Some advice for those who are leaving the Forces and moving to Civvi Street.

I was lucky as joined the Army back in 1985, but I was 21 years old, and had my 21st birthday during basic training and that was painful, but I had some civilian work experience behind me prior to enlistment, so I thought I had an inkling of what to expect, but I did realise how wrong I was then. Things may have gotten a bit better since then with CTP and all of the courses on offer, but here is a short list of my own personal thoughts that may help you guys as you try and find a new career path in civvi street.

1.      Communication and listening skills: I soon discovered that I was better at communication and understanding what people really wanted and I was able to communicate with people both senior and junior to me, as I found some people found this to be difficult, but for me it was like water off a duck’s back, however, I did need to learn quickly to move from Squaddie Speak to English as some of what I said almost got me into trouble.

2.      Cultural awareness: trying to find a company that can offer the same feeling of closeness and teamwork as you had in the services is going to be very difficult, what you need to do is try and find a company that can offer motivation and who have ambition, but at the same time enjoy a good laugh, these can be key to making the change, as some of the phrases I said when I first joined my new company could of got me into a lot of trouble.

3.      Potential: realising your abilities in the military don’t automatically map into the civilian work force, the ability to work for 20+ hours for days on end while on exercise has no place in the workplace street, but you have to remember that everyone can bring something to the workplace is key to success, both for yourself and the company.

4.      Socialising or Booze: having get togethers in the forces is one thing and battle drinking was just par for the course! But having a quick drink either on a Thursday or Friday evening after work is totally different experience and you will have to adapt and adjust very quickly.

5.      Getting close to your run out date: the closer you get to your final date in the forces the more pressure you will put yourself under to possibly accept the first role you get, but this is not really an issue, because once you get outside the wire so to speak, and you have settled down a bit, then a lot of doors can open for you, and in 3 – 5 years your career path may be completely different to the one you had in the military or what you are even considering at the moment.

This last point I can appreciate as I left the forces in 1994, and the first job I could do was a security guard for a guarding company as no one understood what I could do and I could not articulate it either so I took the first job I could get to put enough money on the table every week to for my family, but after a year or so, I stumbled in the recruitment sector, and I have been there ever since!

I am sure that some of my contacts here on LinkedIn will also have their thoughts and tips that they can share with everyone, and please feel free to add them. And if you are struggling and needs some advice, please feel free to send me a message.