it. The reason I say LinkedIn is so important? Recruiters use it, MDs, CEOs, HR use it and will likely have a look over your profile prior to an interview. Not only that, but reach out to people, find a company you want to work for and reach out to them wether they are recruiting or not. This opened up so many opportunities for me that were not readily available to the public and provided me with cascading contacts and opened me up to a whole new networking world of opportunities.

So what did I do?

You can do what I am going to tell you about. Anyone can. You really just need to focus and aim for a goal.

I decided I wanted to work with a company that uses the Salesforce Platform. So, for that whole year, in my free time, I dedicated myself to self learning using Trailhead. I bought a few courses off Udemy to learn front end and back end development and used free online tools such as CodeAcademy. I prepared myself for the career I wanted to do, I built myself up for my certification exam and PASSED IT!

Fine, you don't want to be a wanna be geek like me... I get that, but out there is endless amounts of training material and courses, some of which are free. You can do it, despite what your 22 year Staff Sergeant says. Pick the goal, find the courses, self teaching and building your own career background is possible! Hard work does pay off!

Work hard play hard! - As cliché as it is, it is true.

You are just a soldier!

No soldier is just a soldier. I had great difficulty trying to secure the first interview as potential employees looked at my CV and just saw 'Soldier'. So what can you do? Tailor your CV to draw upon your soldier skills but describe you in a more generic way that fits the job role. One CV is not enough, you need a new CV for each different job role and tailor it to the meet their criteria.

So my advice which follows benefits both your CV and interviews:

Sell, Sell, Sell yourself! Find out what the job role you are applying for requires and adapt your military skills and behaviours to match.

Software Developer - Must be analytical. => I'm just Military Police... But I handle case files and investigations, so i am analytically minded.

Software Developer - Ability to document all developments in a Technical Document. => Nope, never done it, but I do have to write reports, I do have to documents all enquiries I carry out, I do have to formulate interview plans.

Software Sales Consultant - Must have experience with customers => No, but I have to deal with members of the public daily, keeping them satisfied while still completing and achieving my goals as a company.

These are just a few of many examples, and are only briefly detailed but I hope you get the picture - Transferable skills... You have them, you just need to figure out how they map to the skills an employee is looking for.

I did it!

So, a year and a half ago I knew nothing about software development, nothing about Salesforce, yet after hard work and a year of dedication I now hold a Certification, developed my own responsive, interactive website and secured a job at a fantastic company with huge future prospects.

To the end

I think leaving this article with a few messages will be the best way to tie it off:

• Look at life positively
• Use your resources (Recruiters, LinkedIn, Online teaching tools)
• Dress smart and appropriately
• Network with people
• Aim high
• Focus - Anything is achievable

This is my outlook and the way I changed my career path and I understand it may not be that straight forward for everyone but the principles will always apply.

Should you wish to chat and find out more detail or information, feel free to connect and chat with me.

Jonathan Fox | Ex Corporal | Royal Military Police | HM Forces (Army) - Future Salesforce Developer/Consultant

My website during my self teaching phase <- Click Here

My Trailhead Profile <- Click Here