Supporting Graham Humm on his resettlement journey
Category: Success Stories
Publish date: 04/05/2021
Graham Humm left the Royal Navy as a Petty Officer in 2020 after serving for more than 16 years. After taking stock of his career, Graham decided he wanted more stability and time with his family, and chose to engage in resettlement support with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP).
"Having to live away from my young family, excessive travel, being deployed for long durations and a lack of compensation in general all drove me towards leaving the military. Missing home affected my mental health, and my wages didn’t reflect my skillset or qualifications."
Resettlement
Once registered with the CTP, Graham attended a 3-day Career Transition Workshop (CTW) and additional training courses to enhance his employability:
"I really enjoyed the 3-day CTW and found the interview practise very helpful; enabling me to build my confidence in order to push the boundaries of what I believed I could apply for in the civilian world.
"I also undertook an 18th Edition Wiring Regulations training course to better showcase my skills and how I qualified for roles in the civilian community."
Graham then goes on to speak about the usefulness of attending a CTP provided Civilian Work Attachment (CWA):
"CWAs are a huge advantage to any Service leaver; allowing you to display and articulate your experiences without the stress or anxiety of an interview. You can really be yourself and show how exactly you would fit into a civilian organisation.
"Following some good work and a showing of my knowledge during the CWA, I was approached for a more senior position as a Safety Engineer. This opportunity would never have arose if I hadn’t attended the CWA and built a rapport with the HR and engineering managers."
Successful Outcome
Graham is now a Senior Field Engineer at the National Crime Agency, where his military experience and resettlement journey have put him in good stead:
"I had a very positive interview over Microsoft Teams. It was relaxed and all questions asked were in line with the job description. Working from home was initially very alien to me, but the positive working attitude, mental robustness and existing knowledge developed throughout my time with the military helped me to bond with my new team and settle in my role."
Advice
As his closing words of advice to fellow Service leavers, Graham goes on to say:
"Preparation is key. Don’t let unsuccessful applications and interviews get you down. It’s all part of the process and something will always come along."