Transitioning back to civilian life... it needs to be easier.
As a young lad, skinny and wet behind the years, thinking I knew everything at the ripe old age of 23, I stepped on that train from Aberdeen for the long train journey down to Plymouth to join HMS Raleigh back in 1997.
What awaited me was a culture shock. I thought I was prepared, I was woefully naive. Screamed at by instructors, Bed bonfires, doubling around the parade square, and 'beastings' at the gym... ahhh such a magical time, it brings a tear to my eye!
What I didn't know, is that 14 years later I'd be unexpectedly Medically discharged out of the Forces. The Royal Navy was somewhere I'd become institutionalised.?I had eat, Slept & bled Navy so long, I forgot I had a life before it.
Everything I knew, every fibre of my being was determined by discipline and my chain of command; Where to be, when to be there, what to wear, when to eat, what to do, don't do that Gaz, or you'll end up in the shit.
This had all abruptly ended, and now my life had lost focus. How would I get a place to live, and where? ?How would I get the medical support I need? ?How could my skills as a tactical Aircraft controller help me in Civilian life? I was trained for nothing...and I was in trouble!
There was a weeklong career transition workshop provided, as it is to all military, but it talked mostly about how to prep your CV and look for roles.
Did it help and refocus me? No entirely the opposite. Generic CVs, the standard “with your equivalent rank you could be a Manager” talk, and the leaflets given to you as they sent you on your way, was basically no help at all. Had I not had good friends who had left the military a few years before give me advice, I don't think my career path would have taken a very successful trajectory.
Nowadays of course, there are many different private and government/ charity sponsored agencies that provide great support, but for me, that initial workshop needs desperately overhauled.
I've seen numerous CV's with the same layout and focus (the same one I started out with incidentally) and you can spot them a mile off! ?You know the ones with the ‘Highly skilled, adaptable and self-motivated professional, with a proven record of achievement in numerous roles including management and operations’
领英推荐
They always concentrate on your character skills other than technical and practical experience.
As a Recruiter I see so many CV’s and I can tell you, you can be most reliable and conscientious leader that works independently or as part of a team, out there, but employers will just pass by it. They are focused on your skill sets. They want to see that you can disassemble and rebuild a filtration system, or that you can operate a radio in high pressure environments, or even that you can use Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
I think we need to see a shift in the initial workshop mentality; not everyone’s a manager, ?not everyone is going to be an HSE executive. ?Lets get down to the skills that each person leaving their military lives behind them has, ?and put them in touch with ex-military contacts who have worked in the same field of the military with them. They will know what transferrable skills are out there, they will know the sheer panic they are probably going through.
Lets also get a brochure together with links to all these companies doing great work with service leavers, ?as they are a relatively untapped resource with huge potential!
And finally, for the love of all that’s holy, can we teach them how to write a CV that’s personal to them? Highlight and detail their practical strengths, the technical knowledge with systems keywords and lets keep away from the tired soundbites of Highly skilled, adaptable and self-motivated and my personal favourite proven record of achievement, able to work independently or as part of team.
We are much, much more than that.
Go Navy.
Operations @ UCO - Aquaculture | Oil & Gas
1 年Interesting read Gaz!
Safely driving efficiency and orchestrating success with Reach Subsea, in our efforts reaching for sustainable access to ocean space
1 年Coming from a very similar background I have also been through a similar situation - the main difference for me being that I left with a round of redundancies from the RN in '96 and things were far from set up to help us step out into civilian life due to the scale of people leaving. It was only thanks to a few contacts through the RN that had made the move previously that I was able to get a CV together that reflected all the valuable skills I had gained and had to offer. We are currently going through a round of recruiting and the level of CV's I get from service leavers is usually sufficient for me to get them to interview and then explore what they can bring to our team, in the main I think this is because of my background and so I'm prepared to give them a break and come to interview - where I can probe and get a real feel for what they have achieved and what they can do. For me I find that these people need to get into is the correct mindset for an interview with an employer - understand that there will be HR people involved asking you questions to try and work out what your mindset is and how you tick. From the technical side treat it as a promotion board. Above all relax....we are not all monsters!
Offshore Client Representative
1 年Great read Gaz. Never an easy part of life to transition and it would appear the Armed Forces still can’t do it right with the assistance they provide ??
A career path diverted by essential roadworks
1 年Interesting, two of my teenage chums came out of the RAF back in the mid 90s - both NCOs and both had been arranged multiple job interviews (managerial positions) through the RAF before their service ended. Times have obviously changed.
??Recruiter {Survived the deadly bite of an Australian spider, and still here to tell the tale.}
1 年Great read Gaz :) ??