Forces: Ex-Army
Alex N - Captain
“Don’t stop hunting, believe in yourself but be realistic about what you can achieve. Don’t lie, and always be able to back up what you say with facts that are checkable. Remember to sell your experience that is relevant to the role because the person who does this most effectively will get the job. Finding jobs in the civilian world is not like being assigned, posted or drafted, it is based on fit of personality and diversity of professional background, so be likeable and sell yourself, your skills and experience.”
Preparing to leave
Alex N served for nine years as an Officer in the Yorkshire Regiment, completing tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and undertaking roles which saw him meeting politicians and civil servants, working with the media and even briefing live on television. Crucially, Alex says he gained experience of working at pace and delivering under pressure. During his service Alex also learned about stakeholder management, communication and continuous improvement processes, undertaking a number of training courses to support this.
With the end of the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns, Alex sought a change in both career path and family lifestyle, and took the opportunity to leave the Army via Voluntary Redundancy. With just six months to complete his resettlement, he wasted no time in booking relevant workshops and training courses to support his future career plans. Alex firstly attended a Career Transition Workshop at RRC Catterick and was introduced to his Career Consultant, where they discussed the many options available to him; Alex decided to focus on a role in which he could utilise his existing management skills, and decided to gain further civilian qualifications to back up his experience.
Alex advises other Service leavers, “Start preparing to leave early, talk to as many people as possible about working in the civilian environment, always thank people and follow up leads. Choose which courses to do carefully and spend your resettlement time and money wisely; the experience will roll over into subsequent job hunts.”
Gaining civilian qualifications & experience
Having researched the different training courses and workshops on offer, Alex completed Business Start Up and Insight to Management Consultancy workshops via the CTP, which he says were “very useful for understanding the types of work available in the employment market, understanding the potential of contracting, consulting and being self-employed, as well as the tenants of good business.”
He also used some of his IRTC grant to complete a PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification, held at RRC Portsmouth. He says, “This was a useful one week course explaining an internationally recognised process to deliver projects to a high standard. It was useful for understanding some of the issues in business and language used. The course was delivered by an experienced instructor in a small class of 10, who was able to impart extra anecdotal information to add context to the syllabus.”
To back up his management experience, Alex then completed an AMAC (Advanced Management Achievement Course) via a Preferred Supplier of training. He describes the course as “a mini MBA over 3 weeks for OF2’s and above - the course cannot be recommended more highly. It broadens business understanding, allows Service leavers to realise where they could/can fit inside organisations and makes more junior officers realise how much they can achieve.”
With some of his Graduated Resettlement Time still remaining, Alex explored the possibility of undertaking a Civilian Work Attachment, and subsequently secured a place on the AFTER programme run by Barclays Bank. The two week placement focused on retail business banking, and Alex says he, “shadowed business bankers, worked on a group project in teams of four and delivered results as a presentation to senior members of the Barclays London business banking hierarchy.”
Approaching the job market
With civilian qualifications and experience under his belt, Alex felt ready to enter the job market and linked in with his local CTP Employment Consultant to gain a greater understanding of the job market in his area. Alex says that the job-finding arm of the CTP was “very useful – it got me my current job!” He explains, “My Employment Consultant was exceptionally helpful; he called me up as soon as he discovered the role, and having met me he understood my skills and experience and how I could fit the position.”
The role, which Alex has now been in for several months, is Command, Control and Communication (C3) Manager for TdFHUB2014Ltd, owned by UK Sport and part of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Alex is responsible for the design of the command and control delivery structure for the Tour de France in the UK in July 2014.
The role requires Alex to use much of his management, communication and planning experience, and he says tasks include, “procurement of the radio and communications system for the first two stages of the Tour, oversight of the 3rd stage’s delivery by a very reputable event management company and assurance and coordination of the event with local authorities and stakeholders. I will also be dealing with local officials and politicians, managing relationships with 3rd party suppliers, recruiting staff and acting as a point of liaison with Services.”
Alex says that although he faced obstacles having an unknown reputation in the sports events management world, “critical to getting the job was my CV and covering letter, focusing in on the requirements for the role and demonstrating my interest and experience, both relating to the role, but also to the wider interests of the company.”
Successful transition
Alex says, “Remember that the CV needs to be tailored to the job description, even if you have networked into the role or have been referred in, it will make the interviews easier and the interviewers will understand the narrative that explains why you are in front of them much better.”
Along with his CV, he cites his civilian qualifications as being particularly helpful in securing the role, saying, “both the AMAC and PRINCE2 course developed my business knowledge significantly, in turn developing my confidence in dealing with senior business people.”
Alex’s final advice to other Service leavers is, “Don’t stop hunting, believe in yourself but be realistic about what you can achieve. Don’t lie, and always be able to back up what you say with facts that are checkable. Remember to sell your experience that is relevant to the role because the person who does this most effectively will get the job. Finding jobs in the civilian world is not like being assigned, posted or drafted, it is based on fit of personality and diversity of professional background, so be likeable and sell yourself, your skills and experience.”
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