Make the most of yourself

Many Service people will willingly run into a hail of bullets to rescue a wounded comrade, continue to defend a ship as the missiles strike the deck, or fly at high speed and low altitude at night. They will do these incredibly brave things quite deliberately, knowing just what the dangers are. No civilian can really understand this, and it is a characteristic shared with only a few other professions – like the police and fire services. However, the same individuals will mumble their way through a conversation about such gallantry and dismiss it, out of the sides of their mouths, as ‘nothing much’.

Even more curious is the way in which people can be so ready to advance the honour and glory of their ship/regiment/squadron that they will fight for it everywhere from the Gulf to HelmandProvince and the Iraqi skies. And yet these same people, who would not hesitate to tell an audience of thousands about the excellence of their unit, can be very reluctant to explain their own skills, competencies and experience when it comes to a job interview.

Let’s be clear: no one is being asked to lie or exaggerate. There is no question of not telling the truth, just telling more of it so that the picture that is painted is a complete one.

If an employer asks about management experience, you should point out the leadership you have displayed over the years and the effect that has had. Then explain about the management – personnel, financial, logistics, whatever – that sticky situations have required. Tell them about the training, on courses and on the job, that you have had; and quantify how many people, how much money, what weight of equipment was involved. Then explain about the circumstances – the rain, the sand, the operational hazards and the urgency of the need.

Tell them what you did. Then tell them how you did it. And put it into terms that they will understand: ‘a company’s worth of ammunition’, ‘the crew of a submarine’ or ‘a forward operating base’ will mean nothing. Fifteen tons, 62 people or a landing strip with four aircraft and 100 people, on the other hand, should get the point across nicely.

Use words that accurately describe what happened. Many people still believe that the Services function through harsh discipline, orders, shouting and the occasional use of fists to back up an argument. This is the stereotype that has been painted for years and it is still with us. The image of hunchbacked conscripts peeling spuds or blancoing webbing round a coal fire in a Nissen hut is hard to shake.

So use alternatives that accurately describe the way you behaved. Try to insert ‘discussed’, ‘learnt’, ‘negotiated’, ‘developed’, ‘managed’ and ‘ran’ into your job-finding vocabulary. Explain the mixed – military/civilian, male/female, ethnic/cultural – workforces you have experienced. Tell them that, like anywhere else, emergencies require instant and firm action and that the person in charge has to make decisions that may not be easy or popular. But you should also explain that, when circumstances allow, personal initiative is encouraged, training is intellectually demanding, and input to decisions welcomed.

When it comes to remuneration, some say that Service leavers should expect to start on what they are worth – in other words, their final military salary. Others advise that you should settle for less to get started and that excellence will bring its own reward. The only certain thing is that you should find out what the going rate is for the job in the area in which you are going to be doing it and expect that your remuneration will be around that figure. Your employer should not take any military pension into account.

So, although the salary may be a bit less than you are used to, make sure you tell the complete truth about your personal qualities, skills and experience. The competition will be telling the best story it can; you must do the same.

In our September issue, we target some sectors with easy skills transfer from Service life. Anyone with relevant seamanship or engineering qualifications has an obvious career cross-over into the Merchant Navy, but our article also features a number of other future career options linked to the sea. Security is familiar to all Service people but, as the industry becomes more regulated, Forces’ training and experience is becoming ever more relevant. Sport and fitness and diving have their experts in the Services, but they are both open as second careers to people with little or no previous expertise.

Britain is crying out for skilled construction workers, and an already-ambitious building plan will no doubt be enlarged by the response to the recent flooding and damage. On top of that, the 2012 Olympics programme is already getting under way. The hospitality industry (and the sector is a great deal wider than the traditional ex-Service pub landlord, although many of the latter do extremely well) also needs committed, professional employees. As ever, the possibilities are endless, and we hope that we can help you to focus on what is right for you.