Resettlement success

Andrew McG - Corporal

“Use the booklet given out at the CTW fully, it is packed with essential guidance. Read it several times, and keep it as a reference guide to use when you are preparing for interview.”

Background
Ex-Corporal Andrew McG left the RAF in late 2012, having served for 22 years in the RAF Police, specialising in Aviation Security. During his time in the RAF, Andrew gained extensive experience serving worldwide and in a variety of challenging environments, and planned to utilise this in a civilian career at the end of his engagement.

Resettlement
With just over a year until his discharge date, Andrew attended a Career Transition Workshop (CTW) at RRC Northolt, in which he found the CV writing portion ‘extremely important’; he says, ‘it had been a few years since I wrote one, and without a great CV you’re not getting an interview.’ He adds, ‘a good CV is absolutely key and will secure you an interview pretty much on its own… without a good CV you may get no replies at all, and therefore no chance to sell yourself in person.’ Andrew also says that the instruction on job market research during the CTW, ‘opened up a couple of areas I hadn’t thought about’. Following on from the CTW, Andrew attended the one day Interview Techniques workshop, which he says was ‘very valuable in equipping me with some of the skills and knowledge that I needed.’

Andrew used some of his Graduated Resettlement Time (GRT) to undertake a DfT Level 3 Aviation Security Management course, provided by a CTP Preferred Supplier of training. Andrew completed the course six months prior to leaving the RAF and says that ‘without the formal qualification I would not have been considered for my current job as it would cost the new employers £3,000 to get me qualified. They’d have found another candidate.’

Utilising some of the skills he’d learnt during the CTW, Andrew committed time to his job search, constantly monitoring and researching the market, and found his current job role on both LinkedIn and in an aviation industry publication, FlightGlobal. Andrew attended several interviews, and offers the following advice to other Service leavers; ‘Research, research, research. Although you might not see the direct link between the specific job you’re applying for and say, the company turnover last year, you need to demonstrate a love and a passion for what the company does in order to stand out more.’

‘It sounds a bit “The Apprentice” but you need to find out who runs things, what the company’s customer demographic is, how much turnover they have (spend a couple of pounds and download the company records from Companies House; knowing their financial performance shows a willingness to find out things that are not necessarily in open domains – guaranteed, no other candidate will do this), how much profit, what’s on the horizon for them, what difficulties they face, who their competition is, what their company ethos and values are. Even if you’re going for quite a basic post, they will ask some of these things. And even where they don’t, they will ask you to tell them what you know about the company, then you have a chance to impress.’

Andrew applied for a position with Thomson Airways via the company website, and was then invited forward for an interview, along with eight other candidates. Of the 90 minute interview, Andrew says, ‘I had to deliver a presentation to the interviewers on an industry-specific topic, and answer technical questions based on that. Extensive research, preparation and revision helped there.’

After the presentation, Andrew says, ‘I then had to answer customer service based questions to see if I aligned with the company values (where more research paid off). Finally I was given scenario based exercises to talk through including courses of action and justifications, which were solely judgement based. I was invited back around a week later for a second visit including a tour of the airline, and I was made an offer at the same meeting.’

Outcome
Andrew is now settled into the role, and is responsible for ensuring the security of Thomson’s entire aircraft fleet, bases, crew and passengers. Andrew goes on to explain that this involves, ‘managing any security related matter or incident within the airline, researching and advising on security risk to all parts of the airline, ensuring the company stays legally compliant with aviation law at all of its bases and overseas destinations, and designing aviation security training for crew in conjunction with the training departments.’ Andrew says that his time spent with the RAF ‘has given me a wider breadth of experience than some of my contemporaries.’

Andrew’s final piece of advice to other Service leavers is, ‘in interviews, don’t forget to show some excitement or real enthusiasm at the possibility of working at the place. It’s great to be calm but they want to employ someone who is keen to be there.’