Walking a Path Less Travelled

?Some reading this may have seen the article about my transition out of the military, A Walk in the Snow (https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:linkedInArticle:6991415231017078784/). As I approach the first year anniversary of my retirement from service, I felt it would be useful to capture my observations from life on the other side.?

When I left the military, I was fortunate to be able to take the months of July and August 2022 to spend time with friends and family and reconnect. Most of the autumn months were spent finalizing administration, starting to orient to a new work life, and relearning Grade 11 Physics with my daughter (it was only slightly easier the second time). It has been seven months since I started actively building my business and looking for work that supports my purpose. I have sampled a variety of employment models from contracting direct to a client, acting as a sub-contractor, joining a board, and providing free advice to initiatives I hope can make a difference. Getting a taste of different models has been very useful in helping me refine the next phase of my professional life.

There is no doubt, I have learned a great deal in a short amount of time, and still have much to figure out. Clearly, someone who transitions to a full-time job with a single employer will not find all of these observations useful, however, I think there is something here for everyone who is thinking about a career change.?

Here are my post-military observations:

Define a Purpose and Develop an Approach - It’s not essential to hone in on precisely what the next professional chapter will look like before leaving service. It’s great if you have a singular passion and are unwavering on what’s next. If you’ve always wanted to be a outdoor guide or a motorcycle mechanic, then you may find some of my points less pertinent; however, I imagine few are in this fortunate situation. Instead, I think what’s important is to define your purpose. Personally, I want to continue to contribute to the improvement of our national security. This is my purpose and will likely always have a place in my life, however, my approach on how to fulfill this purpose remains flexible. As I explore the opportunities that support my purpose, I get to refine the approach through hands on experience. As an example, I want veteran businesses or not-for-profits to always be part of my approach. I draw great fulfilment from working with those who have served.?As long as I keep my purpose central to my efforts, I’m finding there are endless options that allow me to find the right approach.?

Navigating the Maze - As noted previously, I have taken an unconventional path insofar as I have not gone to work full-time for another government department or a large, private corporation. This was essential to respect my family’s needs and give myself a break from my work environment of the last 30 years. I have discovered the path I have taken is akin to trying to find your way through a maze. Things take much longer than anticipated, there are a lot of dead ends, a few surprises, and you need patience and perseverance if you hope to find an approach that supports your purpose. Your network will be able to help you to a certain extent, but you still need to do the work to get things done. The serial entrepreneurs out there will have experienced this to a level that I never will. This is not to discourage anyone from heading out on a path less travelled. It will not be easy, but having a clear purpose and a flexible approach will keep you pushing through the inevitable adversity. In fact, by selecting a meaningful purpose, and an being open to evolving my approach, I now say “look what I get to do” as opposed to “look what I have to do”. Sometimes getting a bit lost can be enjoyable and fulfilling.?

Your Value Add Versus Adding Value?- Everyone retiring from the military has something to offer or a “value add” to an organization. The amount of training and experience we receive in problem solving, planning, managing personnel, dealing with stress, working under adverse conditions, and mitigating risk cannot be matched. However, there’s a difference between having a value to add and being able to translate that into actually adding value to an organization. Consider your skills coming out of the military to be an unrefined resource (think rough diamonds) to most of the private sector. The potential is there, but you need to understand how to make your talents obvious to the organization you want to join. Do not assume it will be intuitive to an employer, it won’t. Your network and/or a professional headhunter can help you with the translation to ensure everything you have to offer is on display.

Get Paid to Learn (most of the time) - One of the most frequent reasons I’ve heard for people staying in the military, or any job, when it ceased to be purposeful is because of money. This is rational. However, there may be a point where unhappiness or lack of purpose in a job compels someone to leave financial security for something more. Fear not, you can get paid while you reinvent yourself or find your calling. With some courage and a curious mind, you can get paid to learn more about the particular industry that supports your purpose. As an example, say you really enjoyed your experience working on domestic operations (the military support to the provinces dealing with fires, floods, and severe weather) and want to make helping Canadians and others impacted by disasters your purpose. There are lots of options - look at joining provincial emergency management organizations, see what’s available with NGOs and international agencies, take a short term contract with the province to get hands on experience fighting fires, get training and experience from Team Rubicon, or use your VAC money to take emergency management education. Sometimes you may want to do something on a volunteer basis because it’s interesting or exposes you to new things you can’t find through paid work. You will need to decide, from a financial perspective, how much time you can afford to devote to pro bono work. Regardless of your approach, the list of options is truly only limited by your imagination and hustle. So please be confident that you can still make a living while discovering what the next professional ‘you’ looks like.?

What is your time worth? - So now you have a purpose and approach, you are open to, and exploring, new opportunities, and understand how you can add value to industry. When you start to see work that interest you, or companies are courting your talents, you need to decide how much to charge for your time. Whether it’s a full-time job or part-time contracts, you need to understand your value to industry. In speaking with my network, most people find this part of their new professional life awkward - unsurprising since we come from a world of pay tables where bonuses, overtime, and negotiated salaries are totally foreign. If you want to be fairly compensated for your knowledge, experience, and skills, then you need to properly arm yourself for contract negotiations. You can do the research yourself or lean on professionals, either way, make sure your confident in what your time is worth. Having this knowledge will help you avoid being thrown off your game by an enticing pitch from a company. You will be flattered during the process and perhaps even anxious to secure work. Understanding your value to the market from the outset is really critical. Remember, time not dedicated to work is for family, friends, and you, so make sure your work is purposeful and properly compensated because time outside of work is truly priceless.?

Don’t be cheap, pay an expert - It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a team to build a business. It was rare in the Army that I needed to get expert advice from outside the Department of National Defence - doctors, lawyers, and comptrollers are all part of the military team. When you leave, you need to determine which experts are essential to your success. As I continue to emphasize, your network is so important, but there are certain experts you need to pay in order to mitigate risk. My team of experts consists of a book keeper, lawyer, financial advisor, and commercial insurance broker. Some of these I engaged once or twice to set up a service, such as corporate insurance, while others are more steady. Regardless of what your team of experts looks like, it’s wise to accept that you will need to invest early to avoid costly headaches in the future. The protection of the Crown has been lifted and you need to understand how to manage risk in your new world.?

In the end, you should be confident you can define any purpose for your professional life and be successful. Lean on your network, be comfortable being uncomfortable with new situations, be bold and take risks, and surround yourself with good, smart people who want you to succeed as you do them. I’m sure the path less travelled is not for everyone, but take a few steps in that direction and you may be surprised how happy it makes you. Best of luck.